Kansas could get a boost from injured star Brandon Rush against Washburn tonight.

Doctors have cleared Rush to play in games, but the final decision is up to Kansas coach Bill Self. He said he didn’t know if he’d let Rush play yet.

“I’d probably be saying too strongly if I said one way or another, but he’s out there practicing,” Self said Wednesday. “We’ll evaluate it after today, but I won’t announce whether he’ll play or not. It will be a game time decision as football coaches would say.”

If Rush had it his way, he’d be on the court tonight against Washburn. He told the coaches he wanted to play, especially before big games coming up against Arizona and Southern California.

He said he feels no lingering effects from his May ACL tear and only has to adjust to the injury mentally. Rush has been wearing a knee brace since his rehab started and during fall practices. He’ll have to wear it for at least another month because of doctors’ orders.

“I don’t even know why I’m wearing it,” Rush said. “They told me I had to wear it. It doesn’t bother me at all. It gets loose every now and then so I have to pull it up.”

Kansas’ success during the past two years has come largely because of Rush. He led the team in scoring as a freshman and a sophomore. The Jayhawks have won two Big 12 regular season titles and two Big 12 tournament championships since he joined the team.

He’s also the main reason they advanced to the Elite Eight last season. Rush shot 6-of-6 from the field and made the final basket of a close 61-58 victory.

Rush still isn’t in good enough shape to be the same player he’s been for the past two years, despite practicing at full contact for nearly a month. He said he could play about 10 to 15 minutes and needed to work on his defense.

After tearing his ACL while attempting a lay-up during a May pick up game, Rush was originally scheduled to return on Dec. 1. Self said his only worry was playing Rush before he was ready for the speed of the game.

“Regardless of when he gets out there, for the first time there will be an adjustment for him,” Self said. “He’s very capable of playing well but his timing hasn’t been great. He needs to get out there and get out there under the lights and do some things, but certainly we’re not going to rush him out there. We’ve been slowing him down just out of precaution.

“He wants to be out there. Whether that happens tomorrow or not, I’m not going to say. But I do see it happening in the very near future.”

Edited by Elizabeth Cattell