There are points in a season where you can shrug off big numbers.
November? Sure. December? Maybe.
But it’s January, and we’re at the point you can’t ignore what Tommy Bruner is doing in his final college season. As he has been for large parts of the season, the Pioneer fifth-year senior is currently the nation’s leading scorer, with a hefty 17-game sample size in his back pocket.
His 27-point effort in DU’s comeback bid at Northern Colorado lifted his scoring average to 25.4 points per game, a full point above the next closest player, Southern Illinois’ Xavier Johnson (24.3 ppg). And that’s not a cheap leading mark. His current figure would’ve won him the NCAA scoring crown in three of the past 10 seasons and, if the season ended today, would be the highest in the Summit League since Reggie Hamilton (26.2 ppg) in 2011-12.
That chunk of time, of course, bypasses two major names in these parts: Max Abmas and Mike Daum. That Bruner is vying to score more per game than either former league Player of the Year ever did speaks more than anything else to the type of season he has had.
It’s no wonder he drew high praise from BYU coach Mark Pope last month.
“Clearly he’s an elite-level scorer, he’s really, really talented,” he said after the Cougars beat DU on Dec. 13.
The BYU coach gushed about the defensive job his perimeter players had done on Bruner, who still got loose for 15 points against the Cougars' elite defense. So what has fueled the breakout for a player that was already a proven college scorer?
For one, Bruner is healthy. Last year, the South Carolina native was fresh off surgery for a foot injury he suffered during his lone year at Jacksonville in 2021-22, and that lingered throughout the year, even though he was able to play well enough to be named all-league honorable mention.
“I couldn’t run, I couldn’t jump, I couldn’t go side to side. It was tough to play on,” he said.
That changed over this offseason, where he was able to get back to normal and focus on running and conditioning rather than rehab. He’s also been flanked by a team that was designed to complement his ability to get in the paint and make good decisions with the ball, whether that’s calling his own number or kicking it out to teammates.
Jeff Wulbrun talked about that at Summit League media day.
“The biggest adjustment for Tommy, while he’s improved his own game, we’ve improved the team around him,” he said. “We’ve surrounded him with shooters, and he’s a player that can get to the hip of his defender at will and get into the paint to create for himself and his teammates. I’m really excited to think how he’ll respond to that.”
To that end, offseason additions Isaiah Addo-Ankrah and Jaxon Brenchley have both proved pivotal not just for Bruner, but the Pioneer’s 10-7 (1-0) record. Addo-Ankrah has been one the best shooters in the league and, along with a dramatic improvement for Bruner from deep, has led a potent Pioneers three-point attack.
Brenchley, after four seasons at Utah, has brought the sort of complete production that few other players can boast. This season, he’s one of just five players in the Summit averaging at least 10 points, five rebounds and three assists per game. Two of these are preseason all-league players (Zeke Mayo, Kareem Thompson) and the others (Tyree Ihenacho, Anderson Kopp) have done it in limited time due to injury or eligibility.
All told, when you add in Touko Tainamo’s tremendous campaign (17.6 ppg, 9.1 rpg), it’s led to a DU team that will almost surely blow past its preseason projection, which placed the Pioneers toward the bottom of the league standings, and may well contend for a title. The metrics are more than encouraging. Bruner has helped elevate the Pioneers’ offense to 76th in adjusted offensive efficiency per KenPom, a huge improvement from last year and program’s highest mark since the WAC regular season title-winning team of 2012-13.
Those shiny numbers get their stiffest test to-date this Saturday as they host preseason favorite South Dakota State in Hamilton Gymnasium, which itself will be coming off another key tilt with St. Thomas midweek. However that game goes, Bruner will almost certainly put up points, and that’s led to big things thus far for the Pioneers.
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