SAN ANTONIO -- In May, when Kansas star guard Brandon Rush was in a hospital facing major knee surgery, there was no way you could have convinced him that his injury was the best thing that ever happened to him. But tonight? When he leads the Jayhawks against Memphis in the national championship game at the Alamodome? And in June? When he's going to be a middle first-round NBA draft pick?

You might be able to sway Rush.

"I'd have to say overall I'm better," he said yesterday. "I feel I'm a better player."

Rush was headed to the NBA a year ago when he tore up his right knee in a pickup game. The injury forced him back to Kansas for his junior season.

That hardly seems like a bad thing when, in a matter of hours, Rush could have a starring role in "One Shining Moment."

Rush figures to have to score big for Kansas to have a chance against Memphis. He had 25 points in the 84-66 win against North Carolina Saturday night and is averaging 17.1 points in the past seven games, going back to the Big 12 Conference tournament.

"We need him to be in the attack mode all the time," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "I mean, all the time. That's what great scorers do. He's unselfish, which is a good attitude to have. But for us to be as good as we can be, he's got to get 15 to 17 shots like he did Saturday night."

Carrying the Kansas offense is a heavy burden, but there's more to Rush's load. He must cover Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who scored 28 points against UCLA in the Tigers' 78-63 win Saturday night. Douglas-Roberts is averaging 23.6 points a game in the NCAA tournament.

It's a good thing Self called Rush "our best solid defender, a terrific defender, a lock-down defender."

What Rush is doing is remarkable, little more than 10 months after his June 1 surgery to repair his torn anterior cruciate ligament. Self said doctors told him it would take Rush a year to play at a high level again. Rush was back in the Jayhawks' starting lineup by mid-December.

"He's gone from being 80 percent to 90 percent to 95 percent to as close to whole as he's been," Self said.

"I think sometimes when you're a fabulous athlete, you rely so much on your athletic ability to get by that maybe you're not as sound fundamentally as what you could be. I think since Brandon was hurt and his body wouldn't quite do what the brain told it to do early on, he's relied more on technique. Now that he's got his bounce back and his explosiveness back, it just makes him a more complete basketball player."

Self wouldn't wish Rush's knee injury on anyone, but he has loved having him for a third year.

Actually, Self loves that he has had Rush at all.

The Rush family -- a basketball-loving bunch if there ever was one -- is from Kansas City, in the Jayhawks' back yard. Oldest brother JaRon committed to play at Kansas, then changed his mind and played at UCLA, causing a lot of anger in the state. Next oldest brother Kareem had a great career at Missouri.

Then came Brandon.

Check out his recruiting tale.

"There were certainly hard feelings between the Rush family and Kansas [because of JaRon]," Self said. "But I called the kid. He was great. I said, 'I need to talk to your mom and your grandmother.' They were, you know, lukewarm. But after talking to him, I said, 'What does it hurt to visit?'

"Brandon comes on an official visit like a week later. I don't know him. He doesn't know me. He commits."

Self shook his head.

"In recruiting, a lot of times you don't get what you deserve. This is one where we got what we didn't deserve."

There's only one way that story can get better.

If Rush leads Kansas to the title.

His teammates are counting on it.

"He's a big-time crunch player," guard Mario Chalmers said. "Well, this is definitely crunch time."