COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Don't get us wrong. We know Duke point guard Jason Williams is the player of the year preseason favorite. He's likely either the first or second pick in the 2002 NBA draft. It's hard to argue against him being the best college basketball player. But is he the ultimate player? For that matter, what is the ultimate player?

We traveled to Missouri for the definition. What we found was a player who doesn't have as much hype, but can certainly match Williams' impact on the game, if not do a bit more on the court.

"How would I define an ultimate player? Someone who can do it all," Missouri junior shooting guard Kareem Rush said. "Someone doesn't have to be the best to be it, but do everything good. He can shoot well, pass and get his teammates the ball. He can play defense, too. Most people are one- or two-dimensional. The ultimate player has flaws, but not that many."

Thanks, Kareem. That's what ESPN.com thinks, too.

In an age when players bolt early for the NBA before they're fundamentally ready, we went in search of the floor general, the shooter's touch, the defender, the finisher, the first step, the toughness and the athleticism that make up the ultimate player.

We settled on a player who enters the season as the one who came the closest to fitting each critera.

BIG 12 RUSH

Big 12 coaches know Kareem Rush best. Here is what some had to say about the Missouri junior: "He's the best in our conference. He's just a complete basketball player when it comes to playing offense. He can drive on you and jump up and stick it on you and blow past you and hit the mid-range jumper." -- Eddie Sutton Oklahoma State "He's a tremendous talent. He's certainly an NBA player. He's a fantastic talent and somewhat of a surprise even to Quin (Synder). I don't think he thought he would turn out this good. He's a product of hard work. Give credit to Quin. He needs to play another year and go pro to get out of this league. -- Larry Eustachy Iowa State "Kareem Rush has tremendous capacity to do a bunch of things at the highest level. I was surprised he came back, not that I didn't want him back, but his game was pro ready. He can score a variety of ways. You always worry about his ability to make and take the big shot." -- Dave Bliss Baylor "He can get his own shot. If you look at players that excel in the NBA, they can all get their own shot and a variety of different shots. Most players need an offense or a system. He's a different kind of player. -- Jim Wooldridge Kansas State "He's a great offensive player and a kid who can score quickly, off the dribble or off the deep jump shot. He's got great elevation and an excellent crossover to get loose for a shot and finish a basket off a drive. He's a combination of an athlete and an excellent shooter who has a scoring mentality." -- Barry Collier Nebraska "Kareem Rush is a very unique player in his size and ability to shoot from such range, also his ability to take the ball into the lane area and get a shot off, and sometimes take it all the way to the basket." -- Roy Williams Kansas

Rush had the numbers as a sophomore: 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 44.2 percent shooting overall, 80 percent at the free-throw line, 44.8 percent on 3-pointers. He also had the ultimate game against Duke in the NCAA Tournament: 29 points on 11-of-23 shooting (5-of-8 on 3s), and eight boards in 35 minutes.

"He's the best scorer because he can score every way," said Missouri coach Quin Snyder, who also recruited Jason Williams when he was a Duke assistant coach. "Kareem has the long-range, medium-range game. He can finish and shoot foul shots and create pressure on defensive players.

"In addition to scoring with the ball, he can score without the ball. He can offensive rebound, defend and comes up with steals. He's more conscious scoring without the ball than he has been previously.

"With the ball, there's nobody better over the past two years. He couldn't put the ball down on the court when he first got here, but he learned to play and got people to foul him," Snyder added. "Jason Williams is the best player I've seen in college basketball, but Kareem has as much ability at his position as Jason does at his. But what Jason has done is win a national title."

Don't be surprised if Rush gets that chance to lead his team to the same destination. For now, all we can do is break down the reasons why.

His left hand
Watch Rush come off a screen and pull up with his left hand and it jolts you. It's almost too smooth. The reason it looks odd is that the majority of players shoot with their right hand. But the left-handed jumper, or deep 3-pointer, almost looks more fundamentally sound, perhaps, because it's so rare.

"It's hard to guard left-handers," Missouri sophomore forward Travon Bryant said. "It's an awkward thing. He can still go both ways, but being left-handed is a gift."

Rush said he finds defenders going the opposite way on him, even after they've been guarding him for several minutes in a game. They still don't get it when he elevates for a 'J' and shifts the ball to his left.

"It's a huge advantage for me," Rush said. "It's so unorthodox that everyone goes the other way. It's helped me this far."

His footwork
Rush doesn't waste steps. He knows when to drive on his defender for a mid-range jumper from the free-throw line extended. He can use a crossover to get inside to the basket. He has the ability to change speeds: going from half speed to pull up for a jumper, to putting on the burners to get to the basket.

"I've been watching him since June, and the things he's able to do, and the shots he's able to make, are unbelievable," Missouri freshman forward Najeeb Echols said. "I've seen him make tough shots in my eyes, easy in his eyes.

"He's got great footwork, like Michael Jordan has great pivot work. His jump shot is just ridiculous. It's great. I love watching him play. Sometimes I just love watching him make a move."

Echols isn't alone in his admiration. During a scrimmage at the Hearnes Center, Rush's teammates on the perimeter do tend to watch and learn as Rush makes his move. The key is for someone to ensure that he follows the shot for an offensive rebound. If not, Rush is usually around for the follow on his own shot.

"If you lay off me, I'm going around you," said Rush, who made footwork his most important summer improvement. "If you stay off me, I'll shoot it. I've always been able to score, but not like this. I've been more comfortable with my game as coach has given me freedom, and now nobody can stop me from scoring."

His efficiency
Rush and Ansar Al-Ameen, Missouri's workout specialist and team manager, sat down last season and tried to break down his scoring. Al-Ameen, who was a manager at Fresno State and worked with Courtney Alexander as well as spending the offseason working Tennessee's Vincent Yarbrough and various NBA players in his native Bay Area, broke Rush's game down by the numbers.

"We first started with him getting three offensive rebounds for six points," Al-Ameen explains. "Then we thought he could get two steals for four points. Now he's at 10 and he hasn't even taken a shot in the offense yet. Now he doesn't have to take as many shots within the offense to get his points."

One of Rush's most efficient games last season was against Saint Louis. He scored 25 points on 8-for-15 shooting (1-of-3 on 3s) from the floor and 8-for-9 at the line. He also had an offensive rebound and a steal in 32 minutes as the Tigers won by four.

"That's a good game for me," Rush said. "I don't have to shoot 20 to 25 times to get 25 points. I can shoot 12 and still get big numbers. It's all about the little things. I'm pretty efficient in what I do.

"I'll give you some 3s, five or six free throws a game. I don't need to be a ball hog. People say I'm the silent scorer, and say Kareem didn't do too much, but then I've got 20 points. I do things silently and efficiently."

	There isn't much Kareem Rush can't do when the basketball is in his hands.

His smarts
Rush is a student of the game. He scouts opponents prior to and during the game. He sees what he's going to get from the defense and then decides to make his move. He freelances but he doesn't gamble when it could cost him.

"He knows how to get open and understands what the defense gives him," Missouri senior guard Clarence Gilbert said. "Some just score baskets and points. If he's got a 6-foot guy on him, then he understands it. He doesn't expend unnecessary energy."

Sophomore point Wesley Stokes said if Rush wants to take a turnaround jump shot, he'll find a way to get one. Stokes said he marvels at how calm and relaxed Rush becomes during the game, mainly because he knows what he's doing, rarely making a major mistake. He'll miss, but not because he made a poor decision too often.

His work ethic
Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy said the most satisfying aspect of Rush's climb is that it happened when few, including Snyder, wondered if it could.

Rush said he spent his entire high school career playing in his older brother JaRon's shadow.

"But I knew if I kept working that it would happen," Rush said. "My senior year changed everything. I was set on going to UCLA and going with my brother, but the year without him (at Kansas City's Pembroke Hill High) meant I could do this. I decided to go to Mizzou and it blossomed from there."

Rush spent the offseason working on his defensive footwork, too. He knows that's the aspect of his game that he can continue to improve. His teammates are confident he'll be a stopper, mainly because the 6-foot-6 Rush is long and lean and has the reach to cause deflections. Rush says Snyder used to needle him about his 'D', until he learned to value a stop as much as a shot.

"When he came in, he wasn't a starter or a star," Gilbert said. "He came around. He was frustrated at not starting. But then it just happened. He worked harder and he became a game player."

Maybe now, as he enters his junior season, it's easier to see why Rush convinced ESPN.com he's the closest the game has to the ultimate player.

"It's an ever-evolving process," Rush said of his game. "I wasn't ready to be a leader (as an example). But the responsibility is here. I'm ready for that."

His patience
Rush could have bolted for the NBA after last season, especially after the Duke game. But he didn't because he knew he wasn't ready. He also had the wherewithal to learn from his brother JaRon, who left UCLA after his sophomore year. JaRon went undrafted, but he might resurface with Seattle after a turbulent first year of professional basketball.

"I'm 100 percent happy with my decision to come back," said Rush, who broke his thumb during the season and missed seven games in the heart of the Big 12 season. "After the Duke game, a lot of people came up to me to tell me to go. But I was happy I came back. This team is going to be great and I want to be a part of that. Missouri hasn't been to a Final Four, ever."

Sounds like college basketball better be ready to be Rushed.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.