The Big 3 is made up of former NBA players who are more than comfortable in retirement, joking around during shootarounds as they go on a three-month victory lap each summer in stadiums they used to dominate in. I feel like a guy like Rush, former Lawrence North star and No. During practice, Rush is focused. He runs through drills at full speed and works on his dribbling or shooting off to the side. He's out there working on his 3-point shot, posting up against imaginary defenders, spinning and shooting, sinking shot after shot.
He scored a team-high 14 points off three 3-pointers and seven rebounds, but no one was able to stop Johnson, who finished with 27 points and 16 boards. After the point loss, Rush walked right off the court.
He was upset with his shooting and, more importantly, his inability to defend Johnson. Playing 3-on-3 for the first time, it's a game Rush needs to get used to. I just want to show my athletic ability, showing that I still got a little bounce to me. Show that I can still shoot the ball and defend at a high-level. Follow IndyStar sports reporter Robby General on rgeneraljr. Contact him via email at rgeneral gannett. Facebook Twitter Email. But in some areas where he struggled last season, specifically his commitment to defense, his willingness to take the ball to the basket, and his ability to create off the dribble, he has made noticeable strides this season.
Initially looking at his statlines, it may not appear to most that Rush has improved at all, but the basic stats only tell part of the story. Rush only attempted 71 free throws in all of last season, along with field goals. In the past, Rush has struggled mightily creating with his left hand, often losing control of the ball or not getting off a fluid shot attempt.
While not yet perfected, Rush has much improved his left hand this season, making it a viable threat defenders now much respect. He can take the ball off the dribble with either hand, and can finish using pull-up jumpers from mid-range, floaters in the lane, or by getting to the rim where he finishes well with his great creativity and touch around the rim.
Since now Rush actually poses a threat going left off his crossover, which he does do at times, it makes the double crossover that much more deadly. Rush is also a good shooter from outside, as many of his shots are of the spot-up variety from behind the arc. Rush has improved on his mid-range game a bit this year, showing the ability to hit spot-up jumpers and floaters off the dribble, but he still lacks consistency in this area.
It also must be taken into consideration here that this is still a player with less than two years of good coaching to absorb, and he has made noticeable strides in skill level during that time, even though his efficiency has dipped this year. Rush has scored 18, 21, and 20 points in his last three games respectively, though, so maybe he is now starting to turn that proverbial corner. Rush also makes consistent contributions in ways other than scoring, pulling down six rebounds per game thanks mostly due his athleticism and length, and making an improved contribution on the defensive end in comparison with last season.
Rush has shown improvements on this end in both fundamentals and commitment, getting up closer on his man while moving his feet and getting his center of gravity down more consistently. When a player of his length commits on perimeter defense, it can be very tough for the opposition to get off a high-percentage shot.
For a player of his length, one would expect more than 0. There is a good chance Rush will enter the NBA draft this year, and he will likely be a mid-to-late first round pick if he continues at his current production. If he continues on his recent scoring spree and consistently plays more assertively on the offensive end, he could certainly climb in to the single-digits of this draft, as if he puts his mind to it, he has the abilities to beat out any swingman in this draft class not named Kevin Durant.
Rush still possesses many noticeable flaws in his game, but most of them are mentally-based, and if he can overcome those, he can be a very special player. In terms of talent and athleticism, few players at the college level possess the combination Brandon Rush does. His best attributes as a player come on the offensive end, where his game is very smooth.
In his most successful games last season, Rush did the majority of his damage from mid-range, where he is able to take a few dribbles in either direction and separate from the defender effortlessly.
He also has a runner from about 10 feet that is very hard for a defender to stop. Rush has a quick first step, and is able to create off of 3 or 4 dribbles on many occasions. Though he rarely goes left, he has a quick crossover back to his right hand that usually gives him all the space he needs to create something. When things are working for him, Rush is very active off the ball, constantly moving around and trying to get open. This, coupled with the fact that he sometimes forces passes in the half court offense lead him to be turnover prone at times.
He has good games where he does everything well, but when not scoring, he gets lost within the flow of the game, which hurts him all-around. This season at Kansas, Rush is expected to be that guy on offense. He was up and down in that role last season, and on a young Kansas team loaded with talent, they will need a consistent perimeter threat who can get and make shots when they need them.
The Jayhawks have all the pieces to win a national championship, but it will come down to consistency and chemistry, two areas in which Rush needs to attempt to lead by example. Rush will play the small forward position, and he is surrounded by a lot of guys who can penetrate to the basket, so his shooting will compliment the team nicely.
To best improve his draft stock, Rush will need to show that he can take the team on his back and be a consistent first option. Improved intensity will facilitate this improvement on the court. Improved handles and better effort on defense will also be necessary if Rush wants to work himself into the top 10 in the draft. Few players come along who have the natural talent Brandon Rush does on the basketball court, but his ability to apply all his talents on a consistent basis will determine his success at the NBA level.
Rush finished off an up and down season with a very poor performance in his first and possibly last NCAA tournament game. After a very quiet 4 points in the first half, Rush only scored 5 in the second half, and was scoreless in the last 12 minutes of the game.
His shot selection was shaky throughout the entire day, trying too hard to take control of the game in crunch time.
Throughout the season, many people though Brandon Rush would be one and done at Kansas. There are rumblings that he wants to declare for the draft, but after a disappearing act in the most important game of his career, Rush will have to carefully consider the pros and cons of returning for a second season to continue to establish himself as a legit go-to player that is capable of being a star.
Landry Fields DraftExpress. Perhaps the most publicized of Kansas' superb freshman class, Rush is also Bill Self's most reliable scorer. Rush is another player who has clearly grown more comfortable as the season has gone on, and has only begun his development process. Rush is known for his soaring open court acrobatics, but shoots the ball much better than you would expect. He has improved his ability to create his own shot, and must be looked at as Kansas' go-to guy headed into the tournament.
A string of big games for Brandon Rush in March could lead to a lottery selection in June. In Case You Missed It This continued what has been a fantastic week for Rush averaging 22 points and 9 rebounds in 3 games in 6 days.
Rush, who declared for the NBA Draft, is showing college fans throughout the nation why KU fans were so ecstatic to land him after one of the most public recruiting battles in history. Over the last 8 games, he has averaged a sizzling 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2.
Not coincidentally, his Kansas team has been equally as hot as of late, going over the last 13 games. More importantly, Rush used his freakish athleticism on both ends of the floor. When the Jayhawks had the basketball, he took the ball strong to the rack, pulled off the dribble for mid-range shots, crashed the glass extremely hard and generally used his excellent quickness, first step and leaping ability to the fullest.
His attitude this year has consistently been outstanding, playing unselfish basketball, putting in plenty of effort in all facets of the game and meshing well with his teammates on and off the court.
People will point at the fact that Rush like the other two freshman mentioned above at age 20 is older than your typical college freshman and therefore might have less potential than other teenagers in the draft. Strengths: Rush is a smooth and effortless swingman with outstanding size, length, athleticism and offensive instincts. He made a name for himself early in his high school career mostly with his physical attributes. Rush has good quickness, a nice first step and an explosive vertical leap.
He turns the corner on handoff screens smoothly, exploding towards the basket and using his outstanding leaping ability and instincts to finish creatively around the hoop. His frame is NBA caliber and he already possesses excellent strength for a 20 year old. Offensively, Rush shows the ability to score from almost anywhere on the court. At times he will tease you with some terrific head and body fakes or a nice hesitation move to get his man off-balance and create space for himself, He has good vision passing off the dribble, and shows raw, but promising ability to pull-up from mid-range for a silky smooth jump shot.
In the open floor is where Rush is truly at his best. He refuses to force the issue even one bit as evidenced by his outstanding percentages from the field, Rush has become a much more complete all-around basketball player at KU, showing significant improvement in his ball-handling, defensive effort and ability. A year in college has served him extremely well, and will make him a much better player down the road. On the defensive end, Rush has never been known as a great half-court man to man defender, but has shown the willingness and ability to get better during the course of his freshman year.
He has great potential here thanks to his terrific length, quickness and frame; and has used this numerous times already to come up with some very nice blocked shots both on the perimeter and recovering from the weak-side inside the paint, or even to step in once in a while and take a charge. His rebounding has been very good this year for Kansas, elevating high off the ground, not being afraid to mix it up boxing out and showing great hands rebounding out of his area. Weaknesses: As a player that freely admits to never really being coached before being thrown straight into the fire for a very young Kansas team, Rush is lacking a lot of experience and savvy at this point in his career.
His slashing ability is probably the area that raises the most concern. Never known as a great ball-handler, Rush has problems taking advantage of his athletic gifts to get himself easy shots around the basket, particularly in half-court sets. Rush is averaging just over 2 free throw attempts per game at the time of this report, which is an alarmingly low number for a player with his physical gifts.
Beyond his average ball-skills, he just does not take the ball strong enough to the hoop. Detroit Pistons. Green takes Pels to task after 5 technicals. New Orleans Pelicans. Thibs benches N. New York Knicks. Ex-Suns employees contacted by Sarver's wife. Phoenix Suns.
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