Former Henry Sibley Standout Bruesewitz Looks For Big Badger Basketball Season

Former Henry Sibley basketball standout Mike Bruesewitz ('09) emerged the second half of his sophomore season for Wisconsin at an opportune moment.

The 6-foot-7, 220 forward scored 10 of his 12 points that game in the second half of a comeback win over No. 1 Ohio State, giving the Buckeyes their first loss of the season.

Over the Badgers’ three 2011 NCAA Tournament games, Bruesewitz averaged 8.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game as he moved into the starting lineup.

His season averages (4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game) are expected to go up with the loss of two top players to graduation: Orono native Jon Leuer (with a team-best 18.6-point average), and Keaton Nankvil (10-point average).

Beyond the numbers, Bruesewitz grew his hair out during his sophomore season as a tribute to his brother, Robert. The move made him a crowd favorite, and fans often wore red wigs to games at the Kohl Center. He then helped raise over $5,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society by shaving his hair on live television.

After transferring from Princeton, MN for his junior season at Sibley, Bruesewitz was named the Minnesota Gatorade and AP Player of the Year as a senior and was also named Minneapolis Star Tribune Metro Area Player of the Year. Bruesewitz had more than 1,000 career points and rebounds and led the Warriors to back-to-back conference titles and Minnesota state tournament appearances.

Mendota Heights Patch recently caught up with Bruesewitz to talk about his upcoming junior season and memories of his high school days.

Mendota Heights Patch: You had a nice sophomore season and will likely get more playing time with the loss of senior Jon Leuer, who was drafted in the second round by Milwaukee. What are the expectations next year?

Mike Bruesewitz: Hopefully, just continue what we were doing. Keep winning games. Obviously, the goal is to always win as many games as possible, try to win a Big Ten championship, a Big Ten Tournament and hopefully, win a national championship. Those are the goals we set every year.

For me personally, just to do whatever I can to help the team win. If that means more minutes, obviously, I am looking forward to that. I am trying to step up to a bigger role offensively and defensively, keep doing the things that I did this year.

 Patch: What is the biggest thing about college basketball that you wish you would have known when you were in high school?

 Bruesewitz: There are quite a few differences. Everyone is bigger and longer. Everyone is All-Conference. Everyone is All-State. Mr. Basketball’s across the board. The competition level is there every day. You have to go every day. There are no days off. In-season, there are no days off. Even in the off-season, you can take a day off here or there to recover, but every day at practice is a grind and a fight and everyone is trying for minutes. That is probably the biggest differences. If I had advice for anybody, it is that you’ve got to be ready to fight and come in with a “fistfight” attitude every day.

 Patch: Do you have any other plans this summer?

 Bruesewitz: I got invited to play overseas for a week in Estonia in a tournament for guys all over the country. A couple of guys from Iowa were invited. We are called the East Coast All-Stars and it is the Foreign Nations Cup. I am going there the 31st of July. I am really excited to go over there and play. Hopefully, I play well over there and come back with some more confidence.

 Patch: Wisconsin has a reputation as being a close-knit team. You have fellow Minnesotans on the team like Jon, Jordan (Taylor) and Jared Berggren. Was that nice that you knew each other a little before you even got there?

 Bruesewitz: Definitely. I rode back (to Minnesota) with Jordan today. I can almost always have a ride home because we are always on the same schedule, which is real nice. It helps with team camaraderie, obviously. We have really good team chemistry.

Patch: When you look back at your time at Sibley, which moments stand out as highlights?

Bruesewitz: Going to the state tournament my junior and senior year. A couple of section final championships. Those were fun. The overall experience at Sibley was a good one and I still keep in contact with a lot of the guys that I played with, and I am still really close to Coach (Tom) Dasovich, even though he is over at Minnetonka. He was up at (Wisconsin) team camp and I was hanging out with him. He even let me coach a game on the bench once, which was kind of fun. My overall experience at Sibley was a good one.