All-Star Selection Sweet for Rose

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Jan 29, 2010 3:00PM

While fans cast some questionable votes -- Iverson, really? -- in picking the starters for the NBA All-Star Game, the coaches did a better job when selecting the reserves to round out the rosters on Thursday. Bulls point guard Derrick Rose was among the players picked to suit up for the Eastern Conference squad. The second year player is currently averaging 19.8 points/game and 5.9 assists/game for the 22-22 Bulls. Slowed by an ankle injury to begin the season, Rose has come on strong of late. He's averaging 23.5 points and 6.5 assists a game this month.

Rose's selection to the All-Star game breaks a 12 season drought for Chicago. The last time the city was represented in the game was 1998, when Michael Jordan won the MVP award after scoring 23 points.

The All-Star weekend figures to be a busy one for the young Bulls guard. In addition to the weekend's main event, Rose will also be defending his title in the skills competition and suiting up against Bulls rookie Taj Gibson in the Rookie Challenge game. Hopefully, Rose will also find some time to lobby fellow All-Stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh about joining him in Chicago next year.