Rose stands alone as this season's top rookie

Call him Vinny Del Nostradamus.

First-year Chicago head coach Vinny Del Negro called the Rookie of the Year race over back in January and prematurely awarded the trophy to his point guard, Derrick Rose, saying, "It's not even close," between Rose and the rest of the field. Del Negro may have been pegged as a homer, but he was right.

Brook Lopez might have had a PER that made John Hollinger as excited as somebody who just had Publisher's Clearinghouse come to his front door; O.J. Mayo might have scored 500 more points than this year's scoring title champ, Dwyane Wade, did in his rookie season; and Greg Oden might have had more columns devoted to his potential than Obama had penned about his economic stimulus plan, but none of them matched the season that Rose had.

A true of example of what it means to let your game do the talking, getting the shy and reserved Rose to talk about himself is as tricky as figuring out how to sync up your Twitter messages to your Facebook status. But put him on a court, put the ball in his hands and give him four teammates to run an offense with and you'll see him perform in a way that just screams "future star."

His YouTube mixes-to-games-played-in-the-league-thus-far ratio is prodigious and maybe even better than his 2.5-to-1 assist-turnover ratio. One mix, titled quite simply "Derrick Rose -- The Rookie of the Year -- Bulls mix" features all of the 20-year-old's greatest hits: from the reverse layup against Orlando, to the full extension dunk over Leandro Barbosa to finish a fast break to the way he tormented Philadelphia's Andre Miller with a chase-down block from behind and a yo-yo crossover that left Miller down on the hardwood on his behind.

Utah's Deron Williams, one of the finest two or three point guards in the game today, knows the mixes well.

"I heard about him when I was in college, being in Illinois near the Chicago area," Williams said. "I did some YouTubes on him. I knew he was talented, but this year he's blossoming. I think he's learning the game as a point guard a lot better. He's maturing as most players -- most good players -- do."

And then comes the endorsement from Williams that can't be quantified in statistics, but tells you all you need to know about why Rose is so special:

"I think he might be the fastest player in the NBA," Williams said. "Hands down, his first step in ridiculous."

Not that the numbers aren't impressive or anything.

Rose started out as the No. 1 pick in the Draft and improbably led the Bulls all the way a likely No. 6 seed in the Playoffs.

He finished first among all rookies in assists, second in scoring, eighth in steals and tenth in rebounds per game.

He has Chicago riding a five-game winning streak heading into its season finale with Toronto on Wednesday, tied for the longest current winning streak of any team in the league.

In April he's averaging more points (19.0) and more assists (6.8) than he has in any other month of the season and he's shooting a hard-to-compute 54.7 percent from the field, considering the fact that he's a 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard that shoots 43.8 percent of his shots (523-for-1194 according to NBA.com's Hot Spots) from the paint in amongst the trees.

Mayo, our choice for runner-up to Rose, agrees with us.

"The Rookie of the Year, I think, is Derrick Rose," Mayo told NBA.com. "He did a great job in leading his team to the playoffs ... it was definitely a tremendous turnaround. He did a good job."

Mayo added that the two fueled each other by their mutual success. "We were definitely both looking at each other's numbers at the end of every night," he said. "I think it was good for both of us. It definitely got me through the 82 games."

Rose already has bigger things ahead of him than his rank amongst the rookie class with the playoffs right around the corner and further off on the horizon lies a spot on the 2012 Olympics team that Williams, a gold medalist in Beijing, thinks Rose will be ready for.

But for now, it turns out that a Rose is a R.O.Y. by any other name.

Korleone Young Drop of the Week: D.J. Augustin CHA (-1)
Eddie Gottlieb Rise of the Week: A. Randolph GSW (+1)

1. Derrick Rose, G, Chicago G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 80 37.0 16.8 3.9 6.3 0.8 0.2 .475 .222 .789 Last Week: 1 | Drafted: 1 Rose will become the fifth Rookie of the Year in Chicago's history, joining Elton Brand (1999-00), Terry Dischinger (1962-63), Walt Bellamy (1961-62), oh, and um, Michael Jordan (1984-85).

2. O.J. Mayo, G, Memphis G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 81 38.0 18.4 3.7 3.2 1.1 0.2 .438 .383 .875 Last Week: 2 | Drafted: 3 Mayo broke through the rookie wall, as his April field-goal percentage (45.5), three-point percentage (41.9) and points per game (19.6) were the highest they were since November when he averaged 23.1 on 48.0 and 42.1 percent, respectively, back when he had fresh legs. He told me he plans to spend the summer working out with his teammates in Memphis rather than return to the limelight in L.A. He wants to get a head start on breaking through any chance of a sophomore slump.

3. Brook Lopez, C, New Jersey G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 81 30.5 13.1 8.1 1.0 0.5 1.8 .534 .000 .791 Last Week: 3 | Drafted: 10 I've asked it before and I'll ask it again: How in the world did Lopez slip to No. 10 in the Draft? He was the only player besides Rose to receive more than one ROY nod from ESPN.com?s panel of 20 experts that voted on all of the NBA's postseason awards.

4. Russell Westbrook, G, Oklahoma City G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 81 32.6 15.3 4.9 5.3 1.4 0.2 .398 .276 .814 Last Week: 4 | Drafted: 4 After stumbling down the stretch, Westbrook is finishing the season on a high note. The 6-3, 187-pound point guard averaged 13.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists in four games last week.

5. Eric Gordon, G, L.A. Clippers G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 77 34.2 16.0 2.6 2.8 1.0 0.4 .453 .387 .854 Last Week: 5 | Drafted: 7 Here's a prediction: Three years from now, Clippers fans won?t remember the 2008-09 season for Baron Davis' ulcers, Marcus Camby's blown eardrum, Zach Randolph's off-court issues, the "Fire Dumb-Leavy" chants or even owner Donald Sterling's locker room tirade. No, they will remember this season as the year they got Gordon with the lucky No. 7 pick in the Draft, because in three years from now, Gordon will be one of the top five scorers in the league and the cornerstone of the franchise.

6. Marc Gasol, C, Memphis G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 81 30.8 11.8 7.4 1.7 0.8 1.1 .529 .000 .732 Last Week: 6 | Drafted: 48 by L.A. Lakers in 2007 Gasol finished out the season series with his older brother Pau?s Lakers last week. The Grizzlies lost all four games to Los Angeles, but the sibling rivalry brought out the best in Marc as he averaged 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.2 blocks on 53.3 percent shooting against Pau ? all better than his averages for the season.

7. Michael Beasley, F, Miami G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 80 24.9 13.8 5.4 1.0 0.5 0.5 .471 .397 .772 Last Week: 7 | Drafted: 2 Beasley is closing out the regular season as the player Miami thought it was getting when they drafted the left-handed forward with the No. 2 pick out of Kansas State. Beasley is averaging 24.8 points and 12.8 rebounds over his last four games.

8. Kevin Love, F, Minnesota G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 80 25.3 11.1 9.1 1.1 0.4 0.6 .460 .111 .791 Last Week: 8 | Drafted: 5 In a podcast with Lakers.com's Mike Trudell this week, I got put on the spot for ranking Love at No. 8 when his PER has him No. 1 amongst all rookies. Listen, PER is a stat that is swayed to credit the field goal percentage of big men. It's common sense that a guard is going to connect at a lower rate than a power forward or a center, just by the nature of the shots he is taking. Furthermore, the more minutes you play and the bigger role thrust upon your shoulders as a rookie, the more margin for error will appear. Love is a bench player who was riding pine while Brian Cardinal was out on the court in key fourth-quarter minutes against the Mavericks on Monday. Rose was scoring 11 of his 24 points in the final quarter that same night to help the Bulls beat the Pistons. Any stat that makes Love's contributions appear more meaningful than Rose?s this season should be irrelevant, in my book.

9. Jason Thompson, F, Sacramento G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 81 28.0 11.1 7.4 1.1 0.6 0.7 .497 .000 .693 Last Week: 9 | Drafted: 12 Thompson's alma mater, Lenape High School, won the New Jersey Group 4 boys' basketball state championship this year, repeating the feat that Thompson and the Indians accomplished back in 2004. When you read a nugget like that, you know it's Week 24 of the Rookie Rankings, folks.

10. Anthony Randolph, F, Golden State G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 62 17.6 7.8 5.7 0.8 0.7 1.2 .464 .000 .723 Last Week: The Next 10 | Drafted: 14 It took Don Nelson five months, but he finally let the grips a little loose on Randolph and he has rewarded Nellie's confidence with averages of 15.3 points, 11.0 rebounds 1.6 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks in April. There isn't a rookie I'm more intrigued to see what he does next year as a sophomore than I am by Randolph.

The Next 10 (alphabetical order): D.J. Augustin (CHA), Mario Chalmers (MIA), Rudy Fernandez (POR), Roy Hibbert (IND), Courtney Lee (ORL), Luc Mbah a Moute (MIL), Anthony Morrow (GSW), Greg Oden (POR), Brandon Rush (IND), Marreese Speights (PHI)

Noteworthy Anderson Ryan Anderson (NJN) and Chris Douglas-Roberts (NJN) had a ?Hey, there are other rookies on the Nets besides Brook? game by combining for 36 points and eight rebounds on 15-for-27 shooting in a loss to the Pistons last week. Greg Oden (POR) finally got the best of Kevin Durant after nearly two years, collecting 16 points and nine rebounds to Durant?s 10 and two in a 30-point win over the Thunder. . Rudy Fernandez (POR) has his shot back in time for the playoffs as he connected on 10-of-19 3-pointers last week. . Courtney Lee (ORL) averaged 13.0 points per game in three starts last week, but the Magic dropped all three games. Brandon Rush (IND) is at the top of my "sophomores to keep an eye out for" list for next season after he continued his recent tear with 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting against Detroit followed by 27 on 11-for-17 against Cleveland last week. . Rob Kurz (GSW) came out of nowhere to score 21 points against the Jazz in an upset win by the Warriors last week. If Utah fans want to blame anybody for their team's first round matchup with the Lakers after the Jazz seemed prime for at least the No. 7 seed, blame Kurz. D-League Watch: Sonny Weems was re-assigned to the Colorado 14ers by Denver; DeMarcus Nelson was called up from the Austin Toros by Chicago; Jawad Williams was called up from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers by Cleveland

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