University of Wisconsin freshman Mike Bruesewitz has been compared to former Badger Joe Krabbenhoft because of his effort and intangibles. That became clear during Bruesewitz's first practice with the UW men's basketball team last Friday when he got a black eye.

"I ran into Jon Leuer the first day of practice," said the 6-foot-6 freshman forward, who is sporting a shiner around his left eye. "We were doing pick-and-rolls and I came back to help-side and he turned really quick and we kind of bumped into one another and I got the short end of the stick."

Bruesewitz, who was participating in the team's media day event Wednesday, said everything else has gone well during the first few practices that have been focused on defense. "Each day we're getting through different stuff. How to get through screens and how we play pick-and-rolls and how we want to play post defense. Stuff like that," he said.

Bruesewitz said his older teammates are always helpful. "I mess up once and they let me know," he said.

Evenly matched

UW coach Bo Ryan said the first few practices have been marked by some heated competition. "Very, very competitive," he said, "and that's what we love."

Ryan said some players can expect to be part of the playing rotation because of their experience and work ethic. "Now whether they get 25 minutes or 32 minutes, that's what plays out now," he said.

Look out for ... Berggren

That's what Keaton Nankivil is saying about Jared Berggren, the Badgers' 6-10, 240-pound redshirt freshman.

"As a post player, he can do a lot of stuff on the floor, especially scoring," Nankivil said. "He has a fantastic touch, good feet and a nice frame. He is one player for people to look out for this year."

Confident Evans

Ryan Evans has beefed up to 210 pounds and believes that will make him a more versatile player during his redshirt freshman season.

"Jump shot, putting the ball on the floor and the post, I've worked on that quite a bit this summer," said Evans, who hasn't ruled out playing the power forward spot. "I've got quite a bit more confidence in the post. I'm looking forward to utilizing that."

Cash on the line

Andy North and Steve Stricker will be celebrity coaches during the team's annual Red and White scrimmage Sunday at the Kohl Center. North said golf isn't much different than basketball.

"There are so many things in sports that are along the same areas. You hear coaches talk about playing one play at a time, playing one possession at a time. It's the same thing in our game. You can only play one shot at a time and you need to focus on that shot and do the best you can," he said.

North said he and Stricker already have a wager on the game. "It's a dollar figure. Not a lot but it's something that will be painful to give him at the end of the night," North said.

Blue said it

Madison Memorial guard Vander Blue on whether he thinks Ryan needs to change how he recruits to land big-time recruits: "Obviously he doesn't need the top-notch players to be successful so I feel he doesn't have to change anything he's doing now. It's basically how comfortable the recruit is. I would never say coach Ryan doesn't have to change anything he does because he's obviously successful," said Blue, speaking on WTSO-AM/1070 Wednesday. "One day he'll be in the Hall of Fame I'm assuming.

"It's based on what the recruit feels and that's how you pick a school. What your heart is telling you. It's not based on what the coaches are telling you, because the coaches can tell you anything. That's their job, to try and sell you on your school. You can't really 100 percent believe what the coaches are telling you because, nine times out of 10, it's not the truth anyway. You still have to work for whatever you earn there."

Related

• Nankivil: No need to be Blue over Ryan's recruiting skills

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