June 19, 2001

Kansas City, Mo. - University of Missouri junior forward Kareem Rush received the first of what he hopes to be many prestigious awards in the upcoming year when he was presented with the Kansas City Male Collegiate Athlete-of-the-Year Award tonight in Kansas City, Mo.

The award, given annually by the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation, was given to Rush at a banquet this evening at the Kansas City Downtown Marriott.

Rush, a projected pre-season All-American, led the Big 12 Conference in scoring last season as a sophomore, at 21.1 points per game. He earned honorable mention All-American status, and was a first-team All-Big 12 selection, despite missing seven of the final eight games of the regular season due to an injured shooting hand.

Rush returned late in the season and helped lead MU to 20 wins, including Mizzou's first NCAA Tournament win since 1995. He closed out the season with a brilliant performance in MU's second-round NCAA Tournament loss to eventual national champion Duke, when he torched the Blue Devils for 29 points despite playing with a cumbersome splint on his injured hand.

The fifth-leading returning scorer in the nation, Rush will headline Head Coach Quin Snyder's Tiger team that has been rated as high as third in the nation in early pre-season media polls.