BEN BRUST SIGNS WITH WISCONSIN

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team rounded out its 2010 recruiting class Friday when Mundelein, Ill., native Ben Brust signed a tender of financial aid to attend the University of Wisconsin, head coach Bo Ryan announced.

Brust joins fellow class of 2010 recruits Evan Anderson (Eau Claire, Wis.), Duje Dukan (Deerfield, Ill.) and Josh Gasser (Port Washington, Wis.), who signed National Letters of Intent with Wisconsin in November. The four high school seniors will enroll at UW next year and play basketball for the Badgers beginning in the fall of 2010.

“We’re really excited about adding Ben to our recruiting class for 2010,” Ryan said. “He grew up a fan of the Big Ten and has followed this conference all his life. Now he will have the opportunity to compete in it.”

Ben Brust

Brust is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound combo guard from Mundelein High School who earned second-team all-state honors from the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association as a senior. Brust averaged 24.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.1 steals per game this season, topping the 40-point mark on four occasions.

Brust posted per game averages of 27.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists during his junior year before breaking his right ankle in January of 2009. Despite only playing 18 games that season, he was recognized on the all-area team.

He started every game as a sophomore, averaging 17 points and five rebounds, en route to earning all-conference and all-area honors. Brust is an honor roll student who participated in the prestigious 2010 High School Academic All-American Classic in Azusa, Calif., on May 1.

“Ben is a talented shooter and ball-handler and possesses a leadership quality that you want in your guards,” Ryan said. “He is a competitor and has certainly shown the ability to score in bunches. He has been to our summer camp in the past and has rapidly improved his game in the past few seasons.

“Ben is also very committed to academics, as evidenced by his invitation to the Academic All-American game early this month,” Ryan added. “He has the strong work ethic and passion for the game that has been a big part of our program and the student-athletes that have come before him. Our coaching staff is looking forward to working with him and continuing his development, and we think Badgers fans will enjoy watching him for the next four years.”