A serious question facing the 2011-12 Badgers is whether or not they can replace the production from departing seniors Jon Leuer, Keaton Nankivil and Tim Jarmusz. In Sunday’s annual Red-White Scrimmage at the Kohl Center, part of that question was possibly answered.
Sophomore guard Ben Brust stepped up in a big way to score a game-high 22 points and lead the Red to a 72-56 win over the White squad who was led by preseason All-American Jordan Taylor.
“He can have a scoring frenzy at times. He did it last year at practice every once in a while. He’s quick with the ball and includes his teammates,” said Head Coach Bo Ryan of his young guard Brust.
Brust (pictured above) also recorded five rebounds and four assists to cap off a solid performance on his journey to become a key reserve off Ryan’s bench. If Brust can do the same things during the regular season, the Badgers project to have a deep backcourt along with second-year starter Josh Gasser who surprised a few in 2010-11 with his all-around play (first Badger to ever record a triple-double).
“It’s fun to come out here and compete against everyone and play hard and take what was given to me, I guess,” said Brust. “Personally, it feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve played in front of a crowd, so it was nice to be on the floor and have some fun.”
As for the front-court, junior Mike Bruesewitz put forth a perfect first half with 6-for-6 shooting and ended the game with 18 points for the Red Squad. Fellow junior Jared Berggren also added 18 points and channeled his inner-Keaton Nankivil by missing a dunk during the scrimmage.
Star point-guard Taylor chipped in 16 points in the losing effort on 7-of-18 shooting from the field. The nation’s leader in assist-to-turnover ratio last season had four assists, but four turnovers as well.
The Badgers aren’t done with exhibition play as they host UW-Stevens Point this Saturday at 8 PM.
For the box score from the 2011 Red-White Scrimmage, click here.
For a full season preview of the Badgers from college basketball guru David Kay, click here.
Do you think Ben Brust could be a legitimate scoring threat off the bench? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Brewers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.