Although zero Wisconsin Badgers were drafted in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Milwaukee Bucks have decided to give one former star a shot. Ben Brust will be given an opportunity with the Bucks through summer league play in July.
Brust was a major player in the Badgers making their Final Four run a year ago. He averaged 12.8 points per game while starting all 38 games. Brust also made a school-record 96 three pointers a year ago while shooting 39% from beyond the arc. His 235 career three pointers are also a school-record and Brust’s 1,048 career points are good enough for 27th-best in school history.
Excited to play summer league with the @Bucks !!
— Ben Brust (@BenBrust) June 27, 2014
NBA Summer League begins on July 11th and concludes with the championship game on July 21st down in Las Vegas, NV. The Bucks begin on the 11th at the COX Pavilion with the Cleveland Cavaliers. That could pose a very interesting matchup between the draft’s top two picks: Cleveland’s Andrew Wiggins and Milwaukee’s Jabari Parker.
It will also be interesting to see if Jason Kidd is in a personnel role or even the head coach of the Bucks at that time.
This is not the first time the Bucks have brought on a former Badger to their summer league roster. In 2012 Milwaukee had Brian Butch on their roster and last year Mike Bruesewitz found himself on the Bucks summer league roster before heading overseas in Israel.
Brust is a long shot to make it into the NBA, but at least he has a shot. His better-than-average rebounding skills (4.5 per game last year) coupled with his shooting might be just enough to get him into the association.