DEERFIELD, Ill. -- The future of the Chicago Bulls is Elton Brand.

With the first pick in Wednesday's draft, the six-time-champions-turned-cellar-dwellars chose Brand, the collegiate player of the year. It was Chicago's first-ever No. 1 pick, and he'll be the cornerstone as the Bulls try to rebuild their shattered dynasty.

"I was totally surprised," Brand said in a teleconference from Washington, D.C., where the draft was held. "It was a great feeling. I'm still totally elated right now."

The Bulls picked Brand after a late flirtation with Lamar Odom, whose "Yes, I'm in the draft. No, wait a minute, I'm not," flip-flop two weeks ago confused many teams. He blew off workouts and, until last weekend, no team but Vancouver had talked to him.

But Odom finally came to Chicago for a workout Tuesday night, and it looked as if his athletic skills might have won the Bulls over. Brand said he learned of Odom's late visit Wednesday morning, but stayed calm.

And when commissioner David Stern called his name, the forward from Duke sighed and a huge grin crossed his face.

"I still was very confident in my skills and work ethic and the way I played," Brand said. "I think the GMs and coaches were pleasantly surprised in my skills. I didn't get to showcase them all at Duke this year."

Say what? Brand, 20, was the first player ever to leave Duke as an underclassman. As a sophomore, he averaged 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds last to lead the Blue Devils into the NCAA championship game.

Initial concerns about his height were erased when he measured just over 6-8 without his sneakers. His arm span is huge; he's got a vertical reach of over nine feet, and his horizontal span is 7-5½. At 260 pounds, he can play defense with the best of them, but he has soft hands, too.

"He's just an outstanding person," general manager Jerry Krause said. "It was a very tough decision. We just came to a decision that we think Elton Brand is an outstanding player."

And he's going to have to play right away. Brand has been working out with a personal trainer and the Duke staff since he declared for the draft, and he knows how much is expected of him. After six championships in eight years, the Bulls finished 13-37 this year, the worst record in franchise history.

With no Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen or Dennis Rodman, the Bulls reached all kinds of new lowlights. Their .260 winning percentage was the lowest in franchise history, beating out the 1975-76 squad, which finished 24-58 with a .293 winning percentage.

Their average of 81.9 points was the lowest scoring average in NBA history since the inception of the shot clock. Entering this season, the lowest average was 87.4 points in 72 games by the Milwaukee Hawks in 1954-55, the season the clock was adopted.

That's going to change, Brand said.

"I'm definitely going to show some patience," Brand said. "Help rebuild the Chicago Bulls and get them back to where they should be."

The Bulls also had the 16th pick in the first round, and took Ron Artest from St. John's.

"I'm just so happy right now," Artest said, tears rolling down his cheeks.

The No. 1 pick is the highest the Bulls have had. They've had the No. 2 spot twice, taking David Greenwood in 1979 and Scott May three years earlier. They've had the third pick twice, also, using one of them to take Jordan in 1984.

Their last "important" pick was way back in 1989, when Chicago had the sixth pick and took Stacey King.