Indiana forward Joey Brunk led the way offensively against Princeton when the Hoosiers needed a veteran presence in the paint Wednesday. His 16 points represented yet another facet of the front court that Big Ten teams are going to have to account for during conference play.
On the first offensive possession of the game for Indiana, the Hoosiers dumped the ball down low to forward Joey Brunk. He posted up and backed into a wall of two Princeton defenders. Gathering the ball, Brunk wedged his shoulder between the defenders, stepped into the gap and went up for the score to get Indiana on the board.
From that first possession on, it was clear Indiana wanted to get the ball down low to Brunk and the other front court contributors, despite Princeton forward Richmond Aririguzoh, who Indiana head coach Archie Miller described on his radio show Monday as “legit.”
It was a gear from Brunk that Indiana had not seen, yet certainly needed, in what was a close game until midway through the second half, when the Hoosiers pulled away and won, 79-54.
“It kind of happened through being here and wanting to be aggressive and come back to shoot tonight,” Brunk said after the game. “Wanted to be aggressive, just working on it and being ready, being prepared.”
What Brunk was prepared for Wednesday night was a Princeton team that came out physically, especially on the perimeter. The Indiana guards were able to make several entry passes into the post, but passing around the arc was a struggle at times, which stagnated the offense often in the first half.
Miller said he hopes when teams are aggressive defensively around the perimeter that his point guards will move the ball quicker up and down the court. Instead, against Princeton, Miller noted that some ball handlers wouldn’t know what to do with the ball and tossed it to their teammates. That kind of play resulted in six first half turnovers.
But the offense was able to lean on Brunk in many ways. Even though he turned the ball over four times on his own because of fumbled entry passes, Brunk provided a scoring option when other scorers – Justin Smith, Al Durham, Rob Phinisee – weren’t as available. He connected on three of his four first half shots and then became the first Hoosier to break into double-digit scoring early in the second half.
He finished tied for the team lead in scoring, with 16 points, on 7-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds.
“He stepped up to the challenge in terms of us playing against a physical body down there,” Miller said. “But Joey's a good offensive player. He just hasn't been as aggressive or assertive in games.”
Brunk has been selective on offense. Since going 5-of-7 in the season-opener against Western Illinois, Brunk had attempted just nine shots in three games coming into Wednesday’s game. Brunk has mostly taken a back seat to Trayce Jackson-Davis offensively on the inside in the last three games, as the freshman forward posted scoring performances of 13, 20 and 17 points before totaling 11 against Princeton, as he gets his feet under him. Race Thompson even had a 10-point game against North Alabama.
But Brunk provided a veteran presence on the inside Wednesday, when senior forward De’Ron Davis was out, and the Tigers were pushing around in the post.
“He's a problem down low,” Green said. “He has such a presence.”
Miller stressed that Brunk’s performance was more than offensive, as he limited Aririguzoh to just four points and seven rebounds.
Paired with Jackson-Davis’ flashes of ability on both ends of the floor and around the perimeter and Race Thompson’s ability to crash the boards and work defensively, Brunk only provided a look at another facet of the Indiana front court that Big Ten teams are going to need to deal with down the road.
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