6'2" guard Ben Brust of Mundelein, IL has somewhat recently been released from his Letter of Intent to Iowa due to the firing of head coach Todd Lickliter.
Here's where the trouble sets in. The Big Ten has a rule stating that once a player signs a Letter of Intent to a Big Ten school, he/she may not receive a scholarship at another Big Ten school if they choose to transfer. Wisconsin's basketball team is familiar with the rule, as when Sharif Chambliss transferred from Penn State to Wisconsin and finished his senior season as a Badger, he was without a scholarship per the rule. Brust has appealed the rule himself and been denied by the conference. Wisconsin, being the apparent front runner for his commitment, has now filed an appeal, which will be decided on by a faculty member from each member institution. For it to be successful, 6 out the 11 members must be in favor of overriding the rule. While I'm not holding my breath, as the madison.com article states, there is a mild precedent for it. Less than 4 years ago, Alex Legion was a highly touted guard that had signed a LOI to play for Tommy Amaker's Michigan Wolverines. When Amaker was fired, he reopened his recruitment and signed with the Kentucky Wildcats. After being in Lexington for a semester, Illinois appealed and was granted a waiver of the rule so that Legion could receive a scholarship when he transferred to Illinois.
As for Brust as a recruit, he's a great shooter that put up more than 25 points per game as a junior and senior at Mundelein High School. From all the write-ups and videos of him that I've seen, he seems to be another Jason Bohannon, which I'd gladly welcome.
Highlight Video #1
Highlight Video #2 (featuring Duje Dukan too)
Highlight Video #3
Highlight Video #4
Highlight Video #5
No comments:
Post a Comment