But he misses playing so much that he has had to stop watching any basketball.

"I can't sit down and watch a basketball game right now," said Rush, who underwent surgery to repair his torn anterior cruciate ligament in June. "I'm not depressed. I just can't watch it."

The two-time All-Big 12 selection averaged 13.8 points and helped the Jayhawks win a second straight conference championship last season. He tore his ACL in May, forcing him to withdraw from the NBA draft.

He did lift his basketball boycott to watch the draft, where teammate Julian Wright was taken No. 13 by New Orleans. Wright has already bought two homes, one for himself and another for his mother, Rush said.

"He's living the life right now," the junior guard said. "I had to think about that. Now I have to wait another year or two before I can do anything like that."

Rush spends much of his day in three sessions of rehab, lifting weights, biking, doing exercise drills and soon (at 12 weeks) running and jumping.

Rush wants to play in the Jayhawks' Nov. 9 season opener, but still mentions Dec. 1 as his return date — six months after surgery.

"My main focus is being 100 percent — don't start into it too early," he said.