Rush almost jumped to NBA fray

Here are some snippets of information about Brandon Rush, a 6-foot-6 men’s basketball guard from Kansas City, Mo., a late addition to Kansas University’s basketball recruiting class.

Rush, 20, grew up in Kansas City and attended Hogan Prep, KC Career Academy and Westport High. He attended school and played basketball at Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, N.C., the past two years, averaging 21 points, six rebounds and five assists this past season.

He played so well, he seriously considered an immediate jump to the NBA.

Rush, in fact, was the only one of 12 high school players who declared for the draft, to attend the pre-draft camp in Chicago. He also had individual workouts for the Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics and Toronto Raptors.

He withdrew his name from the draft one hour before the 5 p.m. deadline on June 21. Since he had not signed with an agent, and paid for the trips to NBA cities himself — his brother Kareem is a wealthy NBA player with Charlotte’s Bobcats — he was able to withdraw from the draft and maintain his college eligibility.

He was told he’d be tapped anywhere from No. 23 to 40 overall.

“I don’t really like taking that second-round chance,” Rush said of his decision to attend college.

He had said all along he’d attend either Illinois or Oklahoma, but expanded his list to include Indiana, USC and Kansas. He made visits to Illinois and Indiana before tapping KU.

Rush, who was deemed eligible by the NCAA clearinghouse after a long wait, joins a highly touted freshman class at KU that includes Julian Wright, Mario Chalmers and Micah Downs.

Wright, Downs and Chalmers each competed in last year’s McDonald’s All America game.

All four freshman will be expected to battle for spots in the starting lineup and/or immediate playing time.

Rush has a 42-inch vertical leap and is known for ramming home some violent dunks.

“What Rush demonstrated (at NBA draft camp),” wrote Mike DeCoursey of the Sporting News, “is that merely getting an NBA job is the least he can do with his talents.

“Properly developed, Rush could become great.”

He’s known as a great athlete and good shooter. His weakness?

“Dribbling and defense,” Rush said, noting former Michigan State standout Alan Anderson “drove me into the dirt (at draft camp).

“My shot has come along a lot. I can pass real well and have the ability to get to the rim.”