Rusty LaRue (born December 10, 1973) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach and former professional player. He was a multi-sport athlete who played basketball,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

, and football at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private university, private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Wake Forest, north of Rale ...

. LaRue played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA) for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference, Northwest Division. Since the 1991–92 season, ...

and

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. He won an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is aw ...

with the Bulls in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. LaRue began his coaching career after his playing retirement in 2004. He was an assistant coach for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons basketball team under head coaches

Dino Gaudio Dino Joseph Gaudio (born March 30, 1957) is an American former men’s college basketball coach and broadcaster who was most recently an assistant coach at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. Gaudio was a longtime assistant un ...

and

Jeff Bzdelik Jeffrey Joseph Bzdelik () (born December 1, 1952) is an American professional basketball coach who most recently served as associate head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was head coach of the Den ...

from 2009 to 2014. He served as the head coach of the West Forsyth High School basketball team since 2015. LaRue retired from coaching in 2019 and is now the Chief Operations Officer of Dairi-O Restaurants.

High school and college

LaRue attended Northwest Guilford High School in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, 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 Cameron Indoor Stadium is an indoor arena located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The 9,314-seat facility is the primary indoor athletic venue for the Duke Blue Devils and serves as the home court for Duke men's ...

all four years, the others being

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA histor ...

Tyler Hansbrough Andrew Tyler Hansbrough (born November 3, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. He has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for seven seasons, as well ...

, and Danny Green. LaRue arguably had his most collegiate success on the football field. As a freshman

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

in 1992, he was a member of Wake Forest's football team that took home an

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl ...

victory, and during his senior year he broke eight

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

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 goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

s 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. Though he was not drafted by an

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United ...

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 The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third straight championship and sixth in the last eight years, beating the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in the 199 ...

, 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 Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

Scottie Pippen Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with th ...

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...

, and

Steve Kerr Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a nine-time NBA champion, havi ...

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 The 1999–2000 NBA season was the 54th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA championship, beating the Indiana Pacers 4 games to 2 in the 2000 NBA Finals. This would also be C ...

as they continued their post-dynasty rebuilding process. He returned to the minor leagues and was selected to the All-

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) Second Team while playing for the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

in 2000. He signed with the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

n team

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...

in 2000. After a year in Russia, LaRue returned to America and briefly played for the NBA's

during the

2001–02 NBA season The 2001–02 NBA season was the 56th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their third straight championship, beating the New Jersey Nets 4–0 in the 2002 NBA Finals. Notable occurre ...

(signed January 28, 2002) before going back to the European leagues, where he joined the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

team

Pallacanestro Varese Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian first division LBA. For past club spo ...

. In 2003, he returned to the NBA, this time as a member of the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

, but he was waived before appearing in a regular season game; he would appear in four games for the

towards the end of the season.

Coaching career

LaRue served as head men's basketball coach at

Greensboro College Greensboro College is a private college in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and was founded in 1838 by Rev. Peter Doub. The college enrolls about 1,000 students from 32 states, the District of Columbi ...

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

.LaRue joins Wake Forest basketball staff
He was retained as an assistant by new head coach

in 2010. He was released by Wake Forest's new coach,

Danny Manning Daniel Ricardo Manning (born May 17, 1966) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the Associate Head Mens Basketball Coach at the University of Louisville. Manning played high school basketball at Walter Hin ...

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 Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one ...

, another former Wake Forest player. LaRue retired from coaching in 2019 and is now the Chief Operations Officer of Dairi-O Restaurants.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 1997–98† , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, 14 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .408 , , .250 , , .625 , , .6 , , .4 , , .2 , , .1 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;", Chicago , 43 , , 6 , , 17.0 , , .359 , , .337 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .1 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1999–00 , style="text-align:left;", Chicago , 4 , , 1 , , 32.3 , , .349 , , .143 , , .714 , , 2.5 , , 2.8 , , 1.8p , , .0 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001-02 , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, 33 , , 0 , , 16.4 , , .395 , , .340 , , .857 , , 1.5 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003-04 , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 4 , , 0 , , 5.5 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , .500 , , .8 , , .5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 98 , , 7 , , 16.0 , , .376 , , .318 , , .841 , , 1.3 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .1 , , 5.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2001-02 , style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 13.3 , , .375 , , .400 , , .600 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , .0 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , , 0 , , 13.3 , , .375 , , .400 , , .600 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , .0 , , 5.0

References

External links

Official site

at Basketball-Reference

at Basketball-Reference {{DEFAULTSORT:Larue, Rusty 1973 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Russia American men's basketball players Asheville Altitude players Basketball coaches from North Carolina Basketball players from Winston-Salem, North Carolina Chicago Bulls players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Connecticut Pride players Golden State Warriors players Greensboro Pride men's basketball coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States Idaho Stampede (CBA) players Pallacanestro Varese players Paris Racing Basket players PBC CSKA Moscow players Point guards Undrafted National Basketball Association players Utah Jazz players Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball players Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball coaches Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball players United States Basketball League players