Rush-Piggie Case: How a Bruin Career Ended

The ramifications of the Myron Piggie case hit college basketball hard, especially at UCLA. Piggie, a former crack dealer and Nike-affiliated coach, pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with $35,500 in payments made to high school players. JaRon Rush of UCLA, his brother Kareem, a player at Missouri, and Andre Williams of Oklahoma State all received suspensions from the NCAA for accepting money from Piggie. Corey Maggette of Duke also accepted money and the Blue Devils could be forced to return more than $1 million from tournament earnings in 1999.

Even though he appealed a harsher penalty, JaRon Rush, one of the Bruins’ best players, was suspended for 24 games of his sophomore season. UCLA had to repay the NCAA $45,321 for earnings from the 1999 tournament. Rush returned at the end of the regular season and helped the Bruins advance to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament. But the damage had been done. He declared himself eligible for the June NBA draft, but was not selected, leaving his career in shambles.