June 13: Camping with…Aaron Miles and Mike Lee
After the second public scrimmage of the summer ended Wednesday afternoon, Kansas University junior guard Brandon Rush quietly slipped back on his uncomfortable-looking knee brace, glad-handed some fans and tiny tot campers and slowly sauntered back to his on-campus apartment.
When not in rehab, that’s how the summer has been so far for Rush – slow and quiet. As he recovers from a torn ACL in his right knee, his teammates have looked to be in prime shape during the two showcases for campers and fans. One Jayhawk who has stood out is incoming freshman Tyrel Reed. The Burlington product looks like he could make a serious push for playing time in his first season and appears to have no problem fitting in with the holdovers from a year ago.
Both took time to speak with KUSports.com editor Ryan Greene after Wednesday’s scrimmage, an annual highlight of Bill Self’s summer basketball camps, in the Horejsi Center.
Camping with Brandon Rush
Ryan Greene: Have you started rehab yet?
Brandon Rush: Yeah, I started rehab the day after (the surgery).
RG: They say that surgery’s the easy part and rehab’s when it gets tough. Have you felt that so far?
BR: This past week has been really tough. It ain’t been nothing that can kill you or anything. It’s been tough though, I’m not gonna lie about that.
RG: What’s been the most strenuous thing that they’ve had you doing so far?
BR: Just starting to get my muscles back in my quad and my hamstrings. That was gone, but they’ve been trying to get that back for like the last week.
RG: Has it set in that you’re back here for another year? Before it happened, you were picking up some steam going into the draft. And now, is it kind of set in and you’ve been able to refocus on being back here for another year?
BR: Being back here and just being ready for the season, that’s my main goal right now, trying to get prepared for the season.
RG: Is it hard to think of what might have happened had you not got hurt?
BR: Yeah, it’s kind of hard to think that, because there ain’t no telling what could have happened during like the draft camp and during the workouts. But I’m glad I came back here to get another great experience at KU.
RG: What’s been the hardest part since the injury?
BR: I don’t know, just staying with a good attitude about things. Like when I first heard I did it, I was upset, and I didn’t talk to nobody all day, went in my little corner and balled up and that was about it.
RG: What’s been the best way to keep your spirits up?
BR: My teammates have been helping me out a lot. My roommate (Russell Robinson), Mario, Shady, all of them, they’ve been behind me 100 percent.
RG: What’s the best way to kill time now for you?
BR: I go to rehab twice a day, I shoot now when I’m in the chair, do some dribbling drills, and that’s about it for me.
RG: Have you opened up a calendar and said ‘This is when I want to be back’?
BR: No I haven’t.
RG: With scrimmages going on, having to sit on the side, is it kind of tough?
BR: Yeah, it’s kind of tough to watch. Like when they play pickup at night, I don’t ever go. It’s really tough for me to watch them play right now. But things with campers right now, I can get into it. I was coaching over here for awhile, that’s why the blue team won over here. They had a great coach. Things like that are fun, but when there’s nobody around and it’s just the guys that are playing, it gets to me a little bit.
RG: So what do you do when they’re out here?
BR: I’m either in rehab or I’m just in my room.
Camping with Tyrel Reed
Ryan Greene: You’ve definitely left an impression with some fans over the first couple of scrimmages. Do you feel like you’ve settled in here over your first couple of weeks?
Tyrel Reed: A little bit. It’s taken a little while just adjusting to the speed of the game and everything. But I love it here and I feel like we’re going to be really good next year.
RG: Well what’s been easier: Settling in as a player or as a college student?
TR: I think, I mean, it’s kind of weird being on your own and college life and everything, but I’ve been playing with the guys for quite awhile, so I’ve known them real well. We’re meshing great, and just with some time, it’ll be a lot better.
RG: What’s the best thing about being here so far?
TR: Just playing basketball all the time against these great players. Everyone on the team is so good at every position. And just getting better everyday, we’re all working hard in our conditioning and everything like that.
RG: Where do you think you’ve set in right now? If they were to put together a rotation right now, do you feel you’ve set yourself up for some playing time next year over these first couple of weeks?
TR: I’m not really sure about the playing time and everything. I’m just gonna come out everyday and work as hard as I can to make the players better, and I know they’re going to make me better everytime I step on the court. So I’ll just do whatever the coaches say, and wherever I fit in is what I’ll do.
RG: Have you had your ‘Welcome to Division-1 Basketball’ moment yet?
TR: Last week at the scrimmage I went to the basket for a layup and Darrell knocked me on my back pretty good, but I guess that’s the only big hit I’ve taken so far.
RG: Being really the only small-town guy on this team, do you feel like you’ve earned your teammates’ respect so far with what you’ve shown?
TR: I hope so. I’ve been playing as hard as I can everyday, and they don’t treat me any differently than anyone else, and I do the same to them.
RG: They don’t give you any lip about being from a small town, do they?
TR: Every now and then they’ve got to throw something in saying ‘your town is like half the size of my high school.’
RG: Since showing up, the comparison has been Kirk Hinrich. Small town, point guard, same size, same appearance. Have you heard enough of it already?
TR: It’s an awesome comparison to have. Kirk Hinrich is such a great player. I know he’ll be up at the Kansas City Pro-Am, and just anytime I can watch him play just try to learn something from him. He’s so good defensively, that’s his best part, and that’s a key to my game – I’ve got to get better defensively, so just watching him will help me a lot.
RG: Is that the guy you want to play against more than anybody at the Pro-Am?
TR: I don’t know. I want to play against them all. But I’m sure he’ll come up to KU sometime. I’ve met him before, he came and watched me play a game in Vegas last summer. I know him a little bit, he’s a great guy, and the comparison’s awesome to have.
