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Beasley draws unfavorable=20 comparison

By NICK HUT - nhut@nwnewsgroup.com

=20 Comments (No comments = posted.)

Michael Beasley senses a double = standard in the=20 buzz leading up to the NBA Draft on Thursday.

When = people=20 talk about Derrick Rose, they make positive comparisons. = Rose is=20 said to be the next Chris Paul or Deron Williams, maybe a=20 combination of the two. He=E2=80=99ll be Jason Kidd with a=20 jumper.

Beasley gets some of that as well. For = example: He=20 could be a more athletic Elton Brand or Carlos = Boozer.

With=20 Beasley, there also is a negative analogy to a former No. 1 = pick=20 with similar skills.

=E2=80=9CThey say [I=E2=80=99m] = the next Derrick=20 Coleman,=E2=80=9D Beasley said.

Beasley hopes the = unfavorable reviews=20 do not affect the Bulls=E2=80=99 choice Thursday night, when = they decide=20 whether to spend the No. 1 pick on Beasley or = Rose.

When the=20 New Jersey Nets drafted Coleman out of Syracuse in 1990, = they=20 thought they were getting someone who would revolutionize = the power=20 forward position.

Coleman would be a low-post scoring = force=20 and a reliable outside shooter in a sculpted, 6-foot-10=20 package.

Coleman averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds = in=20 consecutive seasons with the Nets, making one All-Star Game. = But he=20 never helped New Jersey win a playoff series before the Nets = traded=20 him to Philadelphia.

He was a role player for the = remainder=20 of his 15-season career.

Worse, Coleman clashed with = coaches,=20 alienated teammates and got into trouble with the law. = Critics=20 called him a clubhouse cancer.

Beasley has been in = trouble=20 off the court, too. It was mostly normal teen high jinks, = such as=20 =E2=80=9Ctagging=E2=80=9D his high school = headmaster=E2=80=99s car, but he wonders whether=20 people view him as a = goof-off.

=E2=80=9CThere=E2=80=99s nobody who=E2=80=99s going to=20 play harder,=E2=80=9D Beasley said. =E2=80=9CI want to be = the best there ever was,=20 plain and simple.=E2=80=9D

Coleman also seems to be = doing good work=20 off the court these days. He is a developer and entrepreneur = in his=20 childhood neighborhood in Detroit, recently telling the = Detroit Free=20 Press he will spend up to $6 million to rejuvenate the=20 area.

He also touts his Derrick Coleman Foundation, = which he=20 describes as a nonprofit for providing education, health and = recreation programs for Detroit = kids.

=E2=80=9CThere=E2=80=99s no reason for=20 people to compare him to me,=E2=80=9D Coleman said. = =E2=80=9CBut he can take steps=20 to make sure he doesn=E2=80=99t end up with some of the same = issues.=E2=80=9D

Coleman said early conflicts with = his first NBA=20 coach, Bill Fitch, stuck him with a reputation he could not = shake.=20 He said Beasley should find a reliable mentor, someone who = knows the=20 NBA, to help keep his image in = check.

=E2=80=9CYou=E2=80=99re under the=20 microscope, and everything you do has consequences,=E2=80=9D = Coleman said.=20 =E2=80=9CI didn=E2=80=99t realize that at = first.=E2=80=9D

Beasley is not sure he=20 needs such help. He said his play and his personality will = work in=20 his favor.

=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m not really a serious = person,=E2=80=9D Beasley said.=20 =E2=80=9CI do like to have fun. But I know when to turn it = off. I=E2=80=99m not=20 going to be pulling guys=E2=80=99 shorts down during = games.=E2=80=9D

Rose=20 comes across as more humble and serious, which might be why = he has=20 avoided being likened to, say, Stephon Marbury. Another = point guard=20 who turned pro after one season and could score, like Rose, = Marbury=20 these days is cited as an example of what is wrong with the=20 NBA.

=E2=80=9C[Rose] deserves all the praise = he=E2=80=99s getting,=E2=80=9D Beasley=20 said. =E2=80=9CI just feel like people are a little more = eager to find a=20 downside with me. Oh well.=E2=80=9D

The=20 following are comments from the readers. In no way do they = represent=20 the view of KCChronicle.com or Shaw Newspapers. =

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