Clifton Bush

Last updated
Clifton Bush
Personal information
Born (1970-09-01) 1 September 1970 (age 52)
Little Rock, Arkansas
NationalityAmerican / New Zealand
Listed height195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Listed weight92 kg (203 lb)
Career information
High school Watson Chapel
(Pine Bluff, Arkansas)
College Central Arkansas (1988–1992)
NBA draft 1992 / Undrafted
Playing career1995–2009
Position Small forward
Career history
As player:
1995–1996 Snæfell
1996–1997 Breiðablik
1997–1999 Canterbury Rams
1997–1998Snæfell
1999–2000 KFÍ
2000–2001 Waikato Warriors/Titans
2000–2001 Þór Akureyri
2001 Estudiantes de Olavarría
2002 Manawatu Jets
2002–2003Snæfell
2003Canterbury Knights
2004–2005Canterbury Rams
2005 New Zealand Breakers
2006Manawatu Jets
2007–2009 Hawke's Bay Hawks
As coach:
2017 Hawke's Bay Hawks (asst.)
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.

Contents

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] On October 19, 1999, Bush played 59 minutes and scored 55 points in a quadruple overtime victory against Skallagrímur. [6] [7] On February 13, 2000, he suffered a knee injury in a game against Njarðvík and wound up missing the rest of the season. [8] [9]

For the 2000 New Zealand NBL season, Bush played for the Waikato Warriors and helped them finish second with a 12–4 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. [10] 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 Þór Akureyri. [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. [11]

In October 2001, Bush had a five-game stint with Argentinean club Estudiantes de Olavarría. [12] [13] 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 record. In their semi-final clash with first-seeded Nelson, the Jets lost 83–64 despite Bush's 18-point game. [14] That year, Bush tried out for a spot on the Tall Blacks as a naturalised player. [15]

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. [16] He subsequently earned CBL All-Star Five honors. [17]

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. [18]

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. [19]

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. [20] 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. [21] He also scored seven points in the team's quarter-final loss to the Nelson Giants. [22] Bush went on to play in just six games for the Hawks in 2009, [23] 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, [24] 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. [25]

In April 2017, Bush joined the Hawke's Bay Hawks as an assistant coach for the remainder of the 2017 season. [26] [27]

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]

Related Research Articles

Kirk Penney New Zealand basketball player

Kirk Samuel Penney is a New Zealand professional basketball player. He played four years of college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers between 1999 and 2003, where he was twice named first-team all-conference and an all-American. He became the second New Zealander in the NBA when he appeared briefly for the Miami Heat in 2003 and the Los Angeles Clippers in 2005, and went on to play professionally in Spain, the NBA Development League, Israel, Lithuania, Germany and Turkey. He also played six seasons for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He was named the NBL MVP in 2009 won his a championship with the Breakers in 2011.

David Cooper is an Australian former professional basketball player who played the majority of his career in the Australian National Basketball League (ANBL). He also played in the New Zealand NBL and the South Australian State League.

Jarrod Kenny New Zealand basketball player

Jarrod Daniel Kenny is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Hawke's Bay Hawks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He attended Westlake Boys High School and has represented the New Zealand Tall Blacks multiple times.

Gareth Dawson is a New Zealand professional basketball player.

Leon Hofeni Nehemiah Henry is a New Zealand professional basketball player who last played for the Wellington Saints of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He debuted in the New Zealand NBL in 2004 and has since won seven championships. He also played five seasons in the Australian NBL, where he was a member of the New Zealand Breakers' 3-peat championship contingent between 2010/11 and 2012/13.

Everard Verdon Bartlett is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Hawke's Bay Hawks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). Between 2005 and 2016, he had various stints in the Australian NBL for the New Zealand Breakers, Perth Wildcats, and Adelaide 36ers.

Dion Anthony Prewster is an American-born New Zealand professional basketball player for the Sandringham Sabres of the NBL1 South. He played college basketball for San Jacinto College and Stephen F. Austin State University.

E. J. Singler American basketball player

Edward J. "E. J." Singler is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Canterbury Rams of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball for the University of Oregon. As a senior at Oregon, he was named to the All-Pac-12 first team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Cowels</span> American basketball player

Raymond Cowels III is an American professional basketball professional player for Legia Warsaw of the PLK. He played college basketball for Santa Clara University before playing professionally in the Netherlands, New Zealand, Finland and France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcel Jones (basketball)</span> American/New Zealand basketball player

Marcel Xavier Jones is an American-New Zealand professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Oregon State Beavers between 2004 and 2008 before embarking on a professional career that spanned across the globe, from Europe and the Middle East, to his adoptive home of New Zealand. Since 2009, Jones has had consistent yearly stints in the New Zealand NBL, largely due to gaining New Zealand citizenship in 2012. He has also played consistently in the Persian Gulf region since 2017.

Justin Richard "Richie" Edwards is an American-New Zealand former professional basketball player. After four seasons of college in the United States, Edwards returned to his adoptive home in New Zealand to play for the Canterbury Rams. He won the NZNBL Rookie of the Year in 2014 and later had stints in Australia and England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Timmins</span> New Zealand basketball player

Samuel Timmins is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Otago Nuggets of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies. He made his debut for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) in 2021.

Derone Jordan Raukawa is a New Zealand basketball player for the Hawke's Bay Hawks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL).

McKenzie Moore American basketball player

McKenzie Zachary Moore is an American professional basketball player who last played for the TNT Tropang Giga of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Moore earned a name for himself in New Zealand between 2015 and 2017. With the Canterbury Rams in 2016, he helped the team win the minor premiership while earning NBL MVP honors. Moore has also played in Belgium, Greece, Russia, Turkey, Poland and Israel.

Justin Bailey is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Hartford before playing overseas for 13 years as a professional in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Kazakhstan and Russia.

Ethan Rusbatch is a New Zealand basketball player for the Hawke's Bay Hawks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He began his NZNBL career in 2012 with the Southland Sharks after spending one season in the United States playing college basketball for Lincoln Trail College. After playing for the Taranaki Mountainairs in 2013, he spent the next four seasons with the Canterbury Rams. He joined the Hawks in 2018 and won the NZNBL's Most Improved Player in 2019. He also played two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian NBL.

Shea Ili is a New Zealand professional basketball player for Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL). Ili was raised in Mangere Bridge, playing his basketball at Onehunga High School and appearing for Counties Manukau in rep teams before appearing in the New Zealand NBL with the Auckland Pirates in 2012. In 2014, he joined the New Zealand Breakers as a development player. That season, he was a member of the Breakers' championship-winning team. In 2016, he was elevated to the Breakers' full-time roster, and in February 2018, he was named the NBL Most Improved Player for the 2017–18 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Salt</span> New Zealand basketball player

Jack Matthew Cooper Salt is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Hawke's Bay Hawks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball in the United States for the Virginia Cavaliers, where he was a member of their 2019 national championship team. Salt has also been a member of the New Zealand national team in various FIBA competitions.

Hyrum Harris is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL).

Jordan Hunt is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Hawke's Bay Hawks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He debuted in the NZNBL in 2015 with the Wellington Saints and won a championship with them in 2016. After four years of college basketball in the United States with the Southern Oregon Raiders, he helped the Otago Nuggets win the NZNBL championship in 2020 while earning grand final MVP. He subsequently spent the 2020–21 NBL season in Australia with the Cairns Taipans as a development player.

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". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on August 24, 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Clifton Bush lék í 59 mínútur". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 19 October 1999. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  7. ↑ "Leikur: Skallagrímur - KFÍ". kki.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Federation . Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  8. ↑ "Góður sigur KR í Grindavík". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 14 February 2000. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  9. ↑ "Maðurinn sem okkur hefur vantað". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 17 February 2000. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  10. ↑ "Warriors vs Giants" (PDF). Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "2001 National Basketball League". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Ya llegó Clifton Bush". elpopular.com.ar (in Spanish). 2 October 2001. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "Argentina: Estudiantes corta al alero Clifton Bush". Solobasket.com (in Spanish). 22 October 2001. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "2002 National Basketball League". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015.
  15. ↑ Lacey, Mike (29 August 2014). "Judd Flavell And The 2002 Tall Blacks Run". NZhoops.co.nz. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "Canterbury vs Hutt Valley". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on January 25, 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  17. ↑ "2003 Conference Basketball League". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Player statistics for Clifton Bush". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  19. ↑ "2006 NBL Team Stats" (PDF). Basketball.org.nz. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "2007 National Basketball League". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "2008 NBL Team Stats" (PDF). Basketball.org.nz. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 18, 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  22. ↑ "Hawks vs Giants". Basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on June 18, 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  23. ↑ "2009 NBL Team Stats" (PDF). Basketball.org.nz. p. 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 10, 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  24. ↑ "Clifton Bush Appointed As Regional Development Coach". FoxSportsPulse.com. 4 September 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  25. ↑ Singh, Anendra (22 September 2015). "Basketball: Academy prepares youngsters for real life". NZHerald.co.nz. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  26. ↑ NZhoops (27 April 2017). "Kirsten Daly-Taylor has resigned as Bay Hawks..." Twitter. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  27. ↑ Savory, Logan (28 April 2017). "Understrength Southland Sharks too slick for Taranaki Mountain Airs". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.