Rusty LaRue

Rusty LaRue (born December 10, 1973 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American multi-sport athlete who played basketball, baseball, and football at Wake Forest University. He later played for the Chicago Bulls team that won the 1998 National Basketball Association Championship. He stands 6’3” and weighs 185 pounds.

High school and college

LaRue attended Northwest Senior High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, where, in addition to being an honors student, he earned All-State honors in baseball, basketball, and football. As a senior in 1993, he was named North Carolina Athlete of the Year, and he attracted the attention of many colleges before choosing to attend Wake Forest, where he planned to play both basketball and football in the ACC. LaRue would also play collegiate baseball for one season, becoming just the second player in ACC history to play three sports in the same year.

LaRue arguably had his most collegiate success on the football field. As a freshman quarterback in 1992, he led Wake Forest’s football team to an Independence Bowl victory, and during his senior year he would break eight NCAA records for passing, including the record for most completions in one game (55). However, LaRue was a solid basketball player, as well, as he helped his teammates reach the NCAA Tournament for four consecutive seasons. He also finished second in school history in three-point field goals made, and he finished first all-time in three-point field goal percentage.

Professional playing career

After college, LaRue decided to focus exclusively on basketball. Though he was not drafted by an NBA team, he earned a spot on the Chicago Bulls' roster in 1997 after honing his craft in the minor leagues for one season. During the 1997-98 NBA season, LaRue averaged 3.5 points per game in limited playing time and earned an NBA Championship ring in the process. He would receive more minutes during the next season after Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Steve Kerr left the team, and he averaged 4.7 points and 1.5 assists per game while making 33.7% of his three-point field goal attempts. However, the Bulls cut ties with LaRue during the 1999-2000 NBA season as they continued their post-dynasty rebuilding process, and he returned to the minor leagues before signing with the Russian team CSKA Moscow in 2000.

After a year in Russia, LaRue returned to American and briefly played for the NBA's Utah Jazz during the 2001-02 NBA season before going back to the European leagues, where he joined the Italian team Pallacanestro Varese. In 2003, he returned to the NBA once again, this time as a member of the Boston Celtics, but he was waived before appearing in a regular season game, although he would appear in four games for the Golden State Warriors towards the end of the season.

Coaching

In 2004, LaRue decided to end his playing career and accepted a coaching position with Greensboro College's basketball team. After one season there, he was hired by Forysth Country Day School, where he currently serves as head coach of the boys' basketball team and as assistant coach of the football team. He also runs a basketball camp called the Rusty LaRue Basketball Academy.

External links

* [http://www.rustylarue.com/career Profile] at [http://www.rustylarue.com www.rustylarue.com]
* [http://basketball-reference.com/players/l/larueru01.html Career stats] at [http://basketball-reference.com basketball-reference.com]