Brandon Rush

Infobox NBA Player
name = Brandon L. Rush
position = Guard
height_ft = 6
height_in = 6
weight_lbs = 210
league = NBA
team = Indiana Pacers
number = 25
birth_date = birth date and age|1985|7|7
birth_place = flagicon|Missouri Kansas City, Missouri
nationality = USA
highschool = Mt. Zion Christian Academy
college = Kansas
draft = 1st round, 13th overall
draft_year = 2008
draft_team = Portland Trail Blazers
career_start = 2008
career_end =
awards = All Big 12 First Team, Third Team All-American

Brandon Rush (born July 7, 1985) is an American basketball player. On July 15, 2008, Rush signed a contract to play basketball for the Indiana Pacers. [cite news |first=Gary |last=Bedore |title=Rush signs with Pacers |url=http://www2.kusports.com/news/2008/jul/16/rush_signs_pacers/ |work=Lawrence Journal-World |date=July 16, 2008 |accessdate=2008-07-16 ] He was drafted in 2008 by the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. Rush played for the University of Kansas in college for three seasons, including the 2007-2008 national championship team. Rush was selected as a Wooden Award All-American in 2007 and again in 2008 while a player for the Kansas Jayhawks. [ [http://www.big12sports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/040108aac.html "Big 12 Leads Nation With Three On Wooden All-America Team"] , "Big 12 Conference", April 1, 2008.] He is brothers with former UCLA guard JaRon Rush and former Missouri and current Philadelphia 76ers guard Kareem Rush.

College career

Injury

After returning to Kansas in May 2007, it was announced that Rush had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee playing in a pickup game of basketball. He had planned on entering the 2007 NBA Draft had he not suffered this injury, but returned to play for Kansas. On June 1, 2007, Rush successfully had surgery on the torn ACL in his right leg. [cite web | url = http://kuathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/060107aaa.html | title = Kansas' Brandon Rush has Successful Surgery on ACL | publisher = kuathletics.cstv.com | date = 2007-06-01 | accessdate = 2007-06-03 ] After rehabilitation, Rush returned to play in November and soon after re-entered the starting lineup.

Junior season

After returning to the starting line-up he led Kansas to the 2008 NCAA championship title. In the national semifinal game against North Carolina, Rush was named the Most Valuable Player, when he scored 25 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. [ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_NCAA_Men%27s_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament#Kansas_vs._North_Carolina Kansas v. North Carolina 2008] , "Wikipedia"] [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000031 "North Carolina battles back, but Rush, Kansas close out Tar Heels"] , "Associated Press", April 6, 2008.] Rush was rated the number one small forward in all of college basketball by Rivals.com for his overall statistics, being named MVP in the Big 12 Tournament, and averaging 15.8 points per game in the six games of the NCAA national championship tournament. [ [http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/viewcbse.asp?selposition=12 Rivals.com Basketball Power Rankings, 2007-2008] ] On Thursday April 17, 2008 Rush declared himself eligible for the 2008 NBA Draft skipping his senior year. [ [http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/581136.html www.kansascity.com | 04/17/2008 | KU’s Rush, Arthur declare for the NBA draft ] ]

Professional career

Rush was selected 13th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2008 NBA Draft. He was then traded to the Indiana Pacers along with Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts, for Jerryd Bayless and Ike Diogu.

References

External links

* [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=28158 ESPN Profile]
* [http://www2.kusports.com/stats/mens_basketball/athletes/brandon_rush/ Lawrence Journal World]