Have you ever wondered how much practice is needed for good shooting technique? Training for professional basketball players is exhausting since it required a lot of focus and persistence.
Those hard-work practices are maybe the hardest challenges for basketball and 3×3 players nowadays. Also, investing a lot of time and energy in tactical elements make famous stars tired.
Their function is to prepare mentally our favorites for situations that might happen on the court, so they do not think about technique during the game. One of the guys who is shooting without hesitation with good accuracy is Brandon Rush. His story is incredibly interesting, so let’s dive deep into his development and growth over the past years.
What were Brandon’s beginnings in basketball?
Brandon Rush was born in Kansas City, the biggest city in the state of Missouri, with a population of approximately 50000. After playing high school basketball in North Carolina and withdrawing from the 2005 NBA Draft, Brandon decided to represent the community at Kansas.
In his college career, Rush was a real leader of the Kansas Jayhawks averaging 13.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Despite the desire to participate in the 2007 NBA Draft, the guy from Kansas didn’t succeed in his intention due to torn ligament in the right knee.
It seemed that his career was back on the track after a successful recovery and Kansas victory 2008 NCAA where he was named MVP of the semifinal.
Where did Brandon’s path in NBA start?
He began his career in the most glamorous national basketball league in the world by getting chosen by Portland at the 2008 NBA Draft. Destiny wanted him to be traded to Indiana Pacers along with future Big3 star Jarret Jack and injury-prone Josh McRoberts.
His beginning in the play in NBA was turbulent because the trade took the same time and disabled Rush’s playing in the summer league. All these things made Brandon Rush more nervous than usual and slowed the display of his qualities in Indianapolis.
However, dedication to improving mid-shooting and three-point shooting started to make things better and better in Brandon’s case. Teammates gave necessary support to Rush, boosted confidence in his shoots, and calmness in his performances.
How did his road continue after his tenure with Indiana?
After having 8.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game during three seasons in Indiana, Brandon was signed by the Golden State at the end of 2011. The reputation of a quality defender helped the player to be brought in, by many, a risky business deal for the Warriors.
In the first season, Rush averaged 9.8 points and 1.4 assists per game with 3 points field percentage of 45%. Following the statistically best 2011/2012 season in his career, Brandon suffered a massive injury in a fixture against Memphis on November 2, 2012.
Unfortunately, a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament kept him off the court for the rest of the season.
What was the next Brandon’s step after an injury?
Following a disappointing season marked by injury, Rush worked hard to return to basketball and NBA challenges.
Utah was standing in the line for him believing that he was going to be their best shooting guard since Jeff Hornacek. Jazz approved the replacement of Randy Foye with Brandon in the roster for 2013/2014 hoping to strengthen off-the-ball defense and man-to-man defense.
However, Brandon Rush managed to score only 2.1 points per fixture not looking like the player who shined in the 2011/2012 season. Poor performance by the hero of our story could be attributed to low-quality teammates and his slow recovery process, though.
Where did Rush find his next contract in NBA?
Following 38 games Rush played for Utah in the 2013/2014 season, his former club Golden State decided to make a two-year deal worth $2.5 million on July 22, 2014. Adding this shooting guard to the squad gave the Warriors another dimension and solution in the shooting area besides Stephen Curry and Clay Thompson.
After winning the NBA ring with Golden State in the first season in the second stint with them, Brandon had a better 2015/2016 season in terms of individual results.
One of the most memorable individual performances came against Portland with Rush scoring a season-high 20 points. Warriors couldn’t win the trophy in that season despite having 73 wins in a row and ex Indiana player’s average of 9 points per game.
How did Brandon react to losing the big final in 2015/2016?
Becoming an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016 didn’t last long for Rush as Minnesota signed him a one-year deal, making Brandon the second shooting guard besides Zach LaVine. Timberwolves welcomed Brandon with warm greetings expecting that young guy Andrew Wiggins and Carl-Anthony Towns could learn from such an experienced star.
However, his 47 appearances in 2016/2017(including 33 participations in starting line-ups) didn’t justify the expectations of fans, the board, and Rush himself. Timberwolves ended the regular part of the season with a 31-51 score a disappointing 13th place in Western Conference with Brandon finishing the season with only 4.2 points per game.
How did our hero entering the Big3 go?
His final years in the most prestigious national league in the world were pretty devastating for Brandon, so he decided to follow footsteps of many ex-NBA players. Entering the Big3 draft in 2019 was a logical move for him since Rush was a “requested product on Fireball’s market” ahead of the start of the third season.
A team Aliens is a location where Brandon Rush started to build a name for himself, being picked within the 18th pick of the second round on the 2019 Draft Pool. Playing under the charge of coach Nate Archibald and joining Andre Owens, Ryan Hollins, Greg Oden, and Shannon Brown on the roster was an exciting new chapter in Brandon’s career.
Despite finishing with a 3-5 score at 11th place in the Big3 standings, one of the highlights of the season was Brandon’s three-point shot for a win over Ghost Ballers in the fifth week of competition.
Look at the fantastic Brandon’s performance against Bivouac in season 3:
What happened with Rush in the 2021 season?
Following the first season in Fireball, Brandon wanted to use that experience and decided to stay in Aliens for the 2021 season. The arrival of Rick Mahorn, the winner from 2017, as the main coach gave strong hopes to the powerful five consisting of Shannon Brown, Andre Owens, Greg Oden, Renaldo Balkman, Robert Vaden, and our hero Brandon Rush.
Final 4 was not reached as Aliens underachieved in the fourth season of Big3 with two victories and four defeats and ended the season in 10th place in the Fireball standings.
How the failure affected Brandon emotionally?
After two years in Fireball, Rash had a hard time accepting Aliens felt short two seasons in a row. His virtues shown on the court were noticed and 3’s Company eventually made Brandon their signing ahead of the 2022 season.
He became a powerful trio with Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley making them one of the most dangerous trios in the whole Big3 in the fifth season. 3’s company relied on Brandon’s versatility and ability to play both defense and offense, but this team finished in 7th place with a 3-4 score.
Failing to qualify for the playoff was partially attributed to insufficient Rush mental strength after bad experiences with injuries and results in the previous period.
True 3×3 spectators wonder often if this gifted player will ever lift the trophy in Bif3, Ice Cube’s, and Jeff Quatinetz’s project. The fireball was founded in 2017 and only chosen stars could call themselves winners of this competition.
Can Brandon enter the elite group of names with his team becoming the champion in future years? Better said, can Rush increase the level of his mental and physical play in the upcoming period?
Quality of training and ability to focus on the game will be deciding factors, for sure. Be free to tell us your point of view on our hero’s potential and limits.
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