Kansas guard Rush withdraws from NBA draft

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Brandon Rush, who led Kansas in scoring last year, has withdrawn from the NBA draft and will play his junior season at the school.

A two-time all-conference selection, the 6-foot-6 Rush averaged a team-high 13.8 points for the Big 12 champions.

Sophomore Julian Wright, another starter, has committed to the draft. But with Rush returning, Kansas will have all but one of the 14 players who went 33-5 and captured the Jayhawks' third straight conference title.

"Brandon and I met earlier today and he told me that he was withdrawing his name from the 2007 NBA draft," coach Bill Self said Friday in a statement. "Brandon has handled the process exactly the way the system was designed and has followed through with everything he said he would do. I know in his mind he wanted to do this from a personal standpoint to investigate, but he never lost sight of the fact that he was going to make a smart decision that was based on his well-being for a career and not just the immediate future."

Rush was second with 5.6 rebounds for Kansas last year and also hit a team-high 50 3-pointers.

"I thought all along that I would more than likely return to school, but it was something I needed to find out about," Rush said in the statement released by the university. "We have a great team returning and I love my teammates. The people at Kansas and the fans have treated me so well. It is hard to pass up the opportunity to experience another year of that."

Rush said his decision was not affected by a knee injury he recently sustained.

"People will think the reason I am returning is because I injured my knee playing in a pickup game. That is not true, but it did reinforce to me that the time was not right to go to the NBA."

Self said he was urging Rush to seek medical treatment on the knee, if necessary.

"I believe that Brandon will prepare harder than ever to put himself into a position that he will be a very high NBA draft pick after his junior season," Self said. "My immediate concern is that Brandon has the knee evaluated and begins any rehabilitation that is required."
 

blgstocks

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I hadnt heard anything about the knee injury, which is not good, but everything else is great news!

thanks for the read ie
 

shawn555

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Kansas' Rush will undergo knee surgery

DOUG TUCKER
Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas guard Brandon Rush, who withdrew last week from the NBA draft, has a torn ACL in his right knee and will undergo surgery.

The 6-foot-6 Rush plans to return to Kansas for his junior season, but he could be out for as long as six months. He injured the knee in a pickup game last week when he landed awkwardly.

"There's no way to know how long it will take him to get back," Kansas coach Bill Self told The Associated Press. "A lot will depend on how hard he works at rehab."

Rush led the team in scoring with 13.8 points and helped the Jayhawks win a second straight Big 12 championship. He did not hire an agent, so his eligibility was not compromised.

Self is hopeful Rush will be back sooner rather than later.

"The surgery is so much more advanced than it was just a few years ago," Self said. "If things go well, he may not miss any games at all. There's no way to know."

Rush was hurt in a way that was strikingly reminiscent of the knee injury suffered by his older brother, JaRon Rush, who played for UCLA.

In the announcement last week that Rush was withdrawing from the draft, he stated that the injury was not a decisive factor.

"We did not announce the nature of the injury last week per Brandon's request," Self said. "Friday was an emotional day for Brandon as he had worked very hard in preparation for the NBA pre-draft camp. By law, we cannot comment on an injury without a player's consent."

Self said Rush would undergo surgery either later this week or next week.

A two-time All-Big 12 guard, he has led the Jayhawks in scoring each of his two seasons. He averaged 13.8 points last year and was second in rebounding with 5.6 per game. He also hit a team-best 50 3-point shots and was widely hailed as one of the finest perimeter defenders in the Big 12.

If he gets back onto the court next season, the Jayhawks will have all but one of the 14 players who went 33-5 last year. Another junior-to-be, Julian Wright, has declared for the draft and hired an agent.

Self said he would be careful in working his star guard back into action.

"We're not going to bring him back too soon. It will take a while after the surgery before he feels like he's ready to cut loose. He may miss some practice time, but we're hoping he may not miss any of the season."

Most mock drafts had Rush going in the mid-to-late first round. But many observers believe the injury - so long as he fully recovers - could prove an unexpected benefit for both him and the Jayhawks.

With another year to polish ballhandling skills and improve his court discipline, his draft position after a third season in college could be enhanced. And unquestionably, he would strengthen Kansas for the 2007-08 year.

"There may be a lot of positives that come out of this," Self agreed. "This could give Brandon more time to work on some areas of his game."
 

Destructor D

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Kansas will still be a top 5 team with Rush in their lineup. Losing Wright early hurts, but losing Rush would have crippled the Jayhawks. Hopefully Rush returns without too many problems from his injured knee. Better to get hurt in May than during the season. Rush should be back by Thanksgiving anyway and knowone really cares how you play during the early portion of the season.

Other than North Carolina, I can't think of a team returning more core players than Kansas. I know Duke will be tough as they were young and have a great incoming freshman class. However, Ohio State, Florida, Georgetown, and UCLA will all be hurt by underclassmen losses to the NBA.
 

blgstocks

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I hadnt heard of anybody leaving gtown besides green, and aflalo(sp?) leaving ucla. Even though those were both their best players. Please post if there are more leaving freeze.

I also agree that KU will be top 5 and I am not that upset about losing wright. I thought he was great but the last couple of games he was really struggling and at times through out the season I thought he tried to do way too much. The guy definitely needs to work on his handles or on his perception of his role, one or the other. A good thing about wright leaving s that Author(sp?) will get alot more playing time. I think he is going to be something special.
 

blgstocks

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thanks for the read ie

I had read that hibbert would be coming back, GT will be scary next year. Although they say GT is returning the most firepower of any top 25 team, I cant think of anyone KU is losing other than Wright.

KU,GT,UCLA,UNC have to be the front runners for next years title.
 

Destructor D

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I'm not sure about UCLA. Losing Afflalo will really cripple this club.

North Carolina appears #1
#2 is debatable, but I would give Georgetown the edge with the monster in the middle.
#3 - I'll go with Kansas if Rush is healthy.
 

Dr. Fade

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Man, looking at all the early entries into the NBA draft today in the KC Star- Rush is actually probably lucky he jacked his knee- he may not have even been picked in round 2 imo
 

Destructor D

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Rush was interviewed by KC media today and his return is supposed to be December 1st give or take a month. Good news for Jayhawk fans as KU should once again be very dominating:00hour
 
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