DeCourcy to Rush: Be hungrier!
Mike DeCourcy has some advice for the superstars of tomorrow, and BRush gets a little writerly advice:
Brandon Rush, Kansas: attacking. In order to make a point about a certain player’s needing to be more aggressive on offense, you’ll sometimes hear a television analyst — or even a coach — say the guy in question has to be “more selfish.”
Wrong. It’s not selfish for LaDainian Tomlinson to run forward with a football while a bunch of guys block for him. It’s Tomlinson’s job. He gets the glory, but that’s the game. And so it is with Rush. His first job is to score, and 13.5 points per game for a player with his skills (47.2 percent on 3-pointers) getting his minutes (31.7 per game) isn’t enough.
Rush has to be hungrier. The best way to show he has changed is by driving the ball into the lane, not by simply taking more shots. He attempted only 71 free throws last season — one every 14.7 minutes. Only one Jayhawks regular shot free throws less frequently.
Good advice methinks.
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2 Responses to “DeCourcy to Rush: Be hungrier!”
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August 24th, 2006 at 10:42 am
With dribble penetration likely to be the best part of Russell Robinson and Sheron Collins respective games, and, one would hope, improved offensive play from post players old and new, I expect Brandon Rush continuing to shoot well from the outside (and his outstanding defensive rebounding) will be more central to the success of the 06-07 Jayhawks than Rush getting to the free throw line more often.
August 24th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Mike hits it dead on. Brandon had an attitude about him during the first part of last season. There are two plays that stick in my mind: First, during the Colorado game when he smoked that guy to the rack and jammed on him, then stared him down. And later in the Texas A&M game, when Brandon caught that oop over the aTm center, posterizing him and sending him to the ground. Again, he gave a staredown.
Brandon had an attitude, an edge, in the early part of last season that he lost somewhere along the way. He needs to get that back.
I’m betting he will.