Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley, left, and coach Frank Martin listen to questions at a news conference. Beasley announced his decision to enter the NBA Draft in April.

There’s a great debate raging not only in the city of Chicago, but around the country as Thursday’s 2008 NBA Draft nears.

That is … which player should be tapped No. 1 overall by the NBA’s Bulls? Should it be guard Derrick Rose or forward Michael Beasley?

Perhaps there’s nobody better to ask than a man who coached against both players – Kansas University’s Bill Self.

His Jayhawks went 1-1 against Beasley’s Kansas State Wildcats and 1-0 versus Rose’s Memphis Tigers.

“I think Beasley is the best player,” Self said, “but I think Rose will be picked first.”

Self explained his reasoning.

“In large part because it’s Chicago,” Self said of the Bulls wanting to draft a hometown hero out of Simeon High of the city’s Public League. “Secondly, if you look at great NBA teams over time, you either need somebody to anchor it (at center) or a great point guard.

“Michael’s teams won without either one of those because it was Michael,” Self added of small forward Michael Jordan’s six NBA championship Bulls teams. “Go back to Olajuwon (center Hakeem, Rockets), Duncan (center Tim, Spurs), the Lakers (guard Magic Johnson, center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) … they either had a great ‘big’ or point (guard) or both. Those are the two hardest positions to get. I have to believe they’ll take Rose.”

Beasley is not considered a franchise center. His official NBA measurement is 6-81â4 in shoes, meaning he’ll play power forward or small forward in the NBA.

Beasley did the most damage against the Jayhawks.

He scored 25 points off 9-of-18 shooting, including four of four three-pointers, and grabbed six rebounds in KSU’s 84-75 victory over KU in Manhattan. He had 39 points off 11-of-23 shooting (four of seven threes) with 11 rebounds in the Jayhawks’ 88-74 win in Allen Fieldhouse. He made 13 of 16 free throws in that second contest.

Rose, who officially measures 6-21â2, scored 18 points off 7-of-17 shooting, including one of six threes, in KU’s 75-68 national title victory over Memphis. Rose also had six rebounds, eight assists and five turnovers in that game.

“I’d take Beasley in a heartbeat as a talent,” Self said without hesitating, asked which player he would rather coach in college. “That does not mean anything at the next level. You look at the next 15 years of a guy’s career, you want to have a great point guard. You want a great big man.

“Beasley is hard to guard without question,” added Self, who lost sleep trying to put together game plans for Beasley. “But that doesn’t mean anything. Jason Kidd (guard) was not as hard to guard as Grant Hill (forward) coming out either. Grant Hill had a great career, but it turned out Jason Kidd was a pretty good point guard over time.

“Rose’s job is not to score. His job is to win and he’s pretty good at that.”

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Jayhawks in Portland: KU’s Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers had impressive workouts with the Portland Trailblazers on Saturday.

“Brandon looked very good,” Blazers’ general manager Kevin Pritchard, a former Kansas guard, told oregonlive.com. “Mario is an impressive shooter.”

He was asked if Chalmers could play the point in the NBA.

“That’s the question,” Pritchard said. “He showed some point guard skills out here.”

Of Rush, he said: “He is ready-made for the NBA right now. He can help a team right now. He can shoot it and defend. He’s a spot up shooter, which every team needs. He can defend threes, twos, maybe even point guards.”

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KU’s Fab Five: Self said he expected five Jayhawks to be selected in the draft. First round locks are Rush, Chalmers and Darrell Arthur. Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson could go in Round Two with Russell Robinson generally regarded as somebody who will not be drafted.

Here’s how some experts rank the KU players heading into the final days before the draft, which will be held in New York. KU’s Arthur and Rush will attend draft proceedings at Madison Square Garden.

Draftexpress.com: Brandon Rush, No. 17 first round, Toronto; Darrell Arthur, No. 18 first round, Washington; Mario Chalmers, No. 27 first round, New Orleans; Sasha Kaun, No. 22 second round, Miami; Darnell Jackson, No. 27 second round, San Antonio.

NBAdraft.net: Arthur, No. 16 first round, Philadelphia; Chalmers, No. 20 first round, Denver; Rush, No. 22 first round, Orlando. Jackson and Kaun undrafted.

Sportsillustrated.cnn.com: Rush, No. 15 first round, Phoenix; Arthur, No. 27 first round, New Orleans. No second round predictions.

RealGM.com: Arthur, No. 14 first round, Golden State; Chalmers, No. 20 first round, Denver; Rush, No. 23 first round, Utah; Jackson, No. 24 second round, Houston; Kaun, last pick of second round, Boston.

Sportingnews.com: Rush, No. 16 first round, Philadelphia; Arthur, No. 18 first round, Washington; Chalmers No. 26 first round, San Antonio. No second round predictions.

ESPN’s Chad Ford: Rush, No. 13 first round, Portland; Arthur, No. 18 first round, Washington; Chalmers, No. 26, first round, San Antonio. No second round predictions.

NBC.com: Arthur, No. 9 first round, Charlotte; Rush, No. 23 first round, Seattle; Chalmers, No. 27 first round, San Antonio. No second round predictions.

CBSsportsline.com’s Kenny Eggers: Rush, No. 17 first round, Toronto; Arthur, No. 18 first round, Washington; Chalmers, No. 27 first round, New Orleans. No second round predictions.

CBSsportsline.com’s Jeff Reynolds: Arthur, No. 15 first round, Phoenix; Rush No. 16 first-round, Philadelphia; Chalmers, No. 29 first round, Detroit. No second round predictions.

Foxsports.com: Arthur, No. 16 first round, Philadelphia; Chalmers, No. 20 first round, Denver; Rush, No. 22 first round, Orlando. No second round predictions.