When Emily Bojan made the DePaul women’s basketball roster this summer after a successful softball career at Wisconsin, one of the first people she called was Mary Clare Brusek.
Brusek and Bojan were basketball teammates at Marist. Brusek played four years of volleyball at Western Michigan before joining the women’s basketball team and playing in 19 games.
Brusek had a memorable 14-point performance last Dec. 14 against Valparaiso.
“At first I didn’t believe her,” Brusek said of her conversation with Bojan, who played four years for the Badgers. “When she said she was playing at DePaul, I said, ‘You’re just joking with me.’’’
It’s no joke.
Danielle Zymkowitz, an assistant softball coach for Wisconsin, actually put the idea in Bojan’s head.
“She said that I was such a competitive person and she didn’t think I was ready to give it up yet,” Bojan said. “She said she would love to see me play another sport and mentioned basketball.”
A basketball roster spot was open at Wisconsin, but Bojan went through the transfer portal and DePaul was one of the teams that showed interest. She liked the idea of being home and playing in front of friends and family.
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Interestingly, Brusek’s parents Sean and Megan, nee Lucid, were DePaul athletes. Sean coached Bojan and Mary Clare in basketball when they were younger.
“She’s one of my best friends,” Bojan said of Brusek. “We played basketball all of our lives and ended up chasing the sport that wasn’t basketball. It’s funny that we were both able to come back and give basketball a shot for a year.”
The 5-foot-11 Bojan doesn’t have any grand plans about being a star or a leading scorer for the Blue Demons. She’s just trying to keep up. After all, her last competitive action on the court came in 2022.
“The first few days of practice definitely kicked me in the behind,” Bojan said. “It was a reality check. Getting my body back into basketball shape was the hardest part.
“I was a power hitter at Wisconsin and I had some extra meat on my bones. I wasn’t really that agile.”
Bojan, a catcher/utility player for the Badgers, had a career .311 batting average in 161 games with 13 homers and 53 RBIs. In the spring, she had a 35-game on-base streak.
Brusek, who is heading to Washington D.C. for a sales job in late September, has been a good sounding board for Bojan.
“I told her to embrace the ugly,” Brusek said of Bojan. “I told her she was going to be super inexperienced and these other girls have been playing for four years.
“But it’s a beautiful thing when you are kind of naive and take on a different role of letting people help you instead of you being the one leading people.”
DePaul coach Jill Pizzotti, however, believes Bojan has some leadership skills to bring to the Blue Demons’ table.
“It’s important to have leadership and energy,” Pizzotti said. “Even though Emily’s college experience isn’t in basketball, she was a college athlete and knows the challenges.
“She’s a great young woman. She’s a leader. She’s energetic. I think she will do a great job accepting her role, whatever she determines that to be.”
Somewhere between Marist and DePaul, Bojan picked up the nickname “Bo’’ thanks to Zymkowitz at Wisconsin. It doesn’t stand for two-sport athlete Bo Jackson nor is it a play on her last name.
“Emily is a girlier name and I’m more like a tomboy,” Bojan said. “My softball coach saw that side of me and said she wanted to give me a tough name. She suggested ‘Bo.’
“It was really fitting for softball, and I want to keep that going for basketball.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.