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Rush to go pro

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SAN ANTONIO – Brandon Rush has played his last game as a Kansas Jayhawk.

Two sources close to Rush told Yahoo! Sports late Monday that Rush – KU's leading scorer for the past three seasons – has decided to forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the NBA draft.

Rush's decision ends a college career that saw him earn first-team all-league honors in each of his three seasons while guiding Kansas to three straight Big 12 regular-season and conference tournament titles.

Rush scored 12 points in Monday's 75-68 NCAA championship game victory over Memphis at the Alamodome. He declined to comment on his draft status after the game. Rush averaged 15.8 points in six tournament games and 13.6 points in his career.

This marks the third time Rush has declared for the draft. He did so following his senior season at Mt. Zion Academy in 2005 but withdrew when it became obvious he wouldn't be selected in the first round.

Rush also entered the draft following his sophomore season at Kansas but was forced to pull out after tearing an ACL less than a week before the pre-draft camp in Orlando.

Most NBA scouts and analysts have pegged Rush as a mid-to-late first round selection in this summer's NBA draft. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Rush is the youngest brother of former UCLA star JaRon Rush and current Indiana Pacers guard Kareem Rush.

Also Monday, a source close to Kansas sophomore guard Sherron Collins said Collins will return for his junior season.

The source said that Collins had considered "testing the waters" by entering the draft without hiring an agent, which would have given him the option of returning if his draft status was unfavorable. Collins, though, realizes how much he'll be able to enhance his stock by returning to Kansas in 2008-09, when he'll take over for Russell Robinson as the Jayhawks' starting point guard.

Two other Kansas underclassmen – forward Darrell Arthur and guard Mario Chalmers – also are considering leaving school early for the draft. Their intentions were unknown as of Monday, although it's believed that Arthur is leaning strongly toward turning pro.