NEW YORK — The people's choice, his peer's pick — who knows, maybe even the Heat's No. 1 selection on Thursday night — entered a Manhattan ballroom Wednesday afternoon, straight from the campus in Manhattan, Kan., whispering to himself, "You're not in Kansas anymore, Toto."

Michael Beasley saw the media crowd parting to offer a path to his NBA-assigned interview table. "Look, it's like I'm Moses before the Red Sea," he said.

"What're you doing Thursday night?" he asked across to fellow draftee Kevin Love.

"Um, well ..."

"Oh, right, there's the draft thing," he said.

That's the character issue with Michael Beasley, folks.

He's a character.

O.J. Mayo sat at a table being very personable, very mature and very, very polite in saying, "Yes sir," and "No sir," to questions. Even when he related how at his last-minute workout in Miami on Tuesday he thought rookie Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was, "the team manager, he looked so young," he turned it into a joke on himself.

Derrick Rose sat at another table, very personable, very mature and very, very polite in saying all the good and scripted things. He'll be happy wherever he goes. He'd pick Beasley first. He'd love to stay home in Chicago. No, he didn't mean to disrespect the Heat by saying that.

Meanwhile, Beasley was the live wire in the room. No, he hasn't talked with Dwyane Wade, because, "I'm not in Dwyane's Fave 5." He related his favorite off-court activity in college as, "Playing video games."

When a reporter got lost in a question relating him to Seattle's Kevin Durant, and called Beasley "Kevin," he cupped his hand over a microphone.

"He called me Kevin," he whispered.

"What?" the reporter said.

"Nothing, nothing, proceed," he said.

He's fun. And funny. And all of 19. And you can see why lockstep-serious Pat Riley might be gritting his teeth at possibly having to take this pick. You know how many funny men the Heat has had in Riley's reign?

Shaquille O'Neal.

That's it. That would have been the migraine of all migraines if Shaq didn't sell out the arena for four years and bring a championship. Well, it was a migraine anyhow considering he ultimately quit after winning the ring.

Riley trusts warriors like Alonzo Mourning, street kings like Tim Hardaway, hungry types like Wade. If he's available, Beasley can't be passed because of his talent. He just can't.

But amid the smiles and the jokes, it must've been music to the Heat's ear when they played a trivia game over lunch at Prime 112 restaurant in South Beach ("I got a cheeseburger thiiiiiissss big," Beasley said, spreading hands in a circle.)

One question: Who was the No. 1 pick in the 1998 draft?

"I got it," Beasley said. "Michael Olowokandi."

So he follows the game, at least.

"(Erik) Spoelstra didn't get it," Beasley said. "No one else got it."

Riley? "He didn't play."

The fuddy-duddy.

No one knows what the Heat is doing. But you can take a guess or two.

Theory I: Beasley is Riley's hands-down choice. The Heat keeps throwing off the scent by suggesting through back channels (never on the record) they have issues with him. That's why they brought in Mayo on Tuesday. Everything supports Chicago's decision for Rose with the first pick, thus leaving Beasley.

Theory II: It really doesn't like Beasley's game (no chance). It really thinks Mayo can play point guard (who cares when Wade's in the same backcourt?) It even thinks Jerryd Bayless could be The One (come on.).

As you can see, Theory I sounds smarter to me. But there's some risk here if you can't smile. There probably will be some growing pains. The good news: He's 19 and can be a franchise player for 15 years. The bad news: He's 19.

Consider three answers to this question: Where will you be in five years?

Mayo: "I'll be one of the great players in the league and have an Olympic gold medal around my neck from London."

Rose: "I'd love to be mentioned in the same group with Kobe, LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce ..."

Beasley: "Five years? I'll be 24. That's starting to get old."

So young. So loose. So 19. There's the character flaw: He's a character. But so what? His talent is all grown up. Maybe Thursday night we see if the Heat agrees.