Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Recruiting Rush
I've seen a few weird recruiting sagas in my day, but the recruiting of Brandon Rush has become one of the weirdest. Rush declared for the 2005 NBA Draft and then pulled out about an hour before the deadline. Now, with his decision rapidly approaching, Rush made a visit to Illinois last weekend. It was apparently his first contact with the Illinois coaching staff in months.
If you've never seen what exasperation looks like on a blog, take a look at Brett Dawson's latest post, entitled Don't Rush to judgment. Here's a bit of what Dawson, of the Champaign News-Gazette, had to say:
Illini Wonk has avoided this story for months because I didn't think he would every really come to Illinois, despite the fact that the Illini have offered him a scholarship. Rush is expected to make a decision this week between Kansas, Illinois and Southern California. Gregg Doyel of CBS Sportsline.com is predicting Kansas.
Even now, about the only thing that is certain is that he won't stay in college for long. For those who say that's reason to pass him up, Illini Wonk would say that it worked out pretty well for Syracuse and Carmelo Anthony. If Rush wants to come to Champaign for a season, that should be fine with most Fighting Illini fans.
UPDATE: Apparently, Rush didn’t make his planned trip to Lawrence despite this invitation from a Kansas City Star columnist. posted by Illiniwonk at 10:14 PM
If you've never seen what exasperation looks like on a blog, take a look at Brett Dawson's latest post, entitled Don't Rush to judgment. Here's a bit of what Dawson, of the Champaign News-Gazette, had to say:
Brandon Rush is visiting Kansas. I'm sure of this. No I'm not. I'm sure Rush visited Champaign last week. I think. When I talked to him on his cell phone, that's where he said he was. Of course, I was also sure that after that visit, he was going to Bloomington, Ind., to check out Indiana. I was sure of that because he told me so. Turns out he decided not to go. I'm sure that Illinois has a great shot at landing Rush. No I'm not. I'm pretty sure Rush will sign with the Illini. I'm pretty sure he won't. I'm almost positive he'll qualify for freshman eligibility. But I'm not sure of that at all. Is this confusing you? Welcome to my world. There's so much information (and misinformation) floating around about Brandon Rush that it's virtually impossible to believe anything you hear.
Illini Wonk has avoided this story for months because I didn't think he would every really come to Illinois, despite the fact that the Illini have offered him a scholarship. Rush is expected to make a decision this week between Kansas, Illinois and Southern California. Gregg Doyel of CBS Sportsline.com is predicting Kansas.
Even now, about the only thing that is certain is that he won't stay in college for long. For those who say that's reason to pass him up, Illini Wonk would say that it worked out pretty well for Syracuse and Carmelo Anthony. If Rush wants to come to Champaign for a season, that should be fine with most Fighting Illini fans.
UPDATE: Apparently, Rush didn’t make his planned trip to Lawrence despite this invitation from a Kansas City Star columnist. posted by Illiniwonk at 10:14 PM
