MADISON - Head men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan announced Wednesday that high
school seniors Mike Bruesewitz and Diamond Taylor have signed national
letters of intent to attend the University of Wisconsin and play
basketball for the Badgers beginning in the fall of 2009.
Mike Bruesewitz (pronounced BRUISE-uh-wits) is a 6-7, 215-pound forward
from Mendota Heights, Minn. who averaged 15.9 points and 9.8 rebounds
per game as a junior. An honor roll student at Henry Sibley High School,
Bruesewitz earned first-team all-conference honors and second-team
all-state accolades. Last season Bruesewitz led his high school team to
a 26-6 record and a runner-up finish in the Minnesota class 4A state
tournament. During the state tournament he averaged 15 points and 13
rebounds per game en route to earning All-Tournament team honors.
“Mike has limitless potential, and it has shows by how he has kept
improving from the day we began recruiting him,” Ryan said. “He
plays with a toughness and competitiveness that Badger fans will grow to
love in the future. We are very excited about Mike and the future he
possesses both on the court and in the classroom. He is the consummate
worker who has strived hard over the last eighteen months to make
himself into a high-level player.
“While always possessing a competitive fire and desire to win, he has
recently made huge strides in his perimeter game out to the 3-point
line. His improving perimeter ability combined with his post skills and
work ethic make him a more complete player that will allow him to
continue to excel when he gets to Madison. He is a huge cog in the
successful resurgence of basketball at his high school. While being a
great leader and teammate on Sibley’s state tournament runner-up team,
he has set the bar high in the classroom as well with his academic
success. Our staff and I are ecstatic about having Mike, and his family,
join our program.”
Diamond Taylor – a 6-4, 175-pound guard from Bolingbrook, Ill. –
averaged 18.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last year as a junior at
St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Ill. Taylor shot 48 percent from
the field, including 39 percent from behind the 3-point arc and 74
percent from the free throw line. Taylor was named East Suburban
Catholic Conference Player of the Year as a junior and earned first-team
all-conference honors as well. Prior to his senior year, Taylor
transferred to hometown Bolingbrook High School where he will play for
the Raiders beginning this season.
“Diamond and the Taylor family have been a joy to get to know over
the last few years,” Ryan commented. “It has been neat to watch
Diamond develop from a camper who attended our basketball camps when he
was first entering high school to the great young man he is today. His
versatility and knowledge of the game will allow him to play multiple
perimeter positions at our level. Diamond’s personality and humility
will allow him to be a great teammate that future Badger teams will
enjoy having him be a part of.
“He has continued to grow physically, which is obviously a great sign
for his future, but he is also maturing into an excellent player that
has a very high ceiling regarding his development down the road. We know
he was coached and taught tremendously at a storied high school program
like St. Joe’s under Gene Pingatore. Now he has a
“once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to play for a team that is
assisted by his dad at Bolingbrook. It also puts him closer to home and
eliminates the daily long commute that he had previously been taking. My
staff and I are very excited knowing that Diamond, and his family, will
be a part of the future of Wisconsin Basketball.”