Brandon Rush grabbed the attention of Indiana Pacers fans on draft night when he referred to one of the franchise's most successful and beloved players.
"I want to try to be the next Reggie Miller,"
Rush told The Kansas City Star.
What exactly did he mean?
In an interview with The Indianapolis Star, Rush said he was referring to Miller's skill and the success the Pacers had in Miller's tenure.
"Just coming in and helping the team win, that's what I was thinking about,"
said Rush, who was in town Wednesday for his physical examination. "And with him being a sharpshooter -- I want to be that kind of player."
The 6-6 swingman appears to have a number of attributes that give him the chance to fulfill those lofty goals, or at least to be a vital component of the Pacers' rebuilding process.
Rush shot 43.5 percent from 3-point range over three years at Kansas and helped the Jayhawks to a national title last season. A starter in all 109 games at KU, he averaged nearly two made 3-pointers per game.
He's more than just a long-range shooter, too. At 6-6 and 210 pounds, Rush is mobile and athletic and can play small forward. He averaged 5.5 rebounds in college.
"I kind of pattern myself after Paul Pierce,"
Rush said, referring to the former Jayhawk who led the Boston Celtics to the NBA title last month. "I've been watching him his whole career, and he's definitely a guy I see myself trying to play like."
Rush wasn't drafted by the Pacers, but he amounts to their top pick.
He was drafted by Portland at No. 13 and traded to the Pacers for No. 11 pick Jerryd Bayless. Though the deal was arranged before the draft, the Pacers can't comment on Rush until trades become official July 9.
Despite media reports to the contrary, Rush said he wasn't surprised by the trade.
"My agent told me they were going to pick me but then trade me to Indiana,"
Rush said. "I knew, but I just couldn't say anything."
Rush initially declared for the draft out of high school in 2005 after a year at Mount Zion Academy in North Carolina -- the same prep school that produced NBA star Tracy McGrady. He eventually decided to attend Kansas, and put his name into the draft pool again in 2007 before withdrawing after suffering a knee injury.
His scoring averages at Kansas were never eye-popping -- 13.5, 13.8 and 13.3 -- but he said three years in college had a bigger benefit.
"It made me a better teammate,"
Rush said. "Coming into college, I was known as a go-to guy who could dominate the ball the whole time. Learning to be a better teammate helped me to be a better player."
He's not likely to play with his older brother, Kareem, also a shooting guard who was with the Pacers last season but is now a free agent the Pacers aren't expected to keep.
But Brandon Rush likes Pacers coach Jim O'Brien's system -- "playing defense and getting up and down the floor, that's what coach O'Brien is known for,"
he said -- and said he likes the style of his future teammates.
"I definitely see us as a team on the rise. They were one game behind eighth place,"
he said, noting where the Pacers finished in the Eastern Conference playoff race. "We're definitely going to be on the rise. We've got a lot of young talent, and I think they're going to make some more trades."
"I think we're definitely a team people are going to have to deal with."
Rush also said he understands the Pacers are looking for players who can avoid embarrassing off-court moments.
"I'll be able to handle that fine,"
he said. "At Kansas, we always did a whole bunch of community service stuff, so I'm actually looking forward to that, too."
