Kareem Rush

Kareem Lamar Rush (born October 30, 1980 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American professional basketball player positioned at shooting guard currently under contract with the Indiana Pacers.

College career

After graduating from Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Missouri, Rush attended the University of Missouri, where he was a standout guard on the basketball team and a defensive back on the football team. In basketball, Rush averaged 19.8 points per game as a junior, leading the Tigers to the Western Regional finals in the NCAA tournament, where they lost to Oklahoma. As a sophomore in 2000-01, he led the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game.

Professional career

Rush entered the 2002 NBA Draft after his junior season and was selected with the 20th pick overall by the Toronto Raptors, who immediately traded his rights to the Los Angeles Lakers. Rush was projected to be a top 10 pick, but much like what happened to Kareem's elder brother, JaRon Rush -- a former UCLA star, Kareem slipped down much further than anticipated. At the 2000 draft, JaRon, who left the Bruins after his sophomore season, ­was not selected. "No one wants to see something like that happen to his brother," JaRon said, weeping. "I mean, I knew he was going to get drafted eventually, but it was still hard." Over his first two seasons, he played a limited, back-up role on the Shaquille O'neal- and Kobe Bryant-led club, however, due to his three-point shooting accuracy, he would beome a more frequently used reserve player in the 2003-2004 playoffs for coach Phil Jackson. Although the Lakers would lose to the Pistons in the NBA Finals, Rush was able to make somewhat of name for himself as a sharpshooter, averaging 14 minutes per game and hitting 40% of his three-point shots in the playoffs. ^[1] Fourteen games into the 2004-05 season, the Lakers traded Rush to the Charlotte Bobcats for two future second-round draft picks. In Charlotte, Rush found a larger role, often starting for the Bobcats and averaging more than 25 minutes and 11.5 points per game. He set a then-Bobcats franchise record by scoring 35 points against the Indiana Pacers. His season ended March 2 when he strained MCL in his knee during a game in New Orleans. ^[2] During the 2005-06 offseason, Rush signed with the Seattle SuperSonics^[3] but recovered slowly from a groin injury. On March 26, 2006, Rush put together what seemed to be a breakout performance with 21 points on 8-15 shooting, five rebounds, one assist, and two steals in 35 minutes of play. But days later, the club waived him to make room for a replacement for two frontcourt players who had sustained injuries.^[4] Rush spent the next two seasons playing in Lithuania. On December 21, 2006, Rush signed a contract with the ULEB Cup participant Lithuanian club Lietuvos Rytas from Vilnius. He was chosen by the Slovenian coach Zmago Sagadin and led his team to the cup final. On February 24, 2007, Rush was named the MVP of the Lithuanian Basketball League All Star Game. On April 21, 2007, Rush's team became the champion of the Baltic Basketball League; he was named the Final Four MVP. On July 3, 2007, the Indiana Pacers signed Rush, citing their need for a shooter.^[5] Kareem and JaRon's youngest brother, Brandon, currently plays for Bill Self's Jayhawks at the University of Kansas; an injury was forced him to forgo the 2007 NBA draft and return for his junior year.

Notes

External links

• Kareem Rush Player Info at NBA.com
• Kareem Rush Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com