8B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2007
RUSH (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
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. Hed talked about going pro since his junior year of high school ended. Heck, he didn't even
visit a college campus his senior year.
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 held 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
The NBA dream hed 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.
in May like held done hundreds of times before. As he sailed through the air, his life couldn't have been much better.
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 dribbed 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 foults.
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."
The Late Night scrimmage ends, and Brandon walks off the court with his teammates. He's the only
'A LITTLE BIT OF PRESSURE'
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.
Edited by Rachel Bock
Brandon Rush injures his knee playing pickup basketball. The injury is diagnosed as an ACL tear.
May 23
Rush undergoes successful surgery and begins rehab soon after. Summer workouts include ballhandling and shooting drills.
June 1
Rush starts running. A few weeks later, he can sprint and iump.
Early August
PGA
Strong finish helps Cabrera win extra-hole Grand Slam
TUCKER'S TOWN, Bermuda U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera overcame an atrocious start with a spectacular finish Wednesday to win the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, outlasting Padraig Harrington in a playoff.
Cabrera recovered from a triple bogey on the open hole that put him five shots back from the lead with a birdie-eagle finish and close with a 2-under 68. He
got into a playoff with the British Open champion at Mid-Ocean Club.
A week before "Late Night in the Phog," Rush said that his knee was 70 percent and that he would participate in lay-up drills at Late Night, but Kansas coach Bill Self doesn't allow "Dr. Rush" (as he called him) to do anything except dance.
It was the first time Harrington, who closed with a score of 69, had trailed all afternoon.
Cabrera finally beat Harrington on the third extra hole with another booming tee shot and a 4-iron within 18 feet of the hole on the par-5 18th. Cabrera took two putts for birdie, which was all he needed when Harrington hit into a deep bunker off the tree and still had 4 feet for par when Cabrera tapped in.
Cabrera finished at 4-under 136.
October
Jim Furyk, the replacement for PGA champion Tiger Woods, took a triple bogey on the par-5 11th hole and doomed his chances of victory, but birdies on four late holes gave him and finish third at 138. Masters champion Zach Johnson was seven shots behind with 10 holes to play and still had a chance until a bogey on the last hole made him finish another shot back.
Associated Press
Rush is scheduled to see a doctor again. If the appointment is successful and the rehab has gone as planned, Rush should be able to do almost everything except contact drills.
Late October
December 1
DOLE LEADERSHIP PRIZE 2007 CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS
This is Rush's scheduled date of return, although he might come back a little earlier or a little later.
ROBERT J. DOLE
INSTITUTE OF POLITICS
The University of Kansas
www.doleinstitute.org
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College basketball is a perfect example of how the top-ranked team rarely survives. In the history of college basketball only five times have two No. 1 seeds gone on to play for the championship:
Also, only five times in the history of college basketball has a team ranked No.1 in at least one pre-tournament poll gone on to win the tournament:
-1982 North Carolina vs.
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-1993 North Carolina vs. Michigan
-1999 Duke vs. Connecticut
-2005 North Carolina vs. Illinois
-2007 Florida vs. Ohio State.
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Instead of a tournament, we are left this season with rankings that are supposed to fairly choose the best teams. While they may provide an accurate assessment of certain people and computers think who the best teams in the country are, it definitely does not pick a champion.
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WHEELER (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Other years like 1986, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2002, Kansas entered the tournament as a No.1 seed and did not go on to win the National Championship.
last time Kansas won the National Championship.
While many will continue to debate who should play for the "National Championship" as the rest of the season unfolds and the BCS ranking change
For Kansas basketball fans, the
In some years like 2006, not even
-1978 Kentucky
-1982 North Carolina
-1992 Duke
-1995 UCLA
-2001 Duke
Rather than deal with the annual BCS controversy of who should play for the "National Championship," there is a much better use of the BCS rankings: a tournament.
one No. 1 seed went on to play for the National Championship (No. 3 seed Florida vs. No. 2 UCLA). Many KU fans may remember that Kansas was only a No. 6 seed coming into the 1988 tournament, the
people should realize how irrelevant the bowl system really is. Until there is a tournament, there will not be an official National Champion, only winners of exhibition matches.
idea of life without the basketball tournament could sound appealing. Kansas could have a few more National Championships in basketball if it had avoided teams like Bucknell, Bradley and Syracuse, bypassing the whole tournament
—Edited by Chris Beattie
and playing in a "National Championship" game instead.
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