(A/P)
With the 26th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft the Chicago Bulls select reigning Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, Taj Gibson.
In Gibson, the Bulls are getting a hard-nosed workhorse who has a defensive presence on the low block as well as off the glass. Taj joins a Bulls cast that already includes the 2008 number one overall draft pick Derrick Rose, guard-forward Luol Deng, as well as the athletic front line of Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah.
The Bulls are incredibly stacked at the front-court positions with Thomas, Noah, and Brad Miller getting most of the attention at power-forward and center, so it remains to be seen how much playing time Gibson will get in his first year with the Bulls. That being said, a basketball team can never have too much defense and rebounding, two things that Gibson does very well.
Gibson's ability to take a team on his back and lead them to victory was no more evident than it was in the first-round NCAA Tournament match up against Boston College this past season. In that one game alone, Gibson put himself on the map with a performance of the ages, racking up an astonishing 24 points on 10 of 10 shooting while also contributing 3 blocks and half a dozen rebounds enroute to the USC upset.
Over his three-year collegiate career, Gibson finished with averages of 12.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg, as well as an impressive 2.4 bpg. His ferocity and knack for defense earned Gibson illustrious honors as not only the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, but also as second team All-Pac-10 and Pac-10 All-Defensive Team.
Stay tuned for more NBA Draft news regarding your USC Trojans.
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