Senior Moment

Mike Brusewitz Experienced A Senior Moment Thursday Night

We’ve all been there, well, those of us in our 50’s, anyway.  Salt in your coffee, shampoo on your toothbrush, said coffee tumbler left on top of your car, can’t find your car keys….again.  These are “senior moments”, and they multiply with every day you advance closer to retirement, every day you are just “happy to be above ground”.

 

They shouldn’t happen to college seniors, especially the likes of athletes, who are conditioned to repeat the same drills over and over again, so, in times of pressure situations requiring clutch performances, they execute the plays perfectly.

 

Such was the case for Mike Brusewitz last Saturday against Michigan.  Even though Ben Brust dropped a 40 foot miracle at the buzzer on the Wolverines to send the game into overtime, it was Brusewitz who delivered a Joe Montanesque pass right on the money, enabling Brust to execute the last second shot.

 

However, with the chips down once again last night against the Gophers at the Barn in Minneapolis, Brusewitz experienced, well, shall we say, a senior moment.  Seniors on a team like Wisconsin rarely commit turnovers, but the Bruiser brain cramped at absolutely the worst time.  Never mind that he put himself in that position with a great effort in drawing a charge on the previous play.  That gave Wisky the ball with 22 seconds left clinging to a two point lead, this, despite a scoring drought in excess of six minutes, highlighted by four multiple missed free throws by Ryan Evans, and more mind numbing guard play from Traevon Jackson.

 

Yup. all Mike had to do was get the ball inbounds once again, just complete the pass to a player, within five seconds.  Perhaps then the Gophers would foul a guy like Bergeron or Brust and maybe the Badgers would have a chance at actually making a free throw, and escape with their ninth Big Ten conference win.  Nope, Mike checked his brain at the baseline. moving along it against the rules in that situation, forgetting, for one brief, but critical moment, all that he had learned in four years playing NCAA Division 1 basketball at Wisconsin. Turnover. Foul. Free throws Minnesota. Tie game. Botched UW possession. Overtime. Loss.

 

So congratulations, Mike, and pardon the pun, but you now know what all of us AARP card carriers experience on a daily basis, you have officially experienced a senior moment. Don’t sweat it though, learn from it, and realize that at your age it probably won’t happen again for a long, long, time.

 

In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if you and your teammates defeat OSU this Saturday, probably in overtime, on a Ryan Evans banked free throw with an assist from Traevon Jackson.  That would all make sense in what is clearly becoming a very strange year for Wisconsin basketball.  Senior moments and all.

 

And For What