Rusty LaRue

One collector is trying to find a single signature from every man who ever played for the Jazz — all 370 of them, from the 1974 New Orleans team to today. For many of them, this page is the only one on the internet. Here is Rusty LaRue: what he did on the floor, a few things most people never knew, and every card that carries his name. If you own something he signed — or you know who might — there is a note at the foot of this page.

A quarterback who broke eight NCAA passing records at Wake Forest, LaRue was just the second player in ACC history to play three sports in the same year. He chose basketball, went undrafted, and won a ring with the 1997–98 Bulls. After stops in the CBA, with CSKA Moscow and in the new NBDL, he signed with the Jazz in January 2002 and stayed through the end of the season.

Back home in North Carolina he coached — Greensboro College, Forsyth Country Day, five years as a Wake Forest assistant, then West Forsyth High School, Chris Paul's alma mater. He retired from coaching in 2019 and is now chief operations officer of the Dairi-O restaurant chain.

HOW HE CAME & WENTUtah signed him on January 28, 2002 and he stayed through the end of that season, 33 games, before moving on to Italy.

Utah Jazz tenure

2001–02

Position

Guard

Born

1973, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Height

6′3″ (191 cm)

Weight

185 lb (84 kg)

College

Wake Forest

Drafted

undrafted

Why this player is hard to find

Thirty-three games for Utah and a rare three-sport athlete at Wake Forest. Only unsigned cards are known.