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Billy Rush knows there is life outside the lines.

And that's why he's wearing a South Suburban College uniform this winter.

The former Times Illinois All-Area pick from Thornridge hit the road last season to Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, Iowa.

But when Southeastern coach Tim Walsh was fired in the wake of a 19-10 season, Rush decided to leave the program as well.

Actually, he was leaning that way almost as soon as he left the south suburbs.

"I think I went to school on Wednesday, on that weekend, I came right back home," Rush said this week. "This is what I'm used to. I've been living here since I was a kid in kindergarten, in the same house."

Rush's original plan was to transfer to Kennedy-King on Chicago's South Side, and he even went to some open gyms there. But something didn't feel right.

"It just seemed like they just talked basketball," Rush said. "They didn't talk about academics."

So Rush, a 6-foot-6 small forward, checked out the school right down the street from his house and liked what he saw and heard from coach John Pigatti.

"Coach 'P' gave me both sides," Rush said. "He showed me the basketball side and then he stressed academics. That was something I needed, someone (who) was going to stay on me."

SSC, meanwhile, needed someone to play the 3 spot -- not to mention someone who could get fans talking about the Bulldogs.

"He brings a local flavor, a great player who is from the area," said Pigatti, who led SSC to seventh place in the NJCAA Division II Nationals last season. "He gives the program credibility."

Rush put up big-time numbers in his SSC debut, scoring 24 and grabbing eight rebounds in Tuesday's win over Prairie State. But his ego doesn't match his stats, according to Pigatti.

"He could come in with a star-like attitude, but he's bought into the program," the coach said.

After playing in a program that had some cliques last season, Rush likes the all-for-one vibe at SSC.

"We have great team chemistry," he said. "We don't have certain groups that hang together ... we just sit and laugh and talk about everything. I can say we're a family, we are brothers."

That helps ease Rush's mind, which has been a jumble of emotions lately as he deals with the recruiting process. He's already visited South Florida and Ball State, two programs he likes, and earlier this week he was scouted by an assistant coach from Wisconsin.

"It's not always about the big stage," he said. "It might come down to where I'm wanted the most. I've just got to really think it over, talk it over with my family.

"It kind of brings me down sometimes 'cause I don't know what to do or which way to go."

But at least he knows he's in the right place for now.