Departing players hold press conference

By AJ Cadman Daily Bruin Senior Staff The college basketball
careers of UCLA sophomore forwards Jerome Moiso and JaRon Rush have
come full circle. Seated at a press conference Tuesday afternoon at
the same center court circle in Pauley Pavilion where they began
their careers two years ago, Moiso and Rush spoke to the media for
the first time after declaring themselves eligible for the NBA
Draft on Monday. “I’ve been testing the process
throughout the season,” Moiso said. “Coach (Lavin) has
been talking to general managers and coaches in the NBA and I feel
ready and confident to go.” “I think this a great
opportunity for me,” Rush said. “Coach has talked to
the GMs and said I could go anywhere from 15 to 25 (in the first
round) and might slip, at worse, into the second round. It really
depends on how the individual team workouts go. “Some people
are saying I don’t have the ballhandling or shooting
skills,” he added. “But I am going to go out there to
prove them wrong.” UCLA men’s basketball head coach
Steve Lavin, who is currently attending the Pac-10 conference
coaches meeting in Phoenix, Ariz., did not attend the press
conference. The Bruins anticipated the possible departures of the
6-foot-10-inch Moiso and 6-foot-7-inch Rush by signing highly
talented recruits T.J. Cummings and Josiah Johnson during this
recruiting season. “It’s going to be a challenge for us
(next year),” UCLA point guard Earl Watson said. “We
are going to have to work hard, but we have the players. It’s
going to be hard to lose those guys. But UCLA recruits the
best.” Rumors had swirled around Moiso all season that he
would test the NBA draft waters. After talking to NBA executives
and players, including former UCLA point guard Baron Davis, the
third pick overall in last year’s draft, Moiso said the
decision was not difficult. “I think I have the potential to
play in the NBA,” he said. “It will take a lot of hard
work in the first year to make the transition from college
basketball to the pros. “I talked to Baron last week,”
he continued. “He told me that it’s a personal
decision. He said he’s seen me play and said that he thought
I had a good year.” For Rush, the decision to turn pro comes
amid continued controversy concerning his amateur status, which
stemmed from money he accepted from former youth basketball coach
Myron Piggie, who was indicted two weeks ago on 11 counts of fraud.
The NCAA initially suspended Rush for 44 games, though that was
later reduced to 24 games. “It was a hard three to four
months (during the suspension),” Rush said. “It was
very painful. It was very tough mentally for me not to play the
game that I love. There was a lot of pressure on me all year
long.” Rush, 21, said Tuesday that he intends to pay back
$6,125 that the NCAA said he took from Piggie, in addition to $200
he took from Los Angeles-based sports agent Jerome Stanley. He also
believes that the financial stability an NBA contract brings will
allow him to be closer to his family and his son. “It’s
a great opportunity for my family,” Rush said. “I want
to help support my boy and set him up for life. I think this is a
way for me to help him out. He’s never really been dependent
upon me, but I think it’s something that any father should
have.” “He wants to give his son everything he can to
set him up for the future,” Watson said about Rush’s
decision. “We talked back and forth. I thought it was best
just to listen. When he made his decision, it was a sigh of relief.
“I was not surprised that he decided to go,” he added.
“But I wouldn’t have been surprised if he
stayed.” According to NBA scouts and draft analysts like
ESPN’s Andy Katz, both sophomores are possible first-round
draft choices, with Moiso a potential lottery pick. The 22-year-old
Moiso has excellent low post moves with his back to the basket, and
an improved outside game and increased physical play have improved
his draft stock. “I think Jerome was probably the best big
man in college basketball last year in both his ability and his
potential,” Watson said. Rush, meanwhile, feels that his work
ethic, desire and other intangibles will help him succeed at the
next level. “I know that it is in my own hands to prove to
people that I can dribble and shoot ““ the things people say
that I can’t,” Rush said. “I feel very confident.
I believe it’s going to happen. I am a risk-taker.”
While some say that the June 28 draft in Minneapolis may be
described as a weaker draft than recent ones, both Moiso and Rush
have high hopes of being one of its earlier selections.
“There’s not that much talent this year (in the
draft),” said Rush, who said he came to his decision last
Friday. “I feel that I can play with the players that are
coming out.” Both players have until June 21, one week before
the draft, to withdraw their names and return to college. They will
lose their collegiate eligibility, however, if they sign with an
agent. “¢bull; “¢bull; “¢bull;

UCLA joins DePaul, Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College and
Florida as the only schools sending multiple underclassmen to this
year’s draft. Should both Moiso and Rush go in round one, it
would mark the first time in school history that two underclassmen
from UCLA were drafted in the opening round.

PLAYER PROFILE

#4 JaRon Rush

6-7, 207 Forward, Kansas City, MO, Pembroke Hill School YEAR
G-GS FG-A Pct. FT-A Pct. Reb. Avg. Pts. Avg. 1998-1999 28-22
115-309 .372 63-101 .624 205 7.3 320 11.4 1999-2000 9-0 43-77 .558
11-15 .733 51 5.7 109 12.1 Career 37-22 158-386 .409 74-116 .638
256 6.9 429 11.6 No. 2 All-time freshman rebounder in UCLA history
No. 6 All-time freshman scorer in UCLA history 1999 Basketball News
Freshman All-American 1999 First Team All-Pac-10 Freshman Orginal
graphic by MAGGIE WOO Web adaptation by MONICA KWONG PLAYER
PROFILE

#0 Jerome Moiso

6-10, 235 Forward/Center Ahymes, Guadeloupe, France, Milford
Academy YEAR G-GS FG-A Pct. FT-A Pct. Reb. Avg. Pts. Avg. 1998-1999
29-21 131-269 .487 48-78 .615 169 5.8 314 10.8 1999-2000 33-30
170-339 .501 87-142 .613 252 7.6 428 13.0 Career 62-51 301-608 .495
135-220 .614 421 6.8 742 12.0 1999 Honorable Mention All-Pac-10
Freshman Team 2000 Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 No. 7 All-time
freshman scorer in UCLA history No. 6 All-time freshman rebounder
in UCLA history Orginal graphic by MAGGIE WOO Web adaptation by
MONICA KWONG