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C Joey Brunk (Official thread)





Notably, Brunk's relationship with head coach Chris Holtmann – and assistant coaches Ryan Pedon and Terry Johnson – goes back to when they all recruited him to play for them at Butler. They landed a commitment from the Indianapolis native, coached him for one season, then left for jobs at Ohio State.



Nothing Brunk does could be described as flashy. He’s not a high flyer, top-flight athlete or elite outside shooter.

Rather, he’s a 6-foot-11, 255-pound brute who’ll add to Ohio State’s depth in the post as a true in-the-paint post player. He’s expected to pair with Zed Key, creating a duo at center which should allow E.J. Liddell – assuming he stays in college – to move to power forward where he and Kyle Young will spend most of their time. Brunk’s presence should both help the Buckeyes get through the meat of the Big Ten schedule, considering it’s a grinder for big men. It also gives Holtmann a bunch of different possible lineup combinations in the frontcourt with seven forwards and centers – Brunk, Liddell, Young, Key, Ibrahima Diallo, Seth Towns and Kalen Etzler – standing 6-foot-7 or taller.

Brunk, who’s a traditional five, will do the vast majority of his work in the post both offensively and defensively.

He has shot 56.1 percent from the floor across his four seasons of college basketball (2016-19 at Butler, 2019-20 at Indiana) and averaged 5.2 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game for the Hoosiers in his only playing season for them. His offensive rebounding rate that year (9.8 percent) was higher than that of every Buckeye but Key last season. At his size and weight, he’s unafraid to bang in the post in a physical league with which he has plenty of familiarity.

The drawbacks with Brunk largely center on his average athleticism, poor free-throw percentage (57.6 percent in his career) and lack of an outside shot. They’re largely the reasons why he hasn’t played more than the 19.6 minutes per game he averaged in 2019-20. He’ll again be a role player rather than someone who Ohio State relies upon to play a majority of minutes in the post.

Brunk’s back is also a notable concern. A December back surgery kept him out for the duration of the 2020-21 season. He’s said to be healthy at this point, per a source, but he hasn’t played a college basketball game since March 11, 2020.
 
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Q: This seems like a special opportunity for you this year. How much are you looking forward to this season?

Brunk: “Yeah, definitely, especially coming off last year when I was not able to play. I’ve really been looking forward to this opportunity. I had my relationship with Coach Holtmann and playing for him my first year at Butler, it’s kind of come full circle. That relationship played a big part in my decision.”

Q: What was it about Ohio State beyond Coach Holtmann that led you to transfer there?

Brunk: “I think the guys in the locker room were the biggest thing. I’ve known Kyle (Young) for a while. It’s just how welcoming the guys were and our sense of community. That really went a long way and has made it a great transition.

“We have a group of guys who have been great since I’ve been here. I lived with Jamari (Wheeler) over the summer. I lived with one of our student managers I have known since high school. He grew up down the street from me and he was the manager of my brother’s high school team. There are a lot of familiar people here. So far so good.”

Q: What was your impression going against Ohio State? Indiana has always played some tough games against OSU.

Brunk: “It is a group of guys who played really hard and competed and wanted to win. They were connected. They always seemed like they had a lot of fun playing together and they enjoyed being around each other. Those were some of my impressions when I was playing against Ohio State.”

Q: What was the nature of your injury last year?

Brunk: “I had a disc injury in my back. It was just kind of a fluke thing. I’m not sure what caused it or what happened. (After undergoing surgery) I am 100 percent healed now. I’m all good.”

Q: How did your recovery go from that surgery last December?

Brunk: “I had a great group of people who supported me through it. I had my surgeon and our trainer at Indiana who helped me through it. I took the rehab seriously and I worked hard to get ready for this year. It was a gradual approach. I’m appreciate for my surgeon and the trainer at Indiana and everybody who helped me get back to where I am right now.”
 
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The Dispatch is counting down to the start of the season with our annual power rankings. These rankings are an educated guess at which players will have the most significant on-court impact during the course of the entire season and will feature each player on the roster.

The rankings continue today with Joey Brunk.

No. 10 – Joey Brunk
Position: Center

Class: Graduate (sixth year)

Height/weight: 6 feet 11 / 255 pounds

Jersey number: 50

Major: Criminal justice administration

Background
A native of Indianapolis, Brunk was a four-star prospect in the 247Sports.com composite database for the class of 2016. Ranked No. 109 nationally and third in his state, the product of Southport High School and one of three finalists for Indiana Mr. Basketball as a senior committed to Butler ahead of Oklahoma and was also considering Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State and Purdue, in large part due to his relationship with Bulldogs coach Chris Holtmann. There, he would play in seven of the first 10 games of the season but receive a hardship waiver from the NCAA as his father, Joe, battled a cancer diagnosis and passed away in April, 2017.

Holtmann would leave for Ohio State that summer, but Brunk would spend his next two seasons at Butler. During his second year, Brunk averaged 1.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 20 games before appearing in 33 games including 13 starts during his third year. Brunk grew his averages to 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds, and his .617 shooting percentage that season ranks among the 10 best single-season performances in school history.

He also graduated that year with a degree in elementary education and, with two years of eligibility remaining, transferred to Indiana after also considering Ole Miss. ESPN ranked him the No. 14 immediately eligible transfer player of the year. During his first season with the Hoosiers, and his fourth in college basketball, Brunk started 31 of 32 games and averaged 6.8 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 52.2% from the floor. He also earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

Brunk was a captain the following season but would not see any playing time for Indiana during his fifth year of college basketball due to a back injury that required surgery in December, 2020. He entered the transfer portal during the offseason and was quickly contacted by Holtmann, allowing the two to link up for one final season. Brunk will get a sixth season because the NCAA granted all players an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
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