Wisconsin Closes The Deal On Ben Brust 

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

May 7, 2010 

9:30 P.M. CST

Once it was learned that Ben Brust would still be able to receive a scholarship to any school in the Big Ten conference, there was virtually no doubt in our mind that the 6'2 class of 2010 shooting guard from Mundelein High School in Mundelein, IL would end up signing a letter of intent with a Big Ten school.  Sure enough, that is exactly what has happened, as tonight Brust signed with the University Of Wisconsin after taking an official visit to the Madison campus.

Brust was released from his previous letter of intent with the University Of Iowa last month.  Shortly after that, the Big Ten decided to uphold a conference rule prohibiting a player from receiving a scholarship to another school within the conference after obtaining his release.  However, Wisconsin was the first school to appeal the ruling on Brust's behalf and was successful in having Brust being granted a waiver which in this instance overturned the initial decision.  From that moment on, there was no question that the Badgers were the frontrunners for Brust's services.

Brust will undoubtedly bring another dimension to Wisconsin's offensive attack.  He is a lights out shooter with deadly range that extends well beyond the 3-point arc.  However, Brust is far from a one-dimensional player, as he also has above average athleticism which allows him to consistently attack the basket and can also put the ball on the floor and beat defenders to the goal when going one-on-one.  Illinois Prep Bulls-eye was the first scouting service to call Brust a top 100 player nationally and we have not deviated from that evaluation since then.

Mike Weinstein, the head coach and CEO of the Rising Stars traveling team program that Brust played for, told us that Brust had always had his heart set on playing in the Big Ten.  While Brust considers Wisconsin to be a perfect fit for him from a basketball standpoint, the university's outstanding academic reputation also ended up being a huge factor in his decision.

Brust ended up choosing the Badgers over offers from Northwestern (who also filed an appeal on behalf of Brust), Boston College, USC and Iowa.  While we know that it sounds like a broken record, kudos once again go out to both Badgers head coach Bo Ryan and assistant coach Howard Moore on another outstanding recruiting job.  

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