Everything Falls in Line For Rush, Jayhawks

SAN ANTONIO, April 5 -- After Kansas stopped one of North Carolina's runs in the second half Saturday night, Jayhawks guard Brandon Rush looked into the crowd, spotted his mother and exchanged smiles with her.

The two understand more than anyone the unlikely turn Rush's story has taken over the past year. If he had not suffered a knee injury that forced him to pull out of last year's NBA draft, Rush would have been on a professional team's roster and not starring in an 84-66 national semifinal victory against North Carolina.

"It was a blessing in disguise," said Rush, who scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds Saturday. "This is much better than being an NBA rookie. If I were a rookie, I probably wouldn't be getting much playing time, and I would be on a losing team."

Instead of toiling in a late-season NBA regular season game, Rush was the offensive catalyst for Kansas during an overwhelming first-half run against the Tar Heels. Fourteen minutes into action, Rush had as many points (12) as North Carolina's team. Kansas led 40-12, and victory appeared certain.

The Tar Heels cut the deficit to four points in the second half and Rush missed a few open three-point attempts, but Kansas managed to pull away.

"I'm usually money from the corner," said Rush, who made 11 of 17 shots. "But I still managed to get easy layups."

On a team known for its balance, Rush established himself as the difference Saturday. In the moments after the game, North Carolina Coach Roy Williams approached Rush before going to the locker room and whispered a good luck message in his ear.

"Brandon Rush was sensational," Williams later said.

Rush said he shot an air ball early in the game and got it out of his system. After that, he was a prime reason why Kansas sprinted out to a 28-point lead in the first half. Midway through the first half, Rush made a layup to give Kansas a 15-point lead. Thirty seconds later, Russell Robinson flipped a pass to Rush, who sank a three-pointer.

Kansas further built its lead over the next few minutes. Rush tipped in a miss by Darrell Arthur to give the Jayhawks a 23-point advantage with about eight minutes remaining in the first half. Sixteen seconds later, he made another three-pointer.

Rush's performance sets the stage for an intriguing matchup in Monday's national title game between Rush and Memphis standout Chris Douglas-Roberts, who scored 28 points in the Tigers' victory against UCLA earlier in the day. Rush said he has played with several of the Memphis players, including Douglas-Roberts, who competed with Rush in an all-star game.

"I'm definitely looking forward to it," Rush said. "We have been hearing about Memphis all year. We know it's going to be up-tempo and intense. They have a lot of great players."

Rush said his performance, just his third game of the season with more than 20 points, was particularly meaningful on this stage, considering the unusual journey he has traveled over the past year.

"It definitely means the world to me," Rush said. "This is one of my goals since I have been back at Kansas, during my whole rehabbing thing. I was looking at my mama because I know she is so proud of me. She was just smiling back at me."