Fire select dynamic Bone with 13th pick

Fire technical director Frank Klopas said before Thursday's MLS SuperDraft that he planned to take the best player available when the 13th overall pick came around, and he didn't put much stock in last weekend's player combine.

Klopas stuck to that plan Thursday.

The Fire used its top pick to select Wake Forest midfielder Corben Bone. He had been expected to go as high as fourth but fell lower in the draft due to a poor combine.

Klopas described Bone, 21, as a very dynamic play who can beat players off the dribble. He'll likely play wide in the midfield or as a second forward. Bone had 15 goals and 38 assists in three seasons at Wake Forest, where he was a two-time All-America and a Hermann Trophy finalist.

"We didn't believe that he was going to drop to where he did," Klopas said. "We're very excited to have him."

"I've heard a lot of good things about the team, the city and the coach," Bone said, adding he looks forward to playing with established veterans like Brian McBride. "I'm happy that I actually fell because Chicago is a good place to be."

Bone described himself as an exciting, attack-minded player, a style that matches the style new coach Carlos de los Cobos laid out for the team when he was introduced Monday.

"I like combining with my teammates and I like working hard defensively," he said.

Klopas selected Bone over Harvard forward Andre Akpan, who was projected as high as fifth overall but slipped to the second round due to a poor combine. Akpan, who played in the Fire's youth development program, went 22nd to Colorado.

In the second round the Fire picked up defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe, the UConn defender many league followers expected the Fire to take in the first round, and Maryland midfielder Drew Yates.

Defender Steven Kinney and U-20 goalkeeper Sean Johnson rounded out the Fire's draft.

"We rated (Watson-Siriboe) high in the draft ... and we're just glad that he was there, and also the kid Steven Kinney," Klopas said. "He's a good, solid player."

Like Bone, Johnson is a Generation adidas player, meaning his salary won't count against the league's salary cap. Johnson will be given time to learn and develop behind veteran goalkeeper Jon Busch.

Naperville native Michael Stephens was the top local selection. The UCLA midfielder was the final pick of the first round, going to the Los Angeles Galaxy. Aurora's Chris Schuler went to MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake in the third round.