Post by Bornthrilla on Mar 6, 2009 9:35:40 GMT -5
Rush's career is a foreign affair
Friday, March 6
( updated 5:43 am)
By Michael McCray
Staff Writer
Steven Rush just wants to know the score.
Thousands of miles away from home, the former N.C. A&T basketball star and Greensboro native is online trying to get updates from the A&T/Winston-Salem State game. Rush is on pins and needles to get the outcome of what had been a tight contest that, happily for him, the Aggies won.
Rush is settling into life as a professional basketball player overseas. Since he signed with Franken Hexer in the German ProB League on Jan. 29, the Internet has been Rush's connection to all the things he left behind in the States.
"It's my lifesaver," said Rush, who has a phone setup through his computer to send and receive unlimited calls from the United States.
Facebook, MySpace, AIM and e-mails are his link to his alma mater. Whether it was following the resignation of Chancellor Stanley F. Battle or getting scores, Rush still has his eyes and ears on Greensboro, and the Aggies' play this season has had Rush smiling from across the Atlantic.
"I'm so proud of the boys, man," he said. "I'm glad the boys are showing some pride, man, and not letting the Aggie Pride die again. It was a lot of work bringing that back."
Rush starred at Greensboro Day School before heading off to UNC-Asheville for two seasons, then transferring to N.C. A&T to be closer to his family and familiar surroundings.
His surroundings now are anything but familiar.
Whether it's learning a language, driving a manual-shift Toyota Yaris on the Autobahn or furnishing his two-bedroom apartment in Nuremburg, it's hard to believe that when 2009 began he was still an assistant chemist at a pharmaceutical company near Raleigh.
But Rush hadn't given up on his hoop dreams.
"I still worked out three or four times a week just so I would be in decent shape if I got a phone call to come play," Rush said. "I'd never given up on the thought of playing professional basketball even though things hadn't worked in my favor yet."
How does a team in Bavaria find a sharpshooter from the MEAC? YouTube videos of Rush scoring 40 points on Big East competition and electrifying a home crowd on ESPNU didn't hurt.
"The YouTube videos did help put the icing on the cake, because it was a way to actually see me without seeing me," Rush said. "Prior to that, it was just networking and my name fell in the right person's hands who was in need of a player to help their club."
Rush hasn't disappointed in his three professional games. He's averaging 23.7 points a game, including a 26-point, six-rebound performance in his pro debut and a 19-point, four-steal, four-assist outing in his most recent game.
Rush says the game is much more physical than what he's used to in the States, especially for foreign players.
"Lucky for me, I can shoot and I'm quicker than most of them so they don't get to be as physical with me as they'd like."
Communicating with his teammates hasn't been as hard as he expected. Although Rush is one of two Americans on the team, his teammates all speak English pretty well.
"My teammates are funny," Rush said. "They are young, so they always have a joke or are doing silly things."
Read more:
www.news-record.com/content/2009/03/06/article/rushs_career_is_a_foreign_affair
Friday, March 6
( updated 5:43 am)
By Michael McCray
Staff Writer
Steven Rush just wants to know the score.
Thousands of miles away from home, the former N.C. A&T basketball star and Greensboro native is online trying to get updates from the A&T/Winston-Salem State game. Rush is on pins and needles to get the outcome of what had been a tight contest that, happily for him, the Aggies won.
Rush is settling into life as a professional basketball player overseas. Since he signed with Franken Hexer in the German ProB League on Jan. 29, the Internet has been Rush's connection to all the things he left behind in the States.
"It's my lifesaver," said Rush, who has a phone setup through his computer to send and receive unlimited calls from the United States.
Facebook, MySpace, AIM and e-mails are his link to his alma mater. Whether it was following the resignation of Chancellor Stanley F. Battle or getting scores, Rush still has his eyes and ears on Greensboro, and the Aggies' play this season has had Rush smiling from across the Atlantic.
"I'm so proud of the boys, man," he said. "I'm glad the boys are showing some pride, man, and not letting the Aggie Pride die again. It was a lot of work bringing that back."
Rush starred at Greensboro Day School before heading off to UNC-Asheville for two seasons, then transferring to N.C. A&T to be closer to his family and familiar surroundings.
His surroundings now are anything but familiar.
Whether it's learning a language, driving a manual-shift Toyota Yaris on the Autobahn or furnishing his two-bedroom apartment in Nuremburg, it's hard to believe that when 2009 began he was still an assistant chemist at a pharmaceutical company near Raleigh.
But Rush hadn't given up on his hoop dreams.
"I still worked out three or four times a week just so I would be in decent shape if I got a phone call to come play," Rush said. "I'd never given up on the thought of playing professional basketball even though things hadn't worked in my favor yet."
How does a team in Bavaria find a sharpshooter from the MEAC? YouTube videos of Rush scoring 40 points on Big East competition and electrifying a home crowd on ESPNU didn't hurt.
"The YouTube videos did help put the icing on the cake, because it was a way to actually see me without seeing me," Rush said. "Prior to that, it was just networking and my name fell in the right person's hands who was in need of a player to help their club."
Rush hasn't disappointed in his three professional games. He's averaging 23.7 points a game, including a 26-point, six-rebound performance in his pro debut and a 19-point, four-steal, four-assist outing in his most recent game.
Rush says the game is much more physical than what he's used to in the States, especially for foreign players.
"Lucky for me, I can shoot and I'm quicker than most of them so they don't get to be as physical with me as they'd like."
Communicating with his teammates hasn't been as hard as he expected. Although Rush is one of two Americans on the team, his teammates all speak English pretty well.
"My teammates are funny," Rush said. "They are young, so they always have a joke or are doing silly things."
Read more:
www.news-record.com/content/2009/03/06/article/rushs_career_is_a_foreign_affair
... & they have no room for the aggies...