Boston Globe Article on Rush

["Josh Farber" <nbaj2k@home.com>]

In Rush to prove experts wrong
UCLA star believes he shouldn't have slipped
By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 7/16/2000
WALTHAM - After all the adulation, expectations, and improper gifts heaped
upon JaRon Rush, his introduction to the NBA received surprisingly little
notice.
Wearing a green Celtics practice jersey, he worked out Friday with the
Boston summer league team as an undrafted player. He declined to discuss why
he slipped off the draft boards of all 29 teams, preferring to distance
himself from the past. Far from the fame that surrounded him growing up in
Kansas City, Mo., and the controversy that found him at UCLA, Rush was
certain he deserved a spot on an NBA roster.
As with other players participating in the Boston summer league, Rush must
reestablish himself as someone with the skills and character to succeed in
the NBA. He must convince scouts the personal problems are behind him. For
an undrafted player such as Rush, the NBA season effectively starts now as
he tries to quiet critics, erase doubts, and escape the pressures of being
tagged a professional prospect as a teenager.
''I'm going to come in and surprise a lot of people,'' said Rush. ''Because
I wasn't drafted and people didn't get to see me a lot in college, they
don't really know what I can do. If a lot of people give me the opportunity,
I think I'll go out and prove them wrong. I'll prove that I should have been
very high. I'm just out to prove people wrong. Right now, I'm just
dedicating myself to playing hard and making somebody's roster.''
Prior to the draft, many scouts predicted Rush would be selected in the
first round. At 6 feet 7 inches, 207 pounds, Rush possesses decent size.
During a truncated career as a forward at UCLA, he showed great athletic
ability and defensive skills. And entering the selection process at 21, he
was a player with the proverbial ''upside.''
But the 2000 draft concluded without his name being called, and Rush cried.
A group of family and friends had gathered in Kansas City for the biggest mo
ment of his basketball life, and it never came. Shocked, Rush reevaluated
his plans and prepared for summer league play.
Rush arrived in Boston with an optimistic outlook. He was thankful for
another shot at the NBA, the latest in a string of second chances. He hoped
to fulfill the promise he showed as a youngster, before life became
complicated and everyone wanted to share in his anticipated good fortune. In
his hometown, he has been awarded a celebrity status that can be difficult
to deal with, especially when expectations are high and past indiscretions
surface.
''I get frustrated sometimes because every little thing got looked at there
[in Kansas City],'' said Rush. ''I kind of like it, but I kind of don't.
There was too much trouble there, so it really helped to go out to UCLA.''
The trouble started when Rush was a high school basketball star, playing for
a summer league coach named Myron C. Piggie. On several occasions, Piggie
gave his players money, stripping Rush and others of their college
eligibility because they could no longer be considered amateurs. According
to the findings of an NCAA investigation, Piggie gave Rush $6,325 in
compensation. When Rush later falsified NCAA paperwork at UCLA and claimed
he never accepted payments to play basketball, he defrauded the university.
Without knowing it, the Bruins were using an ineligible player. Rush also
admitted he took money from a Los Angeles-based agent.
Once revelations about payments made to players surfaced, Rush and UCLA
faced stiff penalties from the NCAA. Rush received the harshest punishment.
Two suspensions forced him to miss 24 games as a sophomore. Originally, a
29-game suspension in addition to a 15-game suspension meant Rush could not
play for UCLA until 2000-01. However, the program appealed the lengthier
suspension and it was reduced to nine games, allowing Rush to compete at the
end of last season.
Still, Rush factored the NCAA sanctions into his decision to declare early
for the draft. In college, with the NCAA investigating his past, Rush felt
he did not have control of his career. The uncertainty of the NCAA's next
move made him nervous. He thought it would be better to take his chances
with the NBA, rather than the NCAA. Also, Rush was not comfortable at UCLA,
believing its style of play did not best suit his talents.
''I don't look at it as a bad decision,'' said Rush, of accepting money from
Piggie. ''I just look it as a guy trying to help some young people out,
which is done all over America. This situation, he got a little bit too
greedy. But if I had to go back and do it all again, I don't think I would
... I know some people cared about me and some people didn't. I know who to
trust and who not to trust now. It's going to be very hard to get close to
me again.''
Rush matured during the suspensions. Watching his teammates from the bench,
he was reminded how much basketball meant to him. When he came back at the
end of the season, Rush made sure his presence made a difference. UCLA
suffered without Rush at forward. After all, he finished his freshman season
as the Bruins' leading rebounder (7.3 per game) and third-leading scorer
(11.4 points per game).
Appropriately, Rush's return spearheaded the Bruins' biggest win of the
season. With Rush in the lineup, UCLA upset then-No. 1 Stanford. In 26
minutes, he scored a season-high 19 points, including the winning jumper
with three seconds remaining in overtime. Rush dominated the extra period,
scoring 8 of the Bruins' 14 points. The victory helped salvage UCLA's season
and put the school in position for an NCAA tournament berth.
Rush's comeback performance proved the suspensions only took away time, not
talent.
''He has tremendous character, tremendous work ethic, tremendous
athleticism,'' said his agent, Raymond Brothers, who also represents Celtics
free agent Danny Fortson. ''He is a tremendous basketball player. People I
was talking to thought he would be between 10 and 25 in the first round of
the draft. Had he stayed in college, a lot of general managers said he could
have been a lottery pick easy. And a lot of teams didn't get to see him
play. Without JaRon, UCLA doesn't make the tournament.''
Said Celtics general manager Chris Wallace: ''The draft works in strange and
mysterious ways sometimes. How did Paul Pierce get to 10? It just happens.
He came out very early and was projected late-first. When you're late-first,
anything can happen. But he's in a more advantageous spot than if he went
any place other than the first round because he can pick and choose his
teams now. We're happy he slid. Now we get to look and see him this week.''
Less than five minutes after the draft concluded, the Celtics called
Brothers and expressed their interest. Brothers encouraged Rush to play for
the Celtics at the Boston summer league, believing his client's strengths
fit the Celtics' style. Wallace projects Rush will move from forward to
shooting guard to create better matchups. With his size and lean build,
long-term success for Rush more likely will come as an off-guard.
Making an NBA team would give Rush the stability his life has been lacking.
He noted that starting his NBA career at 21 was an assertion that he
controlled his fate. The mistakes and disappointment of the past have made
him more patient and more certain about his future.
''It's easier to focus now. [NBA teams] know I have a lot of potential. I'm
very young,'' said Rush, who hopes to have an NBA career that lasts a decade
or longer. ''Going to these summer league games, it's all about learning and
getting better. I can go out there and play, but if I make mistakes it's
because I'm still young and I'm learning the NBA game. There's really no
pressure on me. I'm just going out there and trying to play the best I
can.''