<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Rush is an old hand at this. He declared for the draft out of high school and again last year after his sophomore season. An ACL injury that summer put his NBA dream on hold. Rush came back two games into the season and slowly, as the campaign went on, got back into form. He seemed to get stronger every week, and by March, he looked like the best player on the Jayhawks again. He's been working nonstop for several weeks and looks as though he, too, finally has regained his explosiveness and lateral quickness. What is appealing about Rush is his beautiful jump shot, his smooth demeanor and his above-average size for his position. He also can be a lockdown defender and possesses a great basketball IQ. The only real knock on Rush is that he wasn't as aggressive as his talent suggested he should be. He often left Kansas fans wanting more. He seems comfortable, at times, just fitting in. On Wednesday, I saw him work out with Wolves forward Antoine Walker. Rush shot about 80 to 90 percent from the field in the workout. He can hit his shot from just about anywhere. He also has the size and skill to post up smaller guards. He reminds me, in a lot of ways, of the Hawks' Joe Johnson. He has such a smoothness to his game that he looks effortless at times. I expect Rush will draw some serious attention just outside the lottery from teams with an eye toward the playoffs. Teams such as the Suns, Cavs and Magic could insert Rush directly into the rotation and get solid production from him as a rookie. Right now, I have him going No. 22 to the Magic, but I wouldn't be shocked if he went as high as 15 to the Suns. He's the type of athletic shooter/defender that should be a perfect fit in Phoenix.</div>
