He was a four-star center in the 2016 class and put up 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game as a senior, helping Southport to its first sectional title since 2000. Brunk would bring a friend to rebound or a teammate to push him. “You don’t look like you,” Smeathers recalls telling Brunk. Both De’Ron Davis and Joey Brunk are going to have some of the smoothest post footwork for interior players in the Big Ten next season. Videos for Joey Brunk. Includes Address (7) Phone (2) Email (1) See Results. Brunk wasn’t allowed to say no. It’s a way for Brunk to keep his hero with him. “Joey’s probably going to be our most vocal leader this year,” Jackson-Davis said. “They paid for a monthly subscription, and it went on so long that I’d have three copies of the exact same issue,” he says. Indiana Men’s Basketball Player Joey Brunk Leaving School. As Smeathers watched, he didn’t see the passion that he was used to seeing out of Brunk. Smeathers has tried to help Brunk understand that his 6-foot 11-inch, 255-pound frame can be used powerfully at the rim, rather than relying on a soft touch. Then, in November 2016, his dad was hospitalized while visiting friends in Las Vegas. “I was expected to be at every one of my brother’s Little League games and practices,” Brunk says. “Yep,” Smeathers would respond. Chris Holtmann and Ohio State have their middle for the 2021-22 season. Smeathers has told Brunk to study other players, like Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, to recognize that improvement takes time. But, true to his dad’s mantra of living with passion, Brunk made a vow: He wouldn’t be depressed. Brunk tried to make an excuse, saying that he was working hard and that he’d be ok. Center Joey Brunk and guard Al Durham made big baskets down the stretch Thursday night, lifting host Indiana to a 67-63 upset win over No. It was that energy that made Brunk a heralded recruit out of high school. “Some people do that for show and Joey does that nonstop for three years now.”. Early last season, he won the gold jersey for outstanding effort in practice. “There are lots of people who would die to be in this position.”. After transferring from Butler, Brunk’s first season at Indiana was riddled with inconsistencies. “He’s so patient,” Crone says. Or, he’d launch the ball across the court so Brunk had to walk and pick it up. “There’s not a manual on how to play college basketball immediately after your dad dies,” Brunk said in an interview with the Big Ten Network. Also known as Joe Brunk. Through the struggles, Brunk, now a redshirt senior, was persistent. 50, Big Joe’s old number. If Smeathers told him to take a night off, even to just form shoot, Brunk hated it. Find the perfect Joey Butler stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Brunk stayed at his dad’s side in Southport for the next six months, foregoing the remainder of his first-year season to spend the last moments of his dad’s life with his hero. And it’s paid off: He’s averaging 8.6 points per game this season, compared to last year’s 1.3. “Just the way he attacks every day, the way he’s on people – not in a bad way – but just wanting them to be the best they can be.”. But, true to his dad’s mantra of living with passion, Brunk made a vow: He wouldn’t be depressed. Twenty-one-year-old Butler men’s basketball center Joey Brunk has just checked into the game, and the cheers from the 9,100 fans packing Hinkle Fieldhouse are thunderous. Twitter. 11 Michigan State in Bloomington, Ind. But the change of demeanor that Smeathers saw was due to the well-documented hardship Brunk endured as a freshman at Butler. His dad would pick him up from middle school every day and drive him to the gym for workouts, a dedication that paid off when Brunk was a Top 100 recruit and one of the three finalists for the statewide IndyStar Mr. Basketball award as a high school senior. Joseph Daniel Brunk, 85. Get current address, cell phone number, email address, relatives, friends and a lot more. “In the gym at 11:30?” the text from Brunk would say. Some nights they’d be in the gym for 2-3 hours until Brunk figured it out. He wears his dad’s No. His short, sandy beard makes him appear a little older than his 22 years. An hour later, he walks off the court, through the locker room …. But as he rests his fist on his chin in a pose reminiscent of Rodin’s The Thinker sculpture, the mid-morning sunlight streaming into Hinkle Fieldhouse streaking his wavy hair, it isn’t hard to believe the hard-charging center whom Butler Director of Basketball Operations Brandon Crone calls a “gentle giant” is a poetry aficionado. In the preseason evaluation, Brunk was awarded a perfect 100/100 grit score. “My dad, I think he’s watching every game,” Brunk said after the game. Brunk has been to the Indianapolis Zoo no fewer than 500 times. Facebook | They hugged right after Southport won sectionals. In April of 2017, Big Joe died at age 56. “I tried to be cool, whether it was talking ESPN, last night’s NBA games, or SportsCenter highlights.”. He always crashed the glass. “It was completely unexpected,” Joey Brunk says. ‘Embrace your journey’: How Joey Brunk rediscovered his love for the game, Mike Woodson isn’t afraid to adapt coaching philosophies, embrace a modern style of play, POTB 370: The early returns of the Mike Woodson era and next season’s roster with Zach Osterman, NCAA to consider rules changes regarding flopping, foul limits and more, Indiana to broadcast “virtual” Hoosier Hysteria on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 6-Banner Sunday: Trayce Jackson-Davis named to preseason All-Big Ten team. “My dad would rebound for me, and my mom would pack me breakfast, lunch, and something for the way home from school so I could eat again before going to the gym.”. “There were lots of mornings when—God bless both my parents—they’d get up at 5:30 AM to drive me to the high school for a workout,” Joey Brunk says. Joey, a resident of Bethel, passed away Sunday December 30, 2018 at the age of 44. Starting around May, Brunk would workout in the mornings with Smeathers. He would go with his family once or twice a week from age 2 on, always wanting to look at the same things—the lions, tigers, and his current favorite animal, the red panda. Smeathers would also take videos to show Brunk that he’s not far off from doing a move correctly. We're 100% free for everything! League: Season: NCAA Career Highs. Joe Brunk died April 15, 2017, at age 56. There was a time, though, that Smeathers saw a different version of Brunk. And his average minutes per game have quadrupled, from five to 20. No one in Brunk’s immediate family is a teacher, but after volunteering in a fifth-grade class at Southport Elementary School a few days per week his senior year of high school, he was sold. Once the team returned the locker room beneath the Assembly Hall seats, shortly after the final whistle of Indiana’s games, the message would come through. There was footwork, ball handling, a jumphook, building up Brunk’s IQ to the college basketball level. Joey Brunk Career Bests. With seven minutes remaining, Brunk used his shoulder to carve out space and drop in a layup through contact, tying the game at 42. He will, again, be a mainstay in IU’s frontcourt alongside Trayce Jackson-Davis. “He was just kind of born doing those things,” Smeathers said. He wanted to master everything immediately. After watching the games, Smeathers knew that Brunk was better than the guys that were beating him out for playing time. Joey Brunk (50) Center - 20-21 (Redshirt Senior) • Team Captain • Academic All-Big Ten Did not play due to injury. Brunk says there aren’t a lot of men in elementary education—last semester, he was one of only two guys in his elementary-education class. “It’s basically in the Indiana style of basketball stuff.”. Back on that day at St. Vincent Sports Performance, Smeathers could see that Brunk had lost some of his love for the game. By the time the 2019-20 season starts in November, the Indianapolis native will be turning 22 years old. But in the middle of the Big Ten schedule, Brunk’s numbers took a sharp decline. Justin Smith added 14 points for the Hoosiers (5-0), who are off to their best start since starting 5-0 in 2013-14. “I went to Butler so I could see my brother play,” Brunk says. “He had every excuse in the world to not want to workout,” Smeathers said. “I know, I’m sure he’s watching tonight.”. “Embrace your journey #gobucks” was the message from Brunk, alongside a realistic of the Indianapolis, Indiana local in a Scarlet and Gray shirt. When Brunk came back in his redshirt freshman year, he wasn’t the same. “We’re trying to win the championship in the long run.”. In the morning, it’ll be time to teach poetry to second-graders. He was a finalist for the Indiana Mr. Basketball Award. That means he’s a redshirt sophomore this season, with two years of eligibility remaining. They’d rise as early as 6 a.m. to workout. Brunk, who has an undergraduate degree from Butler and a master's degree on the way from Indiana, will be 24 years old in November. When they first started training, they worked on “everything,” Smeathers said with a laugh. Find Joe Brunk for free! He always sprinted the floor. The Butler Men's Basketball center is dedicated to achieving his dream and helping others do the same. “It was like ‘what are you doing?’” Smeathers remembers thinking. Get the latest news, stats and more about Joey Brunk on RealGM.com Indiana and Ole Miss visited Butler graduate transfer center Joey Brunk this week, per a source. EditorsNote: Minor tweaks throughout Center Joey Brunk and guard Al Durham made big baskets down the stretch Thursday night, lifting host Indiana to … Smeathers approached Brunk with honesty. Resides in Sarasota, FL. "Big Joe" was a Hall of Fame basketball player at … "He’s so likeable that people cheer like crazy just when he enters the game,” Butler Associate Athletic Director John Dedman says. “I grew up in a family where everyone was at everyone else’s stuff.”. In April of 2017, Big Joe died at age 56. “The kids thought it was cool that I was a guy teaching them,” he says. Finally, at night, Brunk would get more shots up or focus on his free throw shooting, which he converted at a 44 percent mark last season. And that’s exactly what Smeathers saw at St. Vincent Sports Performance. Durham hit a 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining, breaking a 60-60 tie to put “I wanted the kids to be able to have a positive role model,” he says. Quickly, Smeathers saw Brunk’s love for the game return. Then, he’d play pickup with overseas professionals. Inked onto his skin, there’s a winding river, along with two trees that lead up to a mountain range. Son of Beverly Brunk and the late Joe E. Brunk. So it was never a question for Brunk to forego the remainder of his first-year season to spend time with his dad after Joe Brunk was diagnosed with brain cancer in November 2016. Big Joe underwent multiple surgeries to save his life. The hardest part for Brunk was understanding that learning these skills was a process. Which meant his Friday nights were never exactly, umm, wild. The results were evident. “I flew to Nevada right away.”. Former Butler and Indiana center Joey Brunk posted on Twitter on Saturday night that he was transferring to the Buckeyes. He knew he needed to get Brunk back to his old self. He was a key player in the frontcourt rotation, starting 31 of Indiana’s 32 games. Crone says that, despite his dad’s death, nothing about Brunk’s personality has changed. “We laughed; we cried; we told stories,” Joey Brunk says. Brunk was just going through the motions. Joey Brunk dives for the ball and hits the hardwood to initiate the Butler transition offense. “He just wasn’t there,” Smeathers said. But some things can still be counted on. On Brunk’s back was No. 50 jersey, another reminder of the man who helped him achieve his dream of playing Division I basketball. The first time he was on campus, Brunk asked strength and conditioning coach Clif Marshall if they could lift in the weight room. Jason Smeathers got accustomed to receiving a certain postgame text last season. “The game is just the game,” Smeathers said. He’ll crash the glass. If Brunk messed up footwork or a drill, he’d yell at himself. Brunk and his dad, a two-time NAIA All-American at Hanover College, bonded over basketball from the beginning. He emphatically pumped his arm down, signaling an and-one and bumping his chest with freshman Jerome Hunter. Over a six-game stretch, he averaged just over 10 minutes on the court per game, along with just 2.5 points and two rebounds. Brunk's dad didn't want Joey to sign a National Letter of Intent, which most recruits do but stalls their option to transfer out even if their coach leaves. Being able to stay close to Johnny was one of the reasons Brunk, a four-star prospect out of Southport in 2016, chose Butler over offers from a bevy of Big Ten schools, including Indiana and Purdue. He honors his dad by visiting a local zoo with Butler play-by-play radio announcer Mark Minner whenever the team travels for a tournament. Chris Holtmann and Ohio State have their middle for the 2021-22 season. They attended games at Hinkle Fieldhouse together, and Joe Brunk was his son’s first AAU coach. I have a 3-year-old son, and Joey’s always one of the first to give him high fives and hugs in the locker room.”. His average rebounds per game are up to 4.4 from 1.8. “This is Joey everyday,” Smeathers said. Smeathers would get creative in figuring out how to calm Brunk’s intensity. Former Butler and Indiana center Joey Brunk posted on Twitter on Saturday night that he was transferring to the Buckeyes. It was from Joey Brunk. 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(AP) — Joey Brunk scored 14 points, including a key layup with a minute left to play, and Jerome Hunter made two late free throws Thursday night to … 2019-20 (Redshirt Junior) • BIG TEN SPORTSMANSHIP Joseph A Brunk, 60. “I was a little worried they might come in with negative attitudes, but they enjoyed it,” Brunk says. It’s a role Brunk also tries to play for his younger brother, Johnny, a sophomore guard at Roncalli High School, about 20 minutes south of Butler. Joey Brunk scored a season-high 16 points and Devonte Green added 16 to lead the Indiana Hoosiers past Princeton 79-54. He dropped 10 pounds, from 240 to 230, and increased his maximum bench press from 230 to 260 pounds. Brunk, an Elementary Education major and aspiring teacher, spent last semester student teaching in a second-grade class at the Butler University Laboratory School on Wednesdays. There were nine games in which Brunk put up double-digit scoring numbers. The NCAA granted Brunk an additional season, awarding him a hardship waiver for his first year, as he only played in seven games before stepping away to be with his dad. They made a rule that if Brunk didn’t play 20 minutes, they trained after the game. https://www.espn.com/.../player/bio/_/id/4065763/joey-brunk Smeathers would tell him to be patient. Uncle of Bridget, Julia, and Logan Worthington, Kerissa Sears, and Adalynn Cooper, Also survived by numerous family and friends. That’s where they’d frequently workout until one or two o’clock in the morning. Despite a rocky first season with the Hoosiers, there were some highlights for what has become known as the “Brunkyard Dog.”. Trending News & Rumors for Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, Soccer & More While he is a new face to IU basketball, graduate transfer Joey Brunk is not your typical newcomer to a college basketball program. He’d be the Energizer Bunny. The roles would morph over time, but Chris Holtmann never passed off his recruitment of Joey Brunk. His first full-class lesson was an introduction to emotion poetry. Later, he’d have weight training with professional strongman Derek DeVaughn. Indiana Men’s Basketball Player Joey Brunk will spend his sixth season at another school after he announced he will not return to the Hoosiers this season. They’d rise as … Beloved brother of Lori Worthington (Daryl) and Jimmy Brunk. But supporting his younger brother has never been a chore for the Butler big man. The two used to play pickup together when Brunk was a budding young prospect at Southport High School in Indianapolis. Joe Brunk was there to watch Joey’s Southport team beat Ben Davis 60-57 for the sectional championship during Brunk’s senior year—and Joey hoped he’d one day get to watch Butler win an NCAA Championship. 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