Benjamin Brust (born October 3, 1991) is a former American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who last played for the

Pieno žvaigždės Pieno žvaigždės is one of the biggest dairy products companies group in Lithuania, uniting Mažeikiai dairy, Kaunas dairy, Pasvalys Pasvalys () is a town in Panevėžys County, Lithuania, located near the bank of the Svalia River. Histo ...

of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

(LKL). He played college basketball for the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. He was part of the 2013–14

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

Final Four team.

High school career

Brust attended

John Hersey High School John Hersey High School (also referred to as Hersey or JHHS) is a four-year public high school located in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago in the United States. It enrolls students from Arlington Heights as well as parts ...

his freshman year in 2006–07, before transferring to

Mundelein High School Mundelein High School (MHS) is a public four-year high school located in Mundelein, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. The school serves the Village of Mundelein and parts of surrounding villages, include Vernon ...

for his sophomore, junior and senior years. As a senior, he averaged 24.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.1 steals per game during senior season, topping the 40-point mark on four occasions. Brust originally committed to

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, but after a coaching change he reopened his options on where to play, and he ultimately chose the

College career

Brust began his collegiate career playing under

Bo Ryan William Francis "Bo" Ryan Jr. (born December 20, 1947) is an American former college basketball coach and player. He was the head coach of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Badgers men's basketball team from 2001 to December 2015. Ryan se ...

in 2010. During the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons, Brust came off the bench. In his sophomore year in 2011–12, he averaged the 6th most minutes and the 5th most points per game on the team. He also averaged 1.6 three-pointers game per game, which ranked 13th in the Big Ten. During the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons, Brust started all of the Badgers' games. In his junior year in 2012–13, he led the team in minutes and assist-to-turnover ratio with a 2.0, and led the team in scoring for the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

conference games. In his senior year in 2013–14, he averaged 13 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 89 total three-pointers through the team's first 35 games. He also has the second-most three-pointers in a career at Wisconsin.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;",

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, 15 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .250 , , .200 , , .000 , , .5 , , .1 , , .1 , , .0 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Wisconsin , 36 , , 0 , , 21.4 , , .397 , , .389 , , .833 , , 2.2 , , .7 , , .7 , , .0 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;", Wisconsin , 35 , , 35 , , 34.3 , , .423 , , .387 , , .674 , , 5.1 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Wisconsin , 38 , , 38 , , 34.7 , , .419 , , .393 , , .899 , , 4.5 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .1 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 124 , , 73 , , 26.9 , , .412 , , .387 , , .827 , , 3.5 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .0 , , 9.3

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Brust joined the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On October 11, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with

of the

. The culture shock he experienced during his lone season in Lithuania left him more homesick than he expected. Only the premier teams in Europe can afford the charter flights and high-end hotels – Brust's team bused or ferried to games in Latvia, Estonia and Finland and saved money by staying in bargain hotels. Brust and American teammates Michael Dixon Jr. and

Alex Oriakhi Alex Oriakhi Jr. (pronounced "Or-e-ah-ki"; born June 21, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Depiro Rabat Imtarfa of the Maltese Division One Basketball league. He was the starting center for the Connecticut Huskies' 2010–1 ...

struggled with the food, short days with limited sunlight, and "would literally count down the days until we got back to America". In 39 Lithuanian League games, Brust averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He also averaged 8.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 14

Baltic League The Baltic League (officially known as the Triobet Baltic League) was a Baltic men's football club tournament held four times between the top club sides from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Launched in 2007 inspired by the now defunct Scandinavi ...

games. Brust is now a sportscaster for the Big Ten Network. Brust also has a daily radio show on ESPN Madison and ESPN Milwaukee with co-host Greg Scalzo. In October 2021, it was announced the Brust would become the color commentator on the Milwaukee Bucks Radio Network.

References

External links

Wisconsin bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brust, Ben 1991 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania Basketball players from Illinois People from Arlington Heights, Illinois Point guards Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball players American men's basketball players