Queensland’s Georgia Woolley wins MVP at Basketball without Borders 2019
August 19, 2019
Clifton Bush
- Nationality: USA/NZL
- Date of Birth: 1/09/70
- Place of Birth: Little Rock, Arkansas (USA)
- Position: SF
- Height (CM): 195
- Weight (KG): 92
- Junior Assoc:
- College: Central Arkansas (1988–1992)
- NBL DEBUT: 8/09/05
- AGE AT DEBUT: 35
- LAST NBL GAME: 30/10/05
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 35
- NBL History: New Zealand 2006
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Clifton Bush was born in Little Rock, Arkansas (USA).
NBL EXPERIENCE
Clifton Bush made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 35 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.
With the Breakers still searching for their first winning season, they chose not to re-sign Mike Chappell, the Breakers’ leading scorer from the past two seasons and appointed a new head coach Andrej Lemanis. Lemanis had played in the NBL during the 1980s and 1990s and spent the previous five seasons as a assistant coach with the Townsville Crocodiles.
Lemanis inherited a Breakers squad who had seen both its national team players, Pero Cameron (Gold Coast) and Dillon Boucher (Perth), leave for better opportunities on other NBL team’s.
Lemanis looked to build around its young turning core group, which included Aaron Olsen, Ben Pepper, Lindsay Tait and Paul Henare, who was named team captain with the departure of co-captain Pero Cameron.
Rugged defender Ben Thompson and New Zealand born Adrian Majstrovich (both via Perth) were added to the roster, as was the import duo of Rich Melzer and Brant Bailey.
The Breakers started the season poorly (1-5) and quickly made the decision to replace Bailey (18.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists) with Brian Green (18.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.5 steals).
Melzer (18.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) would lead New Zealand in scoring while the Breakers continued to see strong development from young gun Aaron Olson (17.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists) and Ben Pepper (14.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) was a force inside the paint. Bush averaged 1.9 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists, appearing in 7 of the Breakers’ games.
Lemanis’ first season in charge was not particularly memorable. During the season, the Breakers endured a team-worst eleven straight losses, but after making the personnel changes, the team split their final twelve games of the season and finished the regular season tenth out of eleven team’s (9-23).
As a development player, Bush would appear in only 7 games and average 1.9 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists.
Clifton Bush played one season in the NBL. He averaged 1.9 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in 7 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 35 | New Zealand | 9-23 (10) | 7 | 56 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 50% | 2 | 4 | 50% | 1 | 4 | 25% | 55% | 60% | 7 | Totals | 7 | 56 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 50.0% | 2 | 4 | 50.0% | 1 | 4 | 25.0% | 55% | 60% | 7 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 35 | New Zealand | 9-23 (10) | 7 | 8.0 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 50% | 0.3 | 0.6 | 50% | 0.1 | 0.6 | 25% | 55% | 60% | 7 | Total | 7 | 8.0 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 50.0% | 0.3 | 0.6 | 50.0% | 0.1 | 0.6 | 25.0% | 55% | 60% | 7 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
|---|
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Iceland - Breiðablik (1997), Snæfell (1997–1998, 2002–2003), KFÍ (1999–2000), Þór Akureyri (2000–2001) | New Zealand - Canterbury Rams (1997–1999, 2004–2005), Waikato Warriors/Titans (2000–2001), Manawatu Jets (2002, 2006), Canterbury Knights (2003), Hawke's Bay Hawks (2007–2009) | Argentina - Estudiantes de Olavarría (2001)
Bush joined Breiðablik for the 1996–97 Úrvalsdeild season in Iceland, playing the second half of the year and averaging 24.7 points and 12.3 rebounds across 11 games.
Bush then joined the Canterbury Rams for the 1997 New Zealand National Basketball League season, producing 24.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.6 steals per game in 20 appearances.
During the 1997–98 season, he returned to Iceland with Snæfell in 1. deild, where he averaged 30.4 points per game and was named the league’s Foreign Player of the Year while leading Snæfell to the 1. deild championship and promotion.
Back in New Zealand with Canterbury, Bush played the 1998 and 1999 NZNBL seasons, appearing in 40 games across the two years and helping the Rams reach the playoffs both seasons, including the 1999 final run.
Bush joined Icelandic club KFÍ for the 1999–2000 Úrvalsdeild season and averaged 26.3 points over 17 games, including a 55-point night in a quadruple-overtime win where he played 59 minutes, and he shared the season with imports that included Willie Moore before a knee injury ended his campaign in February 2000.
He returned to New Zealand for the 2000 NZNBL season with the Waikato Warriors, averaging 13.4 points in 14 games as Waikato finished 12–4 and reached the semi-finals, before he went back to Iceland for 2000–01 with Þór Akureyri and averaged 21.8 points and 14.1 rebounds in 11 games.
Bush rejoined Waikato for the 2001 NZNBL season after the franchise rebranded as the Waikato Titans, and he led the league in scoring at 27.4 points per game while earning Most Outstanding Forward honours and an All-Star Five selection, then scored 26 points in the championship-game win over the Wellington Saints to secure Waikato’s maiden title.
In late September 2001, Bush travelled to Argentina to link with Estudiantes de Olavarría for the Liga Nacional, joining an import group that also included Americans Trelonnie Owens and Dwayne McCray as Estudiantes moved on from Eddie Washington early in the campaign, and Bush’s stint with the club lasted five games.
Bush joined the Manawatu Jets for the 2002 NZNBL season and averaged 23.3 points and 10.5 rebounds while playing all 16 regular-season games, helping the Jets finish 9–7 and reach the playoffs, and he later tried out for the Tall Blacks as a naturalised player before returning to Iceland for 2002–03 with Snæfell and averaging 23.7 points and 12.1 rebounds across 22 games.
In 2003, he played in New Zealand’s second-tier Conference Basketball League with the Canterbury Knights, recording 13 points and 12 rebounds in the championship-game win over Hutt Valley and earning All-Star Five recognition, then returned to the Canterbury Rams for the 2004 and 2005 NZNBL seasons where he was a co-captain alongside Rewi Manahi and gained New Zealand citizenship in 2004, before later NZNBL stints with Manawatu in 2006 and Hawke’s Bay from 2007 to 2009, including a runners-up finish with the Hawks in 2007.
COLLEGE
Bush played college basketball at Central Arkansas during the 1988–89 season and competed with the Bears from 1988 to 1992, completing four years in the program before graduating prior to 2005.
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).
During that 1989/90 campaign, his 587 total points ranked among the team leaders for the season, and his 35 starts reflected a full-time role in the Bears’ rotation across the schedule.
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).
Across his four seasons from 1988 to 1992, Bush remained a consistent starter and offensive contributor within the Central Arkansas lineup, compiling multi-season production that included high-volume scoring, efficient field goal percentages above .490 in consecutive seasons, and a combination of perimeter shooting and rebounding presence.
Additional Info: 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).
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 rpg) and 62 steals (1.8 spg).
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