The Border War wouldn’t be the Border War without a skirmish or two, right?
Some controversy ensued Sunday after Missouri’s Kareem Rush said Kansas’ Kirk Hinrich “grabbed” his protective splint late in the Jayhawks’ 75-59 victory over the Tigers at Allen Fieldhouse.
“(Kirk) Hinrich came down and grabbed my brace. I don’t know if it was intended. He grabbed it and pulled it down,” said Rush, MU’s sophomore guard, who jogged off the court, all the way to MU’s locker room with two minutes left.
He returned shortly after and was on the bench for the conclusion of the game.
“It was kind of a shock getting hit. I was like, ‘Oh, I got hit.’ But I went back in the locker room and it quit hurting,” added Rush, who missed seven straight games before Sunday because of a left thumb injury.
Rush, who scored two points in 15 minutes, was asked if that alleged incident was another reason to “hate the Jayhawks?”
“Yeah, yeah, another reason. Another reason,” Rush said.
Hinrich, KU’s sophomore point guard, was appalled when told of Rush’s comments.
“Oh man … whatever,” Hinrich said, shaking his head.
“I don’t know what to say about that. He was crashing the boards. I was trying to box him out. I think I hit him with my wrist. I felt the plastic (splint). He was like, ‘Aaaah.’
“There’s no need to do anything on purpose. I didn’t do anything on purpose. I don’t know if he’s upset about the game or what,” Hinrich added. “I’m not going to give any bulletin board material. I’m just saying I didn’t touch it on purpose.”
