DAVID STLUKA
26 �� VARSITY
FEB R UA RY 28, 2013
DAVID STLUKA
DAVID STLUKA
Signing a National Letter of Intent might seem
like a mere formality. But it held special meaning
for each of the three scholarship seniors; maybe
more so for Evans than Berggren and Bruesewitz.
As a sophomore, Evans was told that he wasn���t
good enough to make the team at Desert Vista
High School in Phoenix. He wound up transferring to Hamilton, where he earned all-state recognition during his senior year and an offer from the
Badgers, the only Division I offer that he received.
���It was one of the best days in my life,������ Evans said.
���To see my hard work pay off was an incredible
moment.������
Berggren got to the gym before 7 a.m. on signing
day and shot baskets with some of his Princeton
(Minn.) High School coaches before filling out the
scholarship paperwork and faxing it to Wisconsin.
Later in the afternoon, there was a gathering of
friends and teachers ��� what to his memory was
���a decent number of people but it wasn���t a schoolwide event.������ There was a cake with a big ���W��� and
the promise of bigger things to come. ���It was cool
to get a little recognition,������ Berggren said, ���coming
out of a small school where there were not a ton of
people who go on to play D-I sports.������
Brusewitz also arrived early and signed his letter in the athletic director���s office at Henry Sibley
High School in St. Paul, Minn. He shared the moment with his best friend, Chris Halvorsen, who
was headed to Valparaiso. (Halvorsen later transferred to the University of Minnesota.)
���After the signing, we went to breakfast ��� one
of our favorite spots ��� and we took the first two
hours off from school that morning,������ said Bruesewitz, laughing. ���It was the next step in the journey
and a big accomplishment, not only for me, but all
the people who helped me along the way. I didn���t
get here on my own.������
Each could say the same thing; each had their
own expectations before relocating to Madison.
���I was expecting to come in and average 25
points a game and go to the league (NBA),������ kidded Bruesewitz before turning serious. ���I did want
to come in as a freshman and start from Day One,
and that was not out of any disrespect to anyone
else who was here. That���s just the type of person
