KANSAS CITY, MO. – Christian Watford probably thought he had done his job last weekend when the Indiana forward stopped Wisconsin guard Ben Brust from getting to the rim.
What Watford quickly discovered was Brust had a backup plan. A very good one, in fact.
Brust, who had gotten the ball at the top of the key and glided down the left side of the lane through open space created by Frank Kaminsky's screen before Watford cut off his access to the basket, came to a stop just outside the left block.
A year ago, Brust might have been stuck with nowhere to go. This time, he used a reverse pivot to create some separation between himself and Watford — who at 6-9 is 8 inches taller than Brust — and lofted a 10-foot jumper that touched nothing but net.
How Brust produced those points — two of his 12 during the Badgers' 68-56 victory over the Hoosiers in the Big Ten tournament semifinals in Chicago — offered a perfect illustration of how far he has come during a career that continues to trend upward.
"Ben's done a great job of expanding his game," Badgers senior Jared Berggren said, "[by] applying a lot of the stuff we do in practice to become a more well-rounded player."
Brust is Wisconsin's leading scorer at 11.2 points per game heading into Friday's NCAA tournament opener between the fifth-seeded Badgers (23-11) and 12th-seeded Mississippi (26-8).
Wisconsin associate head coach Greg Gard compared Brust's development to that of Jason Bohannon, who played guard for the Badgers from 2006 to '10. Both arrived in Madison known primarily as spot-up shooters but expanded their games out of sheer necessity.
