Re: Boston Globe Article on Rush

["John Sermini" <jsermini@home.com>]

Do we have Rush under contract? It seems from the article that he is still
free to find a team that wants him. I remember that Stanford game that they
mentioned, this guy is a player!! If we can get this guy under contract, and
give him some playing time, he can help.

John


----- Original Message -----
From: Josh Farber <nbaj2k@home.com>
To: <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 16, 2000 4:35 AM
Subject: Boston Globe Article on Rush


> 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.''
>