Our countdown to Wisconsin Hoops rolls on as we're now just 31 days away from opening night against Southeastern Louisiana. Today we'll look at Senior Mike Bruesewitz, AKA the Bruiser.
*4-6
Bruesewitz is projected to miss 4-6 weeks after sustaining a laceration to his right leg. Bruesewitz had a succesful surgery and has already started his rehab. If all goes well, he could be back in time for the Badgers' big road trip to Florida on November 14th. One thing's for sure, the Badgers will miss his playmaking while he's out.
*98
Mike Bruesewitz has played an impressive 98 games throughout his collegiate career, by far the most of any player on the Badgers' roster. He has started 49 of those games, including starting in all 36 games last season. Bruesewitz certainly does have some miles on him, which could be a big factor in taking a leadership role.
*12
The Bruiser grabbed 12 boards against Penn State last season, a career high. Last year he was second on the team in rebounds- only behind Ryan Evans- averaging 3.2 defensive and 2.0 offensive rebounds a game. I've said that rebounding could be a huge factor in this teams' success, and Bruesewitz could be an anchor in that.
*25
Bruesewitz made 25 three pointers last year on 85 attempts. That's 29.4%, not a good percentage at all. He hit a cold streak early in the season but then made some improvements. With great shooters on the team like Brust, Gasser, Berggren and now Dekker, I think Bruesewitz should take a step back on his three point shot. While he is a good outside shooter, his numbers last year show otherwise.
Cole's 2012 Projected Stats for Mike Bruesewitz: 26.6 mpg, 6.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.5 bpg
Analysis
While his stats aren't mindblowingly impressive, Bruesewitz's contributions and effort are very valuable to this Wisconsin team. Hopefully this minor setback of an injury will not affect him the whole season. Knowing Mike, he'll look like his same old self immediately after the injury. Like I said with Berggren, this team may be lacking leadership with the departure of Jordan Taylor and it's up to the Seniors to replace that. Bruesewitz could play a large role in that and also the outcome of the Badgers season. He's arguably the most important piece of the team at this point.
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