NORTHBROOK, Ill. — Derrick Rose, who led his hometown Bulls to the playoffs and restored hope to a franchise in disarray, was the runaway pick as the NBA's rookie of the year.

Rose became the third Bulls player to win the award yesterday, joining Michael Jordan and Elton Brand. He received 111 first-place votes and 574 points from a national panel of sports writers and broadcasters; runner-up O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies received five first-place votes and 127 points.

"When I first came into the season, my biggest thing was to get this award," Rose said. "I was telling you all that I didn't care, but I did. You really do want this award."

Rose's selection was hardly a surprise, after the No. 1 overall draft pick led all rookies with 6.3 assists per game and was second in scoring average at 16.8, and established himself as the franchise's first true cornerstone since Jordan.

"I think there are very few people in the NBA who could do what he did this year," teammate Joakim Noah said. "You tell me another No. 1 pick who got to the playoffs in their hometown, especially in a big city with so many distractions and so many things going on."

WIZARDS

SAUNDERS IS COACH

Flip Saunders officially has the job on the Washington Wizards' bench, complete with an $18 million, four-year contract and the task of picking up the pieces from one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

The Wizards said yesterday that Saunders will be their new coach.

Saunders and the Wizards reached an oral agreement more than a week ago, and the 54-year-old coach signed the deal Tuesday night.

Saunders will be formally introduced at a news conference today.

Saunders succeeds interim coach Ed Tapscott, who finished the season when Eddie Jordan was fired after a 1-10 start