Brandon Rush won't say he's glad he tore the anterior-cruciate ligament in his right knee last spring, but he admits he has become a better player - and, likely, a higher pick in the NBA Draft.

Brandon Rush won't say he's glad he tore the anterior-cruciate ligament in his right knee last spring, but he admits he has become a better player - and, likely, a higher pick in the NBA Draft.

Brandon Rush still remembers the words of his mother, Glenda, who offered a pep talk to the Kansas University basketball player last June – a couple of weeks after surgery on his right anterior cruciate ligament.

“Blessing in disguise : that’s what my mama said. This might be a blessing in disguise,” Rush said before Thursday’s practice at Horejsi Center. “My mom always knows what she’s talking about, especially about basketball.”

The 6-foot-6 junior from Kansas City, Mo., will not go so far as to say he’s happy he tore a knee and faced long months of rehab from June 1 surgery.

But, in looking at the big picture, yes, he might be a better basketball player today than a year ago because of all the work he put in while recovering from the surgery.

“I’d have to say overall I’m better,” Rush said. “Passing the ball, making shots, getting to the hole. I feel I’m a better player.”

And maybe a better NBA prospect.

“Just because of the type of team we’ve got, balanced, going through the postseason, how far we go there, that will help me out a lot, too. It’s possible I could be a better draft pick than I was last year,” said Rush, who a year ago was considered a likely late-first-round selection.

KU coach Bill Self says if Rush continues to blossom the rest of February through March Madness, yes, he’s a better pro prospect today than back before the 2007 Draft.

“Surgery : I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” Self said. “But if he continues to progress, his draft status and everything will improve in my opinion, based on this season.

“I said all along the ACL would allow him to become a better basketball player over time. This is where we should see it. As he gets real close to 100 percent, the technique things and things he’s done to put himself in this position will now allow him to be a better player because he just won’t rely on athletic ability,” Self added of Rush, currently listed by NBAdraft.net as No. 29 pick (by Detroit) in the first round.

“He’s more disciplined. He’s more responsible. He probably approaches the game a little bit differently now,” Self said, agreeing that Rush is a better passer than a year ago.

“How about the job he did (defensively) on Matt Lawrence (0-for-6 shooting for Missouri) the other night? When he was guarding Budinger (Chase, Arizona, who scored 27 points versus KU) he wasn’t ready to do that. He defended him (Budinger) OK. Now he’s becoming a lockdown defender we can put on anybody.”

Self said Rush, who has practiced without his right knee brace this week and may discard it for Saturday’s 7 p.m. home game against Baylor, has gained confidence week by week.

“We’ve said this all along, he’ll get back to close to 100 percent before conference, and Feb. 1 is when he should really kick it in,” Self said. “I think the timing’s been right on target. A lot is him being aggressive. A lot is, he feels better about himself physically to put himself in those aggressive positions.”

Self said he saw Rush jump off one foot “the first time all year” in last Saturday’s victory at Colorado, a game in which Rush had a vicious dunk in transition.

“His explosiveness is close to being back to what it was before he got hurt. In his mind, he thinks it’s back,” Self said, crediting doctors who along the way, “educated Brandon saying, ‘this is how you’ll feel when you come back. This is how you’ll feel after a month and so on.”’

Rush, who averages 12.6 points and 5.1 rebounds overall, has tallied 15.6 points and 7.0 boards in conference games. A 44 percent shooter overall, he has made 45.9 percent of his shots in league play.

“February is a big month for me to step up. I stepped up pretty big in January, too. Since conference started, I’ve been playing pretty well,” Rush said.

Self would second that notion.

“If you were just going to ask me today, I trust him more than anybody,” Self said of Rush’s defensive prowess compared with KU’s other guards. “That could change next week, (but) he’s become as good a defender as we have.”

He’s also been a leader by example. The Jayhawks have noticed his hard work in coming back from injury.

“He worked hard all summer, all fall to get where he is now,” said sophomore Sherron Collins. “Now he’s back jumping high. We’re throwing him lobs. To me, he’s back.”

He even has some swagger this season, despite the fact Rush says, “nothing makes me mad, except when I get beat on defense.”

“He has aggressiveness. He just doesn’t show it,” Collins said. “If somebody ticks him off he gets a little look on his face and that’s when we know he’s ready to go.”

¢ Defensive workout: Self, who has been concerned about his team’s defense the past three games (in which KU has had nine total steals), has stressed ‘D’ at practice this week.

“We did nothing but practice defense yesterday. I think that’s going to help us in the long run,” Rush said.

“Yesterday we really worked on our defense. Our defense was lacking the last few days. Coach wanted to get us up and guard people,” freshman Cole Aldrich said.

“We worked on defensive drills. We’re trying to improve there. Hopefully, it’ll show in the games,” sophomore Darrell Arthur said.

¢ Shedding the brace: Of practicing without his knee brace lately, Rush said: “It’s felt good. I practiced without it a couple of times before. We’ll see how it feels the next couple of days.”

¢ BU note: Baylor will enter Saturday’s game with a 17-4 record, 5-2 in Big 12 play. Junior guard Curtis Jerrells leads the balanced Bears with a 14.4 scoring average.