Thibodeau, Rose earn NBA's March accolades

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Friday, April 1, 2011
Posted: 4:05 p.m.Updated 7:31 p.m.

By Aggrey Sam
CSNChicago.com

AUBURN HILLS, MICH.--With the exception of All-Star point guard Derrick Rose, the Bulls haven't garnered much in the way of individual accolades this season. As the NBA regular season winds down, however, that may be about to change.

Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau was named the Eastern Conference coach of the month for March, during which the Bulls moved up to first place in the East, due to a 13-3 record under the guidance of the first-year coach.

Ironically, one of Thibodeau's predecessors with the Bulls, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, was awarded the honor in the Western Conference. It was the second time this season Thibodeau received the award after earning the honor for January.

Two Bulls players, Luol Deng and Kyle Korver, also received recognition recently.

Deng was named the Central Division nominee for the 2010-11 NBA Sportsmanship Award. Deng previously won the award--named after the top executive of the Bulls' opponent Friday night, Detroit Pistons Hall of Famer Joe Dumars--following the 2006-07 season.

Korver was named a nominee for the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, awarded by the Professional Basketball Writers Association (PBWA). Korver, whose charitable foundation has put on community events for youth in Chicago, as well as his previous NBA stops of Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Omaha, Neb., where he attended college.

Meanwhile, Rose is also up for a PBWA honor: The Magic Johnson Award, which is awarded to "the player who best combines excellence on the court with cooperation with the media and fans."

Rose named Player of the Month

Derrick Rose was named the NBAs Eastern Conference player of the month for March, the league announced Friday.

Rose, who led the Bulls to a 13-3 record in March, notched his career high in assists with 17 in a win at Milwaukee on March 26 and tied his high scoring mark with 42 in a loss at Indiana on March 18. He also set career marks in three-pointers made with six in a win at Atlanta on March 22 and in free throws made and attempted with 18 and 21, respectively, in the aforementioned Indiana loss.

Rose is averaging 25 points per game (the seventh-highest number in the NBA) and 7.9 assists per game (ranked 10th in the league) this season. The third-year All-Star was also the awards recipient in November.

Kobe Bryant of the Lakers was named the Western Conference player of the month

Aggrey Sam is CSNChicago.com's Bulls Insider. Follow him @CSNBullsInsider on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bulls information and his take on the team, the NBA and much more.

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