KAUKAUNA Wis. (WBAY) – Two well-known Wisconsin basketball stars were in attendance on the final day of the 55th annual Holy Cross Men’s Open basketball tournament in Kaukauna.
Former Wisconsin guard Ben Brust and future Duke forward Kon Knueppel II faced off in the championship game.
“It’s one of those things where when this event is over, I mark it on my calendar for next year as soon as the date is out,” Brust said.
Brust played in the tournament for the first time two years ago. After what he called a rough first showing, he came back with a vengeance last spring.
“Last year, we won the whole thing, got the MVP, so redeemed myself,” Brust said. “I Hhonestly don’t even care about the MVP – just coming back to win and play well and feel good about myself was great. Now I got the baby weight on me, but we’re grinding through it.”
Meanwhile, Knueppel has been attending the tournament for as long as he can remember, but can finally participate for the first time. The Duke signee is a consensus top-25 recruit in the country in the Class of 2024.
“It’s definitely a dream come true,” Knueppel said. “It’s definitely been something I’ve wanted to do my whole life, just coming up here, watching my dad, so it’s definitely special.
“I think it’s right on par with an ACC regular season title, a Holy Cross championship,” Knueppel jokingly said.
Brust graduated a year before the Badgers fell to Duke in the national title game back in 2015. Even though some locals still might harbor some hard feelings for the Blue Devils, Brust can’t knock Knueppel’s decision.
“(Kon) is gonna make the best decision for himself, and if Duke was that for him, I respect anyone’s decision,” Brust said. “I’ve been playing in his dad’s men’s league for the past 3 years since I moved to Milwaukee so I’ve seen (Kon) maturate and grow. It’s no surprise the success he’s having. He’s never satisfied with any success. I just hope he’s satisfied with giving us a little bit of a break for the old guys.”
