School has started and the entire Kansas basketball team is on campus preparing for the season, right? Not quite.
In one of the wackiest recruiting sagas this basketball junkie has ever witnessed, Kansas coach Bill Self may be adding one more piece to his rebuilding puzzle.
That piece could be Brandon Rush, sibling to the Rush brothers, JaRon and Kareem. Brandon Rush isn’t sure if he wants to attend school. So it isn’t a surprise that the first week of classes has come and gone and Brandon Rush is home in Kansas City, Mo., plotting out his future.
Brandon Rush, now 20, is waiting for the NCAA Clearinghouse to review his transcripts and declare him eligible to play college basketball this season.
It is clear he did not want to go to college, however. He declared for the NBA draft in the spring, only to pull his name when he realized he would not be drafted in the first round.
He has since decided to let the recruiting battle for his services drag on into the school year. Now, in an ironic twist, it appears he’s destined to spend a year or two playing ball down the road from his hometown.
The youngest Rush made it clear that, like his older brothers, he would not wear out his welcome at the collegiate level. If he has a solid freshman year, he will undoubtedly bolt for the land of easy money and easy ladies.
So, basically Brandon Rush would be a pre-NBA major at Kansas. That could spell trouble.
Brandon Rush did his share of bouncing around schools, which was a red flag in itself. No one changes schools like they change underwear, unless attitude or academic problems arise. After going through three Kansas City high schools, he ended up at NBA-breeding Mt. Zion Academy prep school in North Carolina, alma mater of Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady.
I have to admit, I’ve never met or talked to Brandon Rush. I’ve never seen him play in person. But being from the Kansas City area, I know of him, and I know of his family. It makes me wary to know he may don the crimson and blue this year.
JaRon and Kareem Rush played high school basketball at Pembroke Hill, a private school in Kansas City, Mo. After winning three state titles for the school, an NCAA investigation showed that the brothers did not pay for their education at Pembroke. Myron Piggie, their AAU coach, paid their way and regularly gave them cash.
JaRon Rush was once himself a prospective Jayhawk. This was before former Kansas coach Roy Williams noticed JaRon Rush dogging his substitution patterns. JaRon Rush ended up attending UCLA in 1998. When Williams stopped recruiting JaRon, it didn’t make the Rush family too happy with Kansas.
JaRon Rush missed time on the court because of NCAA violations. After two years at UCLA, he decided he was destined to play in the NBA. NBA general managers felt otherwise, and he went undrafted.
Now JaRon Rush is out of basketball. He had bouts of alcoholism and attitude problems.
Kareem Rush had better luck. He attended Missouri, but left for the NBA after his junior year in the 2001-2002 season.
Kareem Rush had to sit out games at Missouri because he accepted cash in high school, like his older brother. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Kareem Rush in 2002, and he now plays for the Charlotte Bobcats.
There is no doubt the Rush brothers have great genes. Brandon Rush can ball.
He could help the rebuilding Jayhawks on the court this season. He might even lead them in scoring.
Is it fair to rub Brandon Rush in his brothers’ dirty laundry? Maybe not. But there are plenty of red flags when considering a Rush to play at Kansas.
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