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LAWRENCE | The crowd at Memorial Stadium chanted “one more year,” and Brandon Rush heard it loud and clear. Of course, why wouldn’t the Kansas fans beg their leading scorer each of the last three years to hang around for his senior season?
Rush has a decision to make, the same one that he’s mulled over every spring since he graduated from high school. Twice, Rush has chosen to declare for the NBA draft. He is expected to declare a third time before the early-entry deadline of April 27. After all, Rush has said repeatedly that he would not have returned for this season if not for tearing the ACL in his right knee last May.
Still, Rush, a Kansas City native, isn’t ready to announce an official decision.
“I haven’t decided anything yet,” Rush told The Star on Tuesday at Memorial Stadium, as KU celebrated its national championship with thousands of fans.
Asked when he would be ready, Rush said, “maybe two weeks.”
Rush’s former AAU coach and mentor, John Walker, told The Star that Rush isn’t going to hurry into making an announcement.
“He’s going to do it like he’s been doing it since he’s been dealing with the NBA process,” Walker said. “Take his time, gather all the information he needs to gather and then make a decision. It’s not going to be a hastily arrived-at decision.”
Walker indicated that Rush may wait to announce until he knows whether KU coach Bill Self will be back with the Jayhawks next season. Self is expected to be courted by his alma mater, Oklahoma State, in the very near future.
“Right now, especially with Coach Self going through the things he’s going through,” Walker said, “it might take a little longer.”
Rush appears to have done wonders for his NBA stock during the tournament season, when he averaged 16.8 points in nine games. Before the Final Four began, NBADraft.net had Rush projected as an early second-round pick. On Tuesday, the site has him going No. 17 overall, ahead of KU teammates Darrell Arthur (No. 19) and Mario Chalmers (No. 26).
Arthur, a sophomore, and Chalmers, a junior, both have the option of “testing the waters” — declaring for the draft, but not hiring an agent to retain their college eligibility. Rush, since he declared last year and returned, does not have that option anymore.
Rush certainly can’t have any complaints with the way things have gone for him. He rehabbed his injury and was playing with Kansas after 5 1/2 months. He became progressively more confident in the knee as the year went on, and his performance improved noticeably after he stopped wearing a brace. In the NCAA Tournament, Rush led Kansas to its first national championship since 1988.
His mother, Glenda Rush, has called the injury a “blessing in disguise.” For now, Brandon is trying to enjoy the moment.
“I’m not worried about (the draft) right now,” Rush said Monday night. “I’m going to have time to think about it, discuss it with my family and stuff.
“But it just feels good right now, just coming back from what I had, ACL surgery, coming back and giving my teammates a championship.”
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