Clifton Bush

Clifton Bush
Personal information
Born (1970-09-01) 1 September 1970
Little Rock, Arkansas
Nationality American / New Zealand
Listed height 195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Listed weight 92 kg (203 lb)
Career information
College Central Arkansas (1988–1992)
NBA draft 1992 / Undrafted
Playing career 1995–2009
Position Small forward
Career history
1995–1996 Snæfell
1996–1997 Breiðablik
1997–1999 Canterbury Rams
1997–1998 Snæfell
1999–2000 KFÍ
2000–2001 Waikato Warriors/Titans
2000–2001 Thór
2001 Estudiantes de Olavarría
2002 Manawatu Jets
2002–2003 Snæfell
2003 Canterbury Knights
2004–2005 Canterbury Rams
2005 New Zealand Breakers
2006 Manawatu Jets
2007–2009 Hawke's Bay Hawks
Career highlights and awards

Clifton Bush II (born 1 September 1970) is an American-New Zealand former professional basketball player who played the majority of his career in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NBL). He also spent six seasons playing in Iceland, and had short stints playing in Argentina for Estudiantes de Olavarría, and in the Australian NBL for the New Zealand Breakers.

College career

Bush grew up in Arkansas and played four years of college basketball for the Central Arkansas Bears. As a sophomore in 1989–90, he started all 35 games for the Bears and averaged 16.8 points per game (587 total points) on .498 field goal shooting (220-of-442).[1]

As a junior in 1990–91, Bush started in 33 of the Bears' 34 games, and scored a school single-season high of 682 points, good for 20.1 points per game (ranked eighth in single-season scoring averages) on .560 field goal shooting (263-of-470) and .563 three-point shooting (58-of-103). He also recorded 280 rebounds (8.2 pg) and 62 steals (1.8 pg).[1]

As a senior in 1991–92, Bush started in all 33 games for the Bears and averaged 19.0 points per game (626 total points) on .499 field goal shooting (248-of-497). He also recorded 59 steals (1.8 pg).[1]

In 2004, Bush was inducted into the University of Central Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor.[2]

Professional career

Iceland and New Zealand (1995–2003)

Bush began his professional career in Iceland with Snæfell in 1995. He spent one season with the club before joining Breiðablik for the 1996–97 season where he averaged 24.7 points and 12.3 rebounds in 11 games.[3]

In early 1997, an agent asked if he or any of the eight players he lived with wanted to go to New Zealand for the off-season.[4] Three days later, Bush arrived in Christchurch to play for the Canterbury Rams. In 20 games for the Rams in 1997, he averaged 24.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.6 steals per game.[5]

Bush re-joined Snæfell for the 1997–98 season, and returned to New Zealand in 1998 to once again play for the Canterbury Rams. He played in 40 games for the Rams between 1998 and 1999, helping the club reach the playoffs both years.[5]

For the 1999–2000 season, Bush returned to Iceland to play for KFÍ, where he averaged a then career-high 26.3 points in 17 games.[3] For the 2000 New Zealand NBL season, Bush played for the Waikato Warriors and helped them finish second of the ladder with a 12–4 win/loss record. However, the team stumbled in their semi-final clash with third-seeded Nelson, losing 105–100, with Bush scoring just two points in 24 minutes off the bench.[6] Overall, he appeared in 14 games (13 regular season, one playoff) and averaged 13.4 points per game.[5]

Bush again played in Iceland for the 2000–01 season, averaging 21.8 points and 14.1 rebounds in 11 games for Thór.[3] His best season as a professional came in 2001 while playing for the Waikato Titans. He averaged a career-high 27.4 points per game and subsequently earned the league's scoring title.[5] He also earned Most Outstanding Forward honors, and was named to the league's All-Star Five. Then, to cap off a career-best season, Bush helped lead Waikato to their maiden championship with 26 points in a 112–97 grand final win over the Wellington Saints.[7]

In October 2001, Bush had a five-game stint with Argentinean club Estudiantes de Olavarría.[8][9] For the 2002 New Zealand NBL season, he joined the Manawatu Jets. He appeared in all 16 regular season games for the Jets, averaging 23.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game[5] and helping the team reach the playoffs with a fourth-place finish and a 9–7 win/loss record. In their semi-final clash with first-seeded Nelson, the Jets lost 83–64 despite Bush's 18-point game.[10] That year, Bush tried out for a spot on the Tall Blacks as a naturalised player.[11]

His final Icelandic season came in 2002–03 with Snæfell, his third stint with the club. Having played in the Icelandic second division both previous seasons with Snæfell, the club played in the top division in 2002–03. He played in 22 games during the season, averaging 23.7 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.5 steals in 39.1 minutes per game.[3] In 2003, Bush joined the Canterbury Knights of the Conference Basketball League, New Zealand's second-tier competition. With the Knights, he helped lead the team to the CBL Final, where he recorded 13 points and 12 rebounds in the Knights' 80–69 championship win over Hutt Valley.[12] He subsequently earned CBL All-Star Five honors.[13]

Continued NBL career (2004–2009)

In 2004, Bush returned to the National Basketball League where he re-joined the Canterbury Rams. Following two solid seasons with the Rams in 2004 and 2005, Bush signed with the New Zealand Breakers for the 2005–06 Australian NBL season. However, his stint with the Breakers was short, as he was released by the club in November 2005 after appearing in just seven games.[14]

For the 2006 New Zealand NBL season, Bush re-joined the Manawatu Jets. In 17 games for the Jets, he averaged 13.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.[15]

Bush completed his career with a three-year stint with the Hawke's Bay Hawks between 2007 and 2009. He played in all 21 games for the Hawks in 2007, helping the club reach the grand final, where they lost 2–0 to the Nelson Giants in the best-of-three series.[16] He averaged 5.2 points in those 21 games, a career low. In 2008, he appeared in 16 of the Hawks' 18 regular season games, averaging just 2.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.[17] He also scored seven points in the team's quarter-final loss to the Nelson Giants.[18] Bush went on to play in just six games for the Hawks in 2009,[19] finishing his career having played in 206 NBL games.

Post-playing career

In September 2012, Bush was appointed as Basketball Hawkes Bay's Regional Development Coach,[20] a role he served for three years. In January 2013, he took on the role of head coach at the Paul Henare and Paora Winitana Academy.[21]

Personal

Bush obtained New Zealand citizenship in 2004.[5] Bush's father, the late Clifton Bush the First, also played basketball as a youth.[4] Bush has two children, Maria and Clifton III.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Central Arkansas Basketball – Single-Season History". ucasports.com. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  2. ↑ McCollum, David (26 September 2004). "UCA inducts nine into Hall of Honor". TheCabin.net. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Statistics from Clifton Bush in KKI (Iceland)". WorldHoopStats.com. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Singh, Anendra (18 September 2012). "Basketball: No beating around Bush the 2nd". NZHerald.co.nz. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Basketball New Zealand – Clifton Bush". Basketall.org.nz. Archived from the original on August 24, 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Warriors vs Giants" (PDF). Basketall.org.nz. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "2001 National Basketball League". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Ya llegó Clifton Bush". elpopular.com.ar (in Spanish). 2 October 2001. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Argentina: Estudiantes corta al alero Clifton Bush". Solobasket.com (in Spanish). 22 October 2001. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "2002 National Basketball League". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015.
  11. ↑ Lacey, Mike (29 August 2014). "Judd Flavell And The 2002 Tall Blacks Run". NZhoops.co.nz. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  12. ↑ "Canterbury vs Hutt Valley". Basketall.org.nz. Archived from the original on January 25, 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "2003 Conference Basketball League". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "Player statistics for Clifton Bush". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "2006 NBL Team Stats" (PDF). Basketall.org.nz. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "2007 National Basketball League". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015.
  17. ↑ "2008 NBL Team Stats" (PDF). Basketall.org.nz. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 18, 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  18. ↑ "Hawks vs Giants". Basketall.org.nz. Archived from the original on June 18, 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  19. ↑ "2009 NBL Team Stats" (PDF). Basketall.org.nz. p. 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 10, 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "Clifton Bush Appointed As Regional Development Coach". FoxSportsPulse.com. 4 September 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  21. ↑ Singh, Anendra (22 September 2015). "Basketball: Academy prepares youngsters for real life". NZHerald.co.nz. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
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