A Big Step Backwards For Two Freshmen

The basketball season doesn't start for another two months, but the Badgers are already playing from behind.

The basketball careers of Wisconsin freshmen Diamond Taylor and Jeremy Glover are in serious jeopardy after being arrested on burglary charges early Sunday morning. The news has shocked the players' parents, the UW coaching staff and fans alike. From all accounts, both players come from solid family backgrounds. What a holiday weekend ...

It sounds like two young kids got drunk and made a couple of extremely poor decisions together, but the motive is still fuzzy at this time. The duo admitted to entering the Sellery Hall dorm rooms uninvited and taking several items. Madison's WKOW originally reported that the two were also suspected in a few burglaries on Langdon St.

Taylor and Glover have been suspended from practicing with the team until further notice. The students were believed to still be in Dane County Jail as of Monday night. Both have been cooperative.

Previous Bo Ryan players who have run afoul of the law have been on opposite ends of the spectrum and played out much different from each other: Kevin Gullikson's drinking issues in recent years were largely dealt with in-house while Marcettus McGee's 2002 sexual assault case led to the freshman immediately withdrawing from school. This weekend's burglaries fall somewhere in between those scandals, so it will be interesting to see how swiftly and harshly they are judged.

I am wishing both Taylor and Glover the best in learning from this situation and straightening up, but it doesn't look good for them right now. Looking forward to the very near future, Wisconsin may be under the gun to replenish its depth at guard earlier than expected, which could make next year's freshman class even more important than it was before.

Catching Up With Mike Bruesewitz

Life has changed a lot for Mike Bruesewitz since moving into his summer dorm room on the University of Wisconsin campus last Sunday.

"This week has been pretty crazy getting adjusted to college life," said the 6'7", 215-lb. member of Bo Ryan’s newest freshman class.

After completing the requisite paperwork and physical exams, Bruesewitz began working out with his new Badger teammates right away. Add summer classes into the mix and you can see he has a lot on his plate right now. Luckily the transition to his new surroundings will be easier because of the familiar faces around him.

"I knew Diamond (Taylor) pretty well before because we met on our official visit and then saw him a few times throughout the year," Bruesewitz said. "I also know the Minnesota guys really well, especially Jordan (Taylor) and Jon (Leuer), because I've played or worked out with both of them quite a bit."

Before arriving in Madison, Bruesewitz spent "almost every day" working with former NBA player Chris Carr. And you know, graduating from high school.

"I played one 19u tournament with some of my friends," Bruesewitz said. "My spring and extremely short summer at home consisted of playing open gym at my high school and at Chris Carr's 43 Hoops facility."

The workouts helped the young forward add a few pounds of muscle to his frame, a necessity when playing forward in the Big Ten. Bruesewitz says his best strengths are his rebounding and an ability to make others around him better. But he also knows exactly what areas he wants to become better in this summer.

“The biggest thing I think I need to work on is being a more consistent shooter,” Bruesewitz said, “as well as just becoming physically stronger and working on lowering my center of gravity both on offense and defense.”

Bruesewitz is probably as prepared as any freshman to transition to the scale of the college game. Hailing from the resurgent Henry Sibley basketball program in Mendota Heights, MN, he had the luxury of practicing against and playing alongside a 7-footer and two other 6’8” players on the Warriors’ frontline. Bruesewitz averaged 17.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.3 steals as a senior and was named Minnesota's AP Player of the Year. He credits coach Tom Dasovich and his teammates for allowing him to become well-rounded:

“Both my coach and team did a lot to prepare me for the college level. Because we had such a big team I was able to work on both my inside and outside game. My coach was great at realizing when I had a mismatch on the perimeter and also when I could just go down on the block and score over a smaller defender. Also we played a very good schedule, always playing very tough non-conference teams, which allowed me to play against the best players in the state.”

So the Wisconsin staff is getting a forward skilled enough to initiate the offense with his ball handling but whose favorite player is Shaquille O’Neal? That diversity is obviously one of the things that attracted the Badger coaching staff. Yet Bruesewitz is not content with the versatility he has already developed – he wants more.

“I will be playing the 3 and 4 mostly but hopefully (I will) become a good enough shooter and also quick enough to slide down to a 2,” Bruesewitz speculated.

Watching every step of the way will be his parents, who – if you were curious – do indeed have the Big Ten Network.

“My brother told me he was going to figure out how to get it on the east coast,” Bruesewitz added. “Since I'm the youngest in my family they won't have too much to do in the winter so I expect them to be at quite a few games."

Though Tubby Smith certainly created a buzz when he arrived in the Twin Cities, Bruesewitz never had second thoughts about playing for Bo Ryan. Bruesewitz echoed sentiments that many recruits have mentioned as Wisconsin has built a national roster.

“I never had any doubt about my choice. This is where I wanted to be,” Bruesewitz explained. “It was by far the campus and the people (that appealed to me). People in Wisconsin love their Badgers and really come out and support all the teams.”

Bruesewitz is the fourth Minnesota native to occupy a scholarship for Bo's current squad, which is actually more than the number of Wisconsin-born scholarship players. The team now boasts players from eight different states after Jeremy Glover joined the 2009 class as a walk-on.

As you might guess of someone who grew up in Minnesota, Bruesewitz is also a former hockey player. That experience no doubt attributed to the toughness he possesses on the basketball court. So who will Bruiser be rooting for when his hometown Gophers pay a visit to the Kohl Center ice later this year?

"I'll probably be rooting for the Badgers because I have class with quite a few of the freshman hockey players right now and I can't be cheering against my team."

Good answer Mike.

Kevin Durant: One Year Later

The Worldwide Leader has reported that Kevin Durant will be named the NBA's Rookie of the Year when the award is officially announced Thursday. Last year at this time, Durant was a hot topic in college basketball/NBA Draft circles. Many made comparisons between Durant and previous phenoms who had entered the league at a similarly young age, with a similar build or a similar playing style. That prompted a column here analyzing those comparisons, which actually got picked up by Deadspin. Luckily, Durant came through this year and I don't look like an idiot.

The 19-20 ppg projection was right on (Durant averaged 20.3), as was the prediction that he would play heavy minutes (34.6). Durant certainly became the face of the Seattle franchise, starting all 80 of the games in which he played. The rook even surprised me by showing glimpses of leadership down the stretch as the clear go-to player for the Sonics. However, Durant is only listed at 6'9" and 215 lbs. these days, so he definitely did not put on any weight (though I'm sure Texas fudged his measurables slightly while a Longhorn). His slight frame and perimeter focus kept him from being much of a rebounder (4.4). Worst of all, the Sonics slipped from a 31-51 record to 20-62 and leaving town in the season after Seattle said goodbye to both Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis.

Since last year, Basketball-Reference.com has switched from tracking "per-40 minute" stats to "per-36 minute" stats, so I'll use those to recap how Durant stacks up with his predecessors:

Per 36 Statistics - Rookie Season

Player	Team (Yr)	Pts	Rebs	Asts	Stls	Blks	TOs
Kevin Garnett	MIN (95-96)	13.1	7.9	2.3	1.4	2.1	1.7
Tracy McGrady	TOR (97-98)	13.8	8.2	3.0	1.5	1.9	2.0
Shawn Marion	PHX (99-00)	14.9	9.5	2.0	1.1	1.5	1.5
Carmelo Anthony	DEN (03-04)	20.7	6.0	2.7	1.2	0.5	3.0
Kevin Durant*	SEA (07-08)	21.1	4.5	2.5	1.0	1.0	3.0
*Only Durant won Rookie of the Year Award

A host of talented freshmen will jump to the NBA this summer, but it is unlikely that any can equal the impact of Durant. Both Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley--the two most likely candidates--play positions that have a steeper learning curve in the pros than a wing player like Durant faces. Though Beasley nearly matched Durant's output as a Big XII frosh, he can be slowed by a host of bigger bodies and tough defense, as Wisconsin proved in the second half of Kansas State's NCAA tournament exit. The NBA is full of bigger bodies. Plus, unless he's matured significantly in the last two years, I doubt Beasley is as mentally prepared as Durant to work for it.

It would be hard to argue with Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News, who writes his week that next year's crop of freshmen in college basketball will be a letdown. Still, I think Greg Monroe of Georgetown might surprise DeCourcy. Monroe is not quite Beasley and he's sure no Kevin Garnett. But who is? Garnett was a supernova who ushered in a new era for the NBA, let alone Chicago high school basketball.

First Looks Around the Country

Rather than watch an awful football game, I tuned into ESPN2 tonight to happily find a full slate of college hoops. It just so happens that a total of three Wisconsin opponents were on in back-to-back games. So it was time to scout.

First up was Duke, which hosted New Mexico State. This game was a route early on. Duke looks much more athletic and aggressive at guard, pressuring the opponent into an endless amount of turnovers. Point guard Greg Paulus had a bad year in 2006, but he looked much more in command of the team tonight. Still, he's the latest in a long line of easy to hate Blue Devils.

As I've said before, I think the Badgers match up well with the Dukies, but they will need to contain the damage done by guys like DeMarcus Nelson and Jon Scheyer (22 points). The media is all over freshman Kyle Singler, a highly-rated recruit, but I didn't see much of him. For UW, I think Marcus Landry and Brian Butch can both have as good of a game as they want to in Durham. I can also envision Hughes and Flowers frustrating Paulus into a bad game.

In the next game, Ohio State downed UW-Green Bay, 91-68. The Phoenix played some heady basketball early, but could only hang tough for so long. Jamar Butler is back at the point for the Buckeyes and he was unconscious from 3-point land tonight, hitting on 5-of-7 treys for a total of 17 points.

Freshman gem Kosta Koufos is legit. He's incredibly athletic for a 7-footer and impressed me with how well he moves. Of course, Green Bay's lineup is so slight and/or short across the board, it would be hard not to dominate inside. Major problem. Also, Koufos and Othello Hunter wear the largest shorts in college basketball history -- are they sweatpants?!

In other news, another Big Ten freshman had an even more impressive debut than Koufos. As you might expect, it was #23 -- Indiana's Eric Gordon -- who exploded for 33 points in his first game on a variety of slick moves. There are a number of ridiculously talented frosh this season, just like last year, and many of them made their mark tonight. UCLA is on now and I'll be watching rookie Kevin Love in the post. I think Derrick Rose of Memphis may be the best of them all, but I'll have to wait to get a look at the Tigers.

In other news on state teams:
- Marquette is not exactly clicking on offense.