Teague won't be a Rose clone, but should stand out on his own merits

Nobody truly expects Marquis Teague to step into the Bulls lineup and fill Derrick Roses shoes while the All-Star point guard recovers from ACL surgery, but the No. 29 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft does share some undeniable similarities with his fellow John Calipari protg. That said, neither his future coach or the man who pulled the trigger on drafting him wants to burden the Indianapolis native as he begins his NBA career.
Its going to take a number of guys to make up for the load that we miss while Derricks out, said Bulls general manager Gar Forman from the Berto Center following Teagues selection. Point guard is one of the positions we need to address as we go into free agency and thats something well look at starting on Sunday.
Hes a guy, as a freshman, was the starting point guard, playing with five other NBA players and helped lead Kentucky to a national championship. Hes a guy our scouting staff has watched and followed since high school, continued Forman, who repeatedly cited Teagues winning background, as he won a national title at the University of Kentucky, which had six players drafted Thursday. "What we feel he gives us is another guy that can break defenses down and get into the paint, and can make plays, both for himself and for others. Everybody said hes very, very competitive, hes a winner and thats something that you guys know over the years, weve stressed.
Hes got great speed and quickness, and we think, a very, very high ceiling and really thought he was a value.
Chimed in Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau: Hes going to make a big adjustment going from college to the pros. The first part is learning how to be a pro and then its going to be based on performance, how he does. He has to learn our system, learn the league and then well see where we are. Its not a no or a yes. The first year you always look for a player to come in and learn the system, the league, and if they show they can handle the pressure of playing then hell play.
I hate to do compare Teague to Rose or his older brother, Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague. The thing about comparing him to Derrick or Jeff, hes his own player. Hes got different strengths than his brother, different than Derrick, hes a very good player, did a great job of running his team. There was a lot of pressure on that team all year long. They responded well and met every challenge and so that was a big plus, so were going to look at his strengths, were going to work with him to get in here as soon as possible. I think its important for him to have a big summer here, then thats the first step, he continued. The fact that hes been in a number of big games, I think, is important. He got better and better as the season went along. His ability to push the ball, get into transition, I think is a big plus. I think we can take advantage of that.
Its a big step from going to college to the pro gamethe fact that hes been around the pro game helps, but theres a big learning curve for him. Hes got to learn our system, hes got to learn our players, but as Gar mentioned, he made great progress throughout the course of last season and so, were expecting him to do the same thing here.
Teague was a scoring-oriented point guard during his prep career in Indiana, but functioned as more of a distributor at Kentucky. Although he went through some erratic moments early in his freshman campaign, he persevered to become a steadier floor general and while Thibodeau shies away from comparisons, hes regarded as being ahead of his brother at the same stage and his overall talent made selecting him an easy decision for the Bulls, even with players projected to land in Chicagosuch as Vanderbilts Jeff Taylor, Kansas Tyshawn Taylor, Memphis Will Barton and Teagues teammate, Doron Lamb; according to a source, they had zeroed in on another Vanderbilt player, sharpshooter John Jenkins, but he was picked by the Hawks at No. 23on the board.
One of the things that impressed about Marquis, if you followed him last year when he came in, he still had that scorers mentality to him and he really progressed throughout the year. You could almost see the progress, game by game, to where, about halfway through the year and to the end of the season, he really bought into what they were doing and he was a distributor, and was making plays for others. Again, we think hes a guy who can penetrate defenses and get into the point and make plays, said Forman. Hes young and there will be a period of time where hell have to develop and make strides, but we certainly feel as a group and I feel, that hes got a high ceiling and a lot of potential for down the road.
Hes an excellent athlete and even in the combine, he tested among the top two or three athletes in the combine. When you see him play, you see the speed and quickness, and jumping ability that he has, he continued. Like any freshman, he made a lot of strides defensively throughout the year. We were both on the phone with Coach Cal Calipari today and thats one of the things he stressed, that he made a lot of strides defensively and he got to the point where he was pressuring the ball and not allowing penetration. Hes 6-2, 6-2 12, but extremely long arms. Hes got length, hes got speed and quickness, so hes certainly got the tools to be a great defender.
Part of the reason the Bulls are pleased with the selection of Teague is that he fits their philosophy of choosing the best player available on the board, although he didnt quite fit what they were looking for going into the draft. Teagues overall talent made selecting him an easy decision for the Bulls, even with players projected to land in Chicagosuch as Vanderbilts Jeff Taylor, Kansas Tyshawn Taylor, Memphis Will Barton and Teagues teammate, Doron Lamb; according to a source, they had zeroed in on another Vanderbilt player, sharpshooter John Jenkins, but he was picked by the Hawks at No. 23on the board.
Our philosophy is and will continue to be, if two guys are comparable and one guy can fit more of a need, then we may go that way, but were going to go with the best talent thats available that we think will fit with our system and the culture thats been created here, so we obviously we think hes a talent and we think hell fit the culture and the system thats in place here, Forman explained. We thought of what was left on the board, that he was the best prospect left on the board and in a scenario where, going forward, the next three, four, five years were going to have a need there, needs at several places. But again we were going to draft the best player. We werent going to draft for a specific need. Draft the best prospect that was left.