For a second, the easygoing personality that predraft reports suggested might have prevented the Miami Heat from taking Beasley gave way to relief. Beasley was picked second overall in last night's NBA draft.

"I was a little surprised," he said. "We had talked [with the Heat] before the draft, and just to hear my name called, it took a lot of pressure off."

The speculation of a chaotic top of the draft proved to be just talk. Instead, a group of freshmen dominated the first round.

Beasley, of Kansas State, followed Derrick Rose, who was picked first overall by the Chicago Bulls. O.J. Mayo went No. 3 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, making it the first draft ever with three freshmen going in the top three spots.

"We actually talked about this earlier," Beasley said. "We all grew up together, and we all grew up playing against each other, and we all made a pact together that we would be here.

"Just to see it all fall into place and see it all happen is kind of crazy."

A total of 10 freshmen were selected in the first round, an NBA record. Seven were picked in the lottery. West Virginia's Joe Alexander was the only player over 20 taken in the first 10 picks.

No team traded out of the top 10, and there were few, if any, surprise selections until former Lenape High and Rider standout Jason Thompson went to the Sacramento Kings at No. 12. He was the first senior taken.

Chicago had the No. 1 pick for the first time since 1999, when the Bulls chose Elton Brand, and selected Rose, the hometown star.

He expects to play right away.

"Being a point guard and coming in and starting, I have to show a little bit of leadership and let everyone know I really want to be there," Rose said.

Rose, at 6-foot-3, was the smallest player taken first since the Sixers picked the 6-0 Allen Iverson in 1996.

Mayo followed Beasley at No. 3 and started a run of Pacific Ten players. UCLA's Russell Westbrook went fourth to Seattle, and Kevin Love went to Memphis at No. 5. Five Pac-10 players were among the top 11 picks.

Assistant GM Fred Hoiberg said the Timberwolves were impressed by their interview with Mayo and love his competitiveness.

"He's a complete player, a complete person," Hoiberg told hundreds of fans gathered at a draft party at Target Center.

The loudest reaction at Madison Square Garden came when the Knicks selected Danilo Gallinari from Italy at No. 6. Knicks fans booed Gallinari before the draft even started when his face was shown on the big screens.

Gallinari, whose father played professionally with New York head coach Mike D'Antoni in Italy, said he was happy to be taken by the Knicks despite the rude welcoming.

"It's part of the game," he said. "All of the players have to hear this. Not every time you can hear good things. So it's normal here."

Former Penn Charter star Sean Singletary was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the second round with the 42d overall pick, making him, after Thompson, the second local player taken.

Singletary was the third-leading scorer in the ACC with 19.8 points per game his senior season at Virginia. He is the only player in ACC history with 2,000 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals.

One of the bigger questions heading into the draft was how the teams at the top would separate the wealth of talent at guard, most of it being freshmen.

After Rose, Westbrook, a junior, went to Seattle as the second guard taken. Arizona's Jerryd Bayless dropped to Indiana at No. 11 and was later traded to Portland. By the time the freshman Bayless was picked, he was the sixth guard selected.

Indiana freshman Eric Gordon went No. 7 to the Clippers and said the combo guard skills that he, Mayo and Westbrook possess would succeed in the NBA.

"I would say that's a great situation for us. Some teams need point guards, and some teams need shooting guards. We'll just play whatever position the coach has us assigned to," he said.

The 19-year-old Beasley said Wednesday that his advice for those who doubted him was to smile. And as the most talked-about player before the draft, he at last could rest easy - before hitting the town with Mayo, Westbrook, and Love to celebrate the night.

"I heard a lot of talk," Beasley said. "Two. Three. Four [pick]. So I was kind of expecting the worst. When they called my name, it just kind of woke me up a bit."

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