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2008 NCAA Tournament
Full video coverage of the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2008 NCAA Tournament
KU vs. Davidson
Detroit — Understandable suspicion greeted Brandon Rush in his first days as a student-athlete at Kansas University.
For one thing, there was the issue of his tangled high school transcripts. He had been to so many schools, including one that folded and another known more for X's and O's than ABC's. The NCAA Clearinghouse was having trouble making sense of it all. The agonizing drama of waiting to hear word on Rush's status dragged into the school year.
And then there was the issue of his last name. JaRon Rush didn't win any points by referring to former KU coach Roy Williams as "Roy," in a quote in which the player questioned the coach's style. Williams dropped him as a recruit. Strike 1.
Kareem Rush had starred at Missouri, of all places. Strike 2.
Fears arose that because Rush spent a year at Mount Zion Academy in North Carolina - a classic roll-out-the-ball program - he never would buy into the team concept, never would play a lick of defense. He quickly dispelled such fears and was eager to improve. Still, Rush's popularity lagged behind his productivity because the fear he would be a one-and-done player lingered. In the locker room after the loss to Bradley, Rush said he would return. But for how long? One more year. After his sophomore season, he declared for the NBA Draft without hiring an agent and was projected to be taken late in the first round. Then his knee gave out during a pickup basketball game.
"I thought it was a bad knee sprain or something like that," Rush said. "I went to the ground and popped right back up, ran right back on the court and started playing a little bit more. Then it started swelling up real big. When they told me it was an ACL, I was like, 'Why me? Why did this happen to me, especially at this time?'"
He'll re-enter the draft this year. His coach, Bill Self, indicated as much during the Big 12 tournament, saying he was leaving last year so there's no reason to believe he won't this year. It's no longer an issue, and Rush has the class not to comment on it now, when KU is one victory away from the Final Four for the third time in Self's five years at Kansas.
Asked if he expects to go in about the same spot in the draft as he was projected a year ago, Rush started to answer by saying, "I hope ... "
Then he caught himself and said, "I don't know. I really don't know."
Then he smiled and said, "You tried to catch me there."
He'll go to the NBA with everybody's blessings. He worked hard to bring his knee back to life.
"I think I'm pretty much the exact same guy I was last year, being able to attack the rim, being able to jump like I used to," he said. "One thing I'm lacking right now is the lateral movement on the defensive end. I still don't have that back yet."
He's close to having it. And he's close to the Final Four for the second year in a row. When he steps off the plane at Forbes Field Airport in Topeka today, probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 10:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., a nice ovation from hard-core supporters will greet him. A half-hour later, when he steps off the bus at Allen Fieldhouse, he'll receive another spirited one. He has earned them.
UPDATED: 2008-09 Kansas Men's Basketball: Past, Present and Future March 11, 2009
Sherron Collins: One-on-One November 3, 2008
KU trumpets its triumphs with new I-70 turnpike signs July 2, 2008
Jayhawks up for ESPY honors July 1, 2008
Bill Self at the White House June 3, 2008
Comments
goldlighting (anonymous) says…
Hopefully HCBS will not have to tell him to be aggressive, I would think a potential national championship would be all the motivation he would need.
Hawklin (anonymous) says…
Where did the story about popularity go? How would Keegan know anyways?
crooner (anonymous) says…
Why does everyone harp on Rush's HS-hopping? 4 in 5 years, I believe. No one EVER made a big deal of Downs' 7 high schools in 4 years.
beerhawk (anonymous) says…
Yea, because Downs was an idiot and left anyways.
dagger108 (anonymous) says…
I'd offer that Brandon's popularity has improved of late when he has started to be aggressive, to be a primetime player, to realize that being PT is as much about assists and rebounds as it is about scoring.
Fortunately, at least the end of the road is finally becoming the motivator for the whole team to play up to its potential. It is in sight, and their effort will determine how many more times they get to play together.
JayViking (anonymous) says…
I was thinking more ..."Productivity caught up to his popularity" ?
milehighhawk (anonymous) says…
Has Bill Mayer bothered to read this column?
I distinctly recall his ugly, vitriolic article at the beginning of the year where he said that Rush was selfish for "having KU pay his own medical bills" and that he would be worthless to the team this year.
I'm certain that Mayer's memory of the column will be filtered through rose-tinted glasses, similar to his memories of "the good old days."
FlaHawk (anonymous) says…
Rush may be a 1st rounder, but NOT a lottery pick. He was not going to make it last year and I doubt he will improve his chances, unless the Hawks win it all and leads the team!
Curry can score on him anytime he wants. Rush is just too slow. With a 6 inch advantage, it is negated my Curry's range and quickness.
Dr_Hawkenstein (anonymous) says…
rush is a f-ing joke! sure he can score 20 points when we are winning by 30 but when we really need a 3 or we are behing he folds like a girlscout tent. we are going to lose to UNC and rush is going to score 4 points.
actorman (anonymous) says…
Here here, milehigh. I thought about that article too. Anyone with an IQ over 50 knew at the time that Mayer was being a complete idiot.
And speaking of complete idiots, let me present dr. Hawkenstein. Rush had an off night shooting. It happens. But there were plenty of shots that just missed, that were around the rim and off or halfway down. If he makes even a couple of those threes, then he had a good game. Sometimes shots just don't go down. But mark my words, he will be just fine against UNC. In fact, the whole team will play much better than they did today. I'm not sure if they'll win because UNC is damn good, but I think they'll play a lot better. And I'll bet Rush has at least 15 points.
mr_lawrence (anonymous) says…
Fla Hawk and Dr. Hawkenstein, you need to back up now and think about what you've said. Rush has led our team in scoring for three years now, helped us to 3 conference titles and 3 conference tourney titles, hit clutch shots in many pressure-packed games, and overall represented our beloved university very well. So before you start calling out a college kid on his guts or the timeliness of his scores, you'd better shut the hell up and think. Now why don't you get behind this team and be glad that we're a serious contender in the best Final Four ever!!!
hawkandtigerfan (anonymous) says…
I think it would get to Roy Williams way more emotionally if KU fans gave him a standing ovation at the game on Saturday. I would have a hard time doing it, but I think it would choke Roy up, which might be better than pissing him off by booing him. Just an idea, maybe not a good one, but what does everybody else thing about that?
pmohr13 (anonymous) says…
I think that we should give him a standing ovation because that would show class and also show that we don't care anymore that he left.
actorman (anonymous) says…
I agree on both counts. And I'll add a third: we should give him a standing ovation as appreciation for 15 tremendous years. Even though his leaving was handled horribly, he still made a tremendous contribution to KU history and deserves to be given credit for it. That combined with the two reasons above makes me hope that KU fans will do that at the Final Four. (Sorry I won't be there to do it myself.)
camflan (Camron Flanders) says…
Rush is one of the most over-hyped players in ku bball. At times, he shows us the true talent he has, but it seems he underperforms most of the time.Posted by JayViking (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 12:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)I was thinking more ..."Productivity caught up to his popularity" ?exactly.