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Brandon Rush has superb lateral maneuverability in the air, which comes from great balance and body control and is unquestionably one of the more polished wing products in the draft.
He has a great ability to acrobatically navigate into space in the air, but this almost works to his disadvantage because he doesn’t draw as many fouls as he potentially could and when he does finally initiate some contact he is prone to player control fouls.
Expounding upon the way he can dodge defenders in the air, Rush is not very good driving up the middle to the basket; he usually takes little floaters when he’s in the very center of the paint instead of going up strongly and attacking defenders and the rim. He is much better at attacking the basket from the angles of the baseline and in transition. This is where he is able to use his in-air abilities to full advantage.
His future in the NBA is as a slasher, wing facilitator and creating his own shot off the dribble in the mid-range because although his perimeter shot must be contested and respected, it is far too streaky to be anything more than average.
Rush excessively misses to the left and right from the perimeter overall, suggesting flawed mechanics.
He doesn’t consistently follow through all the way on his shot and he shoots from across his body.
This explains why he is almost always a lights out shooter when dribbling into his jumper when going left. It really is remarkable to watch the difference between his hits going left and misses going right. Rush will even make 3-pointers going to his left when he fumbles a kick out pass.
When Rush goes right for a jumper off the dribble, he doesn’t always square up to the basket all the way, which is the opposite of how perfect and effective he is going left.
He should improve on the catch and shoot as he becomes more consistent in his mechanics of readying his body as the ball is on its way. He also has nice lift with the shot, but he is a very errant shooter when closely guarded and his range gets iffy not too far beyond the college arc and the NBA line will be a little far initially.
Since you cannot expect Rush to be a great perimeter shooter, how well does he do those other things?
He impressively keeps his feet moving to maintain good pacing and be ready to explode to the basket for a lob or to follow a missed shot.
He has good hang time in the air and will make good eye contact with the passer to setup lobs.
Rush moves well without the ball, coming off screens strongly and quickly, but he never had to work too hard to get the ball since Kansas has always had so many other scoring options.
He always squares up nicely in the triple threat position upon the catch, but his use of shot fakes, ball fakes and jab steps is limited. Because of this he struggles to beat his man into the lane off the dribble. He gets to the lane most frequently following a closeout flyby by a defender on his perimeter shot and in transition.
He has a very good handle both in the open floor and halfcourt, but it is more functional than explosive. With that said, he can alleviate more responsibility from the point guard than a typical wing.
He will make a nice runner with the right hand going across the middle and will jump stop well, but his fadeaway is not very effective and is routinely flat and very short.
Rush always seems like he has a very high basketball IQ and has reminded me of a classic pro player, but he is a very inconsistent passer. I always expect him to make the smart pass, but he is surprisingly awful on the post entry. He will throw it right at their feet or lob it in softly where it can get picked off.
He is far more effective with the skip pass and kick out.
Rush defends smaller perimeter players well with his good lateral quickness and has a good concept of team defense even though his fundamentals leave him to get turned around frequently.
Rush should do a better job fighting through screen and closing out to the perimeter shooter, but he defends the passing lanes well and is an overall pest on-ball.
He is good at boxing out and is really good at grabbing a rebound and bringing the ball up himself for early offense opportunities. He is really good at grabbing the ball and beginning his transition dribble in one fluid motion.
Rush is really strong to the ball as a rebounder and should have an above average rebound rate for a wing player.
I think Rush is in a what you see is what you get sort of situation. Given his pedigree and playing at Kansas for three years, he is a known commodity who will only marginally improve during the course of his career. He is already a very well-rounded player and should be a contributor instantaneously and for a stretch of eight years, but I don’t think the club that drafts him will be mining an All-Star hidden in there.
His selection is one of those instances where you sacrifice a little on the down the road back end for the guarantee of getting a nice player.
