photo by: Thad Allender

Kansas' Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur trail Davidson's Stephen Curry in the first half on Sunday, March 30, 2008 in Detroit, Mich.

Poor Darrell Arthur (Memphis Grizzlies). According to the Commercial Appeal, Arthur tore his right Achilles at Sunday morning’s practice. That kind of serious injury, the report says, would likely keep him out for the rest of this season. The team will make an official announcement about the injury today.

Sports Illustrated’s Zach Lowe said Arthur made a “giant leap” last year, which makes the timing of this injury especially unfortunate. Arthur was a key bench player for Memphis and averaged 9.1 points, 4.3 rebounds in 20 minutes (eclipsing 20 points four times, including a career-high of 24 against Denver on Feb. 13). He also turned heads with highlights like this during the Grizzlies’ playoff run:

Fresh start for Rush with Golden State

Another former Jayhawk also got some big news on Sunday. As I noted in the last blog, Brandon Rush was traded from the Indiana Pacers to the Golden State Warriors. The deal isn’t 100 percent official yet (that announcement should come today), but it’s been confirmed by Rush’s agent.

According to the Bay Area News Group’s blog, Rush, who was a starter off and on in his three years with the Pacers, should see time off the Warriors’ bench, thanks to his defense and three-point shooting.

Speaking of the Warriors’ bench: I looked, and there’s already a No. 25 on the Warriors’ roster — rookie Tommy Mitchell. Mitchell, a 2005 Siena grad, is a training camp invite (and one of three players competing for the team’s final roster spot), which, I think, means there’s still a chance Rush could keep 25 — a number he’s worn for six years in Kansas and Indiana.

Rush spent most of Sunday talking about the trade on his Twitter account, saying things like “A fresh start!!”, “I’m just happy to go somewhere I can play,” and “I would like to thank the Simon family, Larry Bird, David Morway and the Pacers organization for 3 great years.”

New Warriors teammate Stephen Curry (remember him?) even welcomed Brandon to the team via Twitter:

Ready for @IamThaKing25 to join the squad. Gonna be fun. We still have to talk about NCAA tournament ’08. #stillsalty lol

Curry played for America’s sweetheart, Davidson, during the 2008 NCAA tournament. Rush and the Jayhawks faced Curry and Davidson in a tense Elite Eight game on March 30, 2008. Davidson — the same school that KU plays tonight at 8 p.m. in K.C. — lost that March match-up, 59-57, but Curry, a rising star in the NBA, will have plenty of chances to get back at Rush in practice. Brandon, for his part, will have to resist the urge to “accidentally” leave his championship ring next to Curry’s locker.

Sunday’s preseason notes

– Mario Chalmers (Miami Heat) played 23 minutes against the Orlando Magic on Sunday and scored eight points (3 of 5, 1-for-3 from three, 1-1 free throws), with five assists, three rebounds, two steals and no turnovers (full stats here). One of Chalmers’ five assists came on this off-the-backboard alley-oop to LeBron James. Expect to see more of this once the season tips off:

– Nick Collison (Oklahoma City Thunder) played almost 20 minutes against the reigning champs, the Dallas Mavericks. Collison made both of his shot attempts for two points and grabbed seven rebounds, with two assists (full stats here). He also drew three charges, according to the Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry. The Oklahoman published a Collison feature on Sunday, which noted that, in the last two seasons, Nick has drawn 108 charges — the most in the league.

– Teammate Cole Aldrich (Oklahoma City Thunder) also played against the Mavs and scored five points (2-2 FGs, 1-2 FTs), with two rebounds in eight minutes (full stats here). The Oklahoman said it was a “nice showing by the second-year center” and credited Cole with “two really nice offensive moves in the low post.”

– Marcus Morris (Houston Rockets) didn’t have the best game in his NBA debut on Saturday, but Rockets coach Kevin McHale told the Houston Chronicle that he wasn’t worried:

“I sat here four or five months ago and said it is a pretty tough league. It is,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “He’ll be OK. The camp was short and he missed three or four days so he’s been just struggling. I wanted to play him at the three. All of a sudden now, … he’s playing the four. The three and four are completely different as far as responsibilities.

“He went from not practicing for four days, to playing the three for three days to playing the four for one day. He’ll be fine.”

Jayhawks in Monday’s NBA preseason games

None. Instead, watch the current Jayhawks take on Davidson at 8 p.m., at Sprint Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU (Knology cable channels 35, 235) and [ESPN3.com][25].

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