Rose became the third Bulls player to win the award, joining Michael Jordan and Elton Brand. He received 111 first-place votes and 574 points from a national panel of sports writers and broadcasters; runner-up O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies received five first-place votes and 127 points.
Derrick Rose, who led his hometown Chicago Bulls to the playoffs and restored hope to a franchise in disarray, was the runaway pick yesterday as the NBA's rookie of the year.
"When I first came into the season, my biggest thing was to get this award," Rose said. "I was telling you all that I didn't care, but I did. You really do want this award. There was a lot of talent out there that I had to go against."
Rose's selection was hardly a surprise, after the No. 1 overall draft pick led all rookies with 6.3 assists per game and was second in scoring average at 16.8.
Spring's New Title
Justin Spring of Burke has been named associate head coach of the University of Illinois men's gymnastics team. Spring, part of the U.S. team that won a bronze medal last summer in Beijing, has been an assistant at Illinois for the past three years. He will retire from competitive gymnastics to focus on coaching
"It wasn't much of a tough decision," Spring said. "I was pretty burned out after the Olympic Games. With all of my experiences as a gymnast and coach for the Illini, I'm looking forward to this opportunity."
ESPN has announced the pairings for next season's ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Virginia will open the event against Penn State at John Paul Jones Arena on Nov. 30. The Nittany Lions won their first National Invitation Tournament title this past season, finishing with a 27-11 record.
On Dec. 1, Maryland will travel to Indiana; Virginia Tech is at Iowa. . . .
A judge in Pennsylvania sentenced Penn State linebacker Navorro Bowman (District Heights) to an extra 12 months of probation and to undergo drug testing and counseling after the player admitted smoking marijuana. Bowman was already on probation after pleading guilty in May 2008 to disorderly conduct in connection with a campus fight. . . In an MLS game, Toronto FC (2-2-2) knocked Chivas USA (4-1-1) from the ranks of the undefeated with a 1-0 victory last night in Toronto.
Colleges and universities are doing a better job at being inclusive in women's basketball coaching hires, according to the latest Black Coaches and Administrators hiring report card. The latest grades showed 14 of 16 schools received A's for their hires in 2007-08.
Michael Phelps will be trying out a new freestyle technique when he returns to competition next month.
Phelps isn't revealing what he has changed but says the difference will be obvious once he takes his first stroke. He will race at the Charlotte UltraSwim from May 14 to 17. . . .
Anaheim's Bobby Ryan, Columbus's Steve Mason and Chicago's Kris Versteeg have been selected as finalists for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL's top rookie. . . .
