Championship game has spotlight matchup

SAN ANTONIO — They could have been teammates.

One could have been playing in the NBA instead of the Final Four.

One has never had an injury more serious than a sprained ankle, the other is playing as a junior only because he shredded a knee ligament last May.

And Monday night in the Alamodome, they’ll be the difference between a national championship and a loser’s trudge to the locker room.

Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis (38-1) and Brandon Rush of Kansas (36-3) will be a center stage, spotlight matchup when the teams decide the 2008 national championship.

CD-R vs. Rush sounds like a battle of the bands but it’s how the title should be decided.

Douglas-Roberts is the leading scorer in the NCAA Tournament. The 6-7 junior with the herky jerky style is averaging 23.6 points in the Tigers’ five NCAA triumphs.

“I love being in that role,” Rush said of his defensive assignment — CD-R. “He’s probably going to get his points but I’m going to try and make him work hard for them. He’s going to be a tough matchup.”

Rush is averaging a more modest 16.6 points per game during Kansas’ NCAA run. But he had 25 in the semifinal slap-down of North Carolina and made crucial all-around plays down the stretch.

“That’s my matchup,” Douglas-Roberts said of Rush. “With great players, you just try to make them uncomfortable. I’ll watch some tape, see which way he likes to go and try to stop him.”

Douglas-Roberts is from Detroit. He learned the game in Kronk’s Gym, the famous boxing venue that has a basketball court upstairs.

“It’s a blue-collar place,” he said. “I lived in that gym and developed my game there. “I did a little boxing but I never fought anybody. I wasn’t gettin’ in that ring.”

Kansas recruited Douglas-Roberts but he believed Memphis was a better fit. The Tigers’ Dribble Drive Motion offense spreads the floor and gives the guards — like CD-R and freshman Derrick Rose, the chance to beat their defenders off the dribble.

“This fits my style and I can really excel at it,” Douglas-Roberts said. “I have never lost a one-on-one game in my life.”

Memphis coach John Calipari is an equal opportunity screamer when it comes to his players. When the volume hits 11 and Douglas-Roberts is the target, Calipari has a specific goal in mind.

“I’m trying to get his motor running,” Calipari said. “When his motor is running, he’s running the floor, going hard off cuts, it’s ridiculous. When he plays at that level, you can’t stop him.”

Calipari believes that a full-speed Douglas-Roberts is comparable to Richard Hamilton, who led Connecticut to the 1999 national championship.

“I keep telling him I am not Richard Hamilton,” Douglas-Roberts said. “I know he is just trying to get the most out of me.”

Rush was headed for the NBA Draft last spring before his tore his anterior cruciate ligament during a pick-up game. The injury led the Kansas City native back to Lawrence for another season and a trip to the Final Four.

“I very much admire how he came back from his injury,” Douglas-Roberts said of Rush. “He was so athletic before the injury and to come back like he did he is amazing. I’m a fan of his game and his unselfish play.”

Kansas is a balanced offense while Douglas-Roberts and Rose are the Tigers’ two main scorers. Rush at times has been content to blend into the background.

“When he’s aggressive like he was (Saturday), we become a totally different offensive team,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “He can stretch the defense and then he’s getting to where he can put a ball down and get to the rim.”

Rush is Kansas’ top 3-point shooter at 42.3 percent. At 6-6, he’s a prototypical shooting guard/small forward.

CD-R makes 41 percent of his 3-pointers but relies on what Rose describes as “old man” moves to befuddle opponents. Douglas-Roberts has made more free throws (155) than any player on Kansas has attempted.

“We’re two great offensive teams but it’s gonna be about defense,” Douglas-Roberts said. “We’re mirror images of each other.”

One might get the last shot. Rush gets the last word.

“I think it will come down to who makes the key stop at the end,” he said.