Rusty LaRue

Rusty LaRue (born December 10, 1973) is an American former 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. Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he was listed at 6'3" (1.90 m) and 185 pounds (84 kg). He was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Wake Forest, under head coaches Dino Gaudio and Jeff Bzdelik.

For the Major League Baseball catcher nicknamed "Rusty LaRue", see Jason LaRue.
Rusty LaRue
LaRue in 2013
Personal information
Born (1973-12-10) December 10, 1973
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolNorthwest Guilford
(Greensboro, North Carolina)
CollegeWake Forest (1992–1996)
NBA draft1996 / Undrafted
Playing career1996–2004
PositionPoint guard
Number5
Coaching career2004–present
Career history
As player:
1996Carolina Cardinals
1996Paris Basket Racing
1997Connecticut Pride
1997Idaho Stampede
1997–1999Chicago Bulls
1999–2000Idaho Stampede
2000–2001CSKA Moscow
2001–2002Asheville Altitude
2002Utah Jazz
2002–2003Pallacanestro Varese
2003–2004Asheville Altitude
2004Golden State Warriors
As coach:
2004–2005Greensboro College
2005–2009Forsyth Country Day School
2009–2014Wake Forest (assistant)
2015–presentWest Forsyth HS
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
FIBA Americas Championship
1997 Montevideo Team competition

High school and college

LaRue attended Northwest Guilford 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 1991, 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 also played collegiate baseball for one season, becoming just the second player in ACC history to play three sports in the same year. He was 1 of only 4 players to beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium all four years, the others being Tim Duncan, Tyler Hansbrough, and Danny Green.

LaRue arguably had his most collegiate success on the football field. As a freshman quarterback in 1992, he was a member of Wake Forest's football team that took home an Independence Bowl victory, and during his senior year he broke 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 because there were more opportunities to play professionally.[1] 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 America and briefly played for the NBA's Utah Jazz during the 2001–02 NBA season (signed January 28, 2002[2]) before going back to the European leagues, where he joined the Italian team Pallacanestro Varese. In 2003, he returned to the NBA, this time as a member of the Boston Celtics, but he was waived before appearing in a regular season game; he would appear in four games for the Golden State Warriors towards the end of the season.

Coaching career

LaRue served as head men's basketball coach at Greensboro College in 2004-05 and later was athletics director and basketball coach at Forsyth Country Day School in Winston-Salem.

In 2009, he re-joined the Wake Forest men's basketball program as an assistant coach under Dino Gaudio.[3] He was retained as an assistant by new head coach Jeff Bzdelik in 2010. He was released by Wake Forest's new coach, Danny Manning in 2014.

On June 30, 2015, LaRue was named the new men's basketball coach at West Forsyth High School. West Forsyth was attended by Chris Paul, another former Wake Forest player.

NBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1997–98† Chicago 14010.0.408.250.625.6.4.2.13.5
1998–99 Chicago 43617.0.359.3371.0001.31.5.8.14.7
1999–00 Chicago 4132.3.349.143.7142.52.81.8p.09.3
2001-02 Utah 33016.4.395.340.8571.52.2.5.25.8
2003-04 Golden State 405.5.3331.000.500.8.5.5.01.0
Career 98716.0.376.318.8411.31.6.6.15.0

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2001-02 Utah 4013.3.375.400.6001.51.5.2.05.0
Career 4013.3.375.400.6001.51.5.2.05.0

References
  1. "Talking with Wake Forest legend Rusty LaRue". Basketinside.com.
  2. Handing out postseason awards
  3. LaRue joins Wake Forest basketball staff Archived 2009-05-15 at the Wayback Machine
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