Although Mike Bruesewitz wasn't sporting any University of Wisconsin apparel on Wednesday, he was sporting school colors.

"I did have a red long sleeve shirt on, so I was rocking the red," Bruesewitz said.

A fitting choice given that Bruesewitz — a 6-foot-7 junior forward from Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights, Minn. — delivered an oral commitment late Tuesday night to play college men's basketball at UW beginning with the 2009-10 season.

"First of all, it's a first-class program," Bruesewitz said. "They win a lot, I like that. It's a great program, they've got great facilities and the biggest thing of all is Wisconsin is a great school. All of that combined, I really liked it."

Bruesewitz is the first player to commit for the Badgers' 2009 recruiting class, which is expected to consist of three players. He chose UW over Iowa, Washington State and Valparaiso.

"He's a real versatile player, and he's a real hard worker," Sibley coach Tom Dasovich said of Bruesewitz. "He seems to be the kind of kid Bo Ryan has been bringing to Wisconsin the last few years."

Bruesewitz — whom Dasovich said is averaging around 17 points and 10 rebounds a game — said he feels his versatility is a good fit in UW coach Bo Ryan's swing offense.

And Dasovich even went so far as to compare Bruesewitz's all-around game to that of a current UW player.

"He's a lot like (junior swingman) Joe Krabbenhoft," Dasovich said. "Similar build, looks like him, similar style of game. A pretty skilled kid who can post up, handle the ball. He can step out and shoot it."

After making an unofficial visit to Madison earlier this month and taking in the Badgers' game against Purdue at the Kohl Center, it didn't take Bruesewitz very long to pull the trigger on making UW his future basketball destination.

"Academically, it's a great fit. And when he had a chance to get on campus, see the Kohl Center and the facilities, he didn't have to wait a super long time to make a decision. He felt like Wisconsin would be a great fit for him," Dasovich said. "When everything you want is right there, why wait?"