CHICAGO - The United Center will always have a special place in the heart of Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr. It was the first NBA arena he called home.
Chicago took Mason out of Virginia in the second round of the 2002 draft. Originally projected to go in the middle of the first round, Mason separated his right shoulder in predraft workouts and slid to No. 31 overall. Before Saturday's game against the Bulls, Mason recalled a tense draft day that year. He had expected to go to Indiana with the 14th pick.
"It got to 15, 20, 25, 30," Mason said. "Then it got to the Bulls (at 31). If the Bulls didn't take me, I didn't know what was going to happen."
There are other Spurs with more solid claims to Chicago roots. Michael Finley was born and raised in the suburb of Melrose Park. As a teenager, Tony Parker spent summers in Chicago, where his father lived.
Still, Mason will not soon forget the place that gave him his NBA start.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Mason's background as a passed-over player is part of what attracted the Spurs to him during the summer's free-agent period.
"When somebody makes it who has been picked in the 40s and 50s, who didn't get much respect - when those guys make it, it's satisfying," Popovich said. "We purposefully try to find those guys, because they're not full of themselves, and they feel like they have something to prove."
However, Mason's semi-homecoming Saturday did not go quite as planned. He scored four points and made just 1 of 7 shots, though the Spurs won 92-87.
See you soon? Saturday's game marked the final time George Hill played against rookie counterpart Derrick Rose this season. Hill is now hoping to play with him.
Hill is holding out hope for an invitation to the rookie-sophomore game to be held All-Star Weekend in Phoenix.
Rose, the top pick in the June draft, already is virtually assured a spot, having averaged 16.9 points and 6.3 assists before Saturday's game. Hill has a chance to join him.
"I'd love to play with him," said Hill, picked 25 spots after Rose. "I'd love to be a part of that whole thing."
Crash course for Croshere: Two hours before tipoff, newly signed forward Austin Croshere was on the floor at the United Center, running through the Spurs' offense with Hill and three team staffers.
It was hardly the optimal classroom environment. They had to share the court with a collection of overweight male dancers shimmying to The Romantics' "What I Like About You."
Still, with time running short to learn his new team's schemes, Croshere said he found the workout beneficial.
"There are some minor differences (in the system), but it's still just Basketball," said Croshere, signed Friday to a 10-day contract. "They key is just to pick up what they're doing as quickly as I can."
