Brandon Rush smiles as he sits down next to Bill Self on the bench during the scrimmage at “Late Night in the Phog.” Ten of his teammates circle around mid-court as the ball goes up, signifying the first practice of the season.

All Rush can do is watch.

He chats with his coach for a while, and his smile turns into a laugh. He’s doing some coaching of his own.

“I just subbed a few people in and out and told Rio to keep shooting,” Rush said afterwards.

Self soon leaves Rush’s side to sit on the opposite bench. The smile is still on Rush’s face, but it’s not a content smile. Look at the scar on his knee, and you’ll find out why.

The scar is from his ACL injury and surgery. It made him pull out of the NBA Draft, and it’s making him sit on the bench right now.

But Rush, a junior guard, tells curious media nearly every day he’ll be fine. He’s dealt with other scars before. Not physical ones; scars on his reputation.

The scar of living up to the expectations set by two older brothers. He healed that one fine.

The scar of an unwarranted reputation for being lazy, being a team cancer. That one’s gone too.

Now he has to heal this final physical scar. Rush has a season to silence the doubters by fixing the flaws in his game, becoming the go-to guy fans demand and proving himself worthy of a first round pick in the NBA Draft again.

Family Business

Before Rush graduated elementary school, his brothers were already high school basketball legends.

JaRon and Kareem Rush became Kansas City, Mo.’s favorite basketball duo at Pembroke Hill High School. JaRon had the athleticism. He once shattered a backboard after a dunk in the state playoffs. Kareem was the shooter. His left-handed stroke was deadly from nearly anywhere on the court.

They led Pembroke Hill to two consecutive state championships. Kareem won another his senior year after JaRon graduated.

Then it all crashed down. In 1999, JaRon’s sophomore year at UCLA and Kareem’s freshman year at Missouri, Amateur Athletic Union coach Myron Piggie was accused of giving money to several of his players including JaRon and Kareem. The state championships were gone. The Rush legacy was tarnished.

Brandon stepped into their shadow when he entered high school in 2000. They were Kansas City legends for their on-court excellence and off-court imperfections. Brandon had to play the same kind of game, but make different decisions. That’s pressure.

“Being JaRon and Kareem’s little brother,” Brandon said, “it was always, I have to be better than they are or at least where they are at. I just played my type of game. I didn’t listen to what people had to say.”

It wasn’t easy for Brandon at first. He bounced through three Kansas City-area high schools before he finally found his niche at Mt. Zion Christian Academy, a basketball powerhouse, in North Carolina. His game improved away from the pressures of home.

Recruiting experts took notice. They saw JaRon’s athleticism and Kareem’s jump shot in Brandon. They saw a player who had an all-around game, evident by his averages of 21 points, six rebounds and five assists per game his senior year. Brandon left high school ranked as the 13th best prospect in the country.

Perhaps more importantly, his high school career didn’t include tales of shoeboxes full of dollar bills and questionable AAU coaches.

“He saw the mistakes JaRon made,” said Jeanette Jacobs, Rush’s grandmother. “He didn’t want to make the same ones.”

Silencing the whispers

Brandon surprised no one when he entered the NBA Draft in the spring of 2005. He’d talked about going pro since his junior year of high school ended. Heck, he didn’t even visit a college campus his senior year.

But it was a surprise when he withdrew his name. All of a sudden, college was his top option. He chose Kansas and enrolled shortly after school started that August.

KU fans should’ve been pumped: an NBA prospect had landed in their laps at the last second.

They weren’t.

Lawrence is a short drive from Kansas City, short enough that everyone was familiar with the Rush family. Fans remembered how JaRon criticized former Kansas coach Roy Williams’ playing style. They knew about Myron Piggie and assumed Brandon was no different from his brothers.

He heard the whispers. “Lazy” and “stupid,” that’s what they called him. He took it to heart.

“I wanted to prove to people they were wrong,” Brandon said. “I had to prove to them I was able to do the work and stay in college.”

He proved it by leading the team in scoring his freshman year and becoming the first freshman named to the All-Big 12 first team. He won all the individual honors again his sophomore season — All Big 12, Wooden All American — and helped lead the team to regular and postseason Big 12 titles and a spot in the Elite Eight.

The Elite Eight berth probably wouldn’t have been possible without him. Something clicked during a Sweet 16 game against Southern Illinois. He drove to the hoop with an attitude, a killer instinct. With less than a minute in the game, he dribbled toward the basket, leaned and banked a shot off the glass. It was the final basket of Kansas’ 61-58 victory. He shot 6-for-6 and finished with five rebounds and five assists. Brandon had proven himself as a capable team player during his two years.

He had also shown fans they were wrong to think he’d be a cancer. He did fine in school — he even had a 3.6 GPA one semester — and never made off-court mistakes.

“With me,” JaRon said, “I got in a bit of trouble and he learned. He’s a very quiet, funny guy. He taught me how to act cool.”

One More Road to Cross

Brandon dribbled into the lane for a dunk during a pick up game in May like he’d done hundreds of times before. As he sailed through the air, his life couldn’t have been much better.

The NBA dream he’d been chasing since high school was lying right in front of him. ESPN analyst Jay Bilas listed him as a top 20 prospect. Brandon had it made.

He came down from his leap. He heard a pop — his ACL. The NBA dream was gone. It had been replaced with another scar. Brandon showed he was different than his brothers and silenced critics who thought he’d disrupt chemistry at Kansas, but healing this one could be harder.

“It’s so much different,” Rush said. “People are wondering if I can be OK to play, if I’m going to be the old Brandon I used to be.”

That’s why he committed himself to rehabbing his knee during the summer and improving the weaknesses in his game. He dribbled tennis balls to better his suspect left hand and practiced stationary shooting. He also wants to take it to the rim more this year to draw fouls.

Self said the injury should turn his player into a “new Brandon.” He might not be as athletic as he was last year, but Self is confident he’ll learn new techniques to compensate.

“They say Jordan got better when he was less athletic,” Self said. “He was such a great athlete early, but he became a better basketball player later in his career. I think Brandon is going to be a better basketball player.”

It wouldn’t hurt if Michael Jordan’s winning mentality rubbed off on Rush as well. Fans have always complained Rush didn’t crave the ball enough during crucial moments. For Brandon to come all the way back, he’ll have to demand the ball at the end of important games like he did against Southern Illinois.

“He always had attitude,” senior forward Darnell Jackson said. “He’s going to be a great factor for us because he can shoot, and because he’s been working since he’s been out. When we need Brandon to step up big, he’ll step up for us.”

‘A little bit of pressure’

The Late Night scrimmage ends, and Brandon walks off the court with his teammates. He’s the only one not dripping with sweat.

That scene will probably be a familiar one for the first month of the season. He probably won’t be able to play basketball again until about Dec. 1, but he should be able to go full speed except for contact drills in two weeks.

After changing with the team, Brandon leaves the locker room to talk with the media. A writer from ESPN interviews him. The entire nation wants to know how he will return from the injury, if he’ll be able to heal from this scar, if he’ll be the old Brandon and be a new, better one at the same time.

“I feel a little bit of pressure but anybody would feel a little bit after surgery on a knee,” Brandon said. “I’m worried about getting hurt again and just not being able to help the team win, but I don’t think it will affect my play. I have to come in there with a free mind and know what my knee can handle.”

Judging by how he handled the earlier scars in his life, he should be fine.