Indiana was one of the first schools to reach out to Joey Brunk after the 6’11” / 230 pound red shirt sophomore announced on Twitter that he would be graduating from Butler University and transferring. On March 27th, Joey Brunk made his announcement official and by March 30th, Indiana had already completed an in-home visit with Joey and his family. Three days later on April 1st, Joey was spotted on the Indiana University campus on a visit with the Hoosier coaching staff.
Joey Brunk will graduate in May and have two years of eligibility remaining. Given that Joey Brunk would transfer after graduating from Butler, he will be able to play immediately once he lands at his next school.
Given the proximity of Indiana University and Southport High School, where Joey played prior to college, Joey has been able to keep in close contact with the Indiana University staff. There are a number of schools also in pursuit of Joey Brunk, but the two schools that jumped on Joey the earliest were Indiana and Ole Miss.
Like Indiana, Ole Miss also has two available scholarships at this current moment in time.
Additionally, Joey Brunk maintained contact with Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann, who recruited Joey Brunk to Butler back in the 2016 season. Today, however, Ohio State received a commitment from 7’0″ front court player from Prolific Prep in Napa, California: Ibrahima Diallo. Landing Diallo in all likelihood has implications on a potential Joey Brunk recruitment to Ohio State.
Ohio State lands a 7'0" interior player from Prolific Prep, where former Southport High School Paul Scruggs also attended. Ibrahima Diallo joins Chris Holtmann's roster in 2019.
Likely has impact on Butler graduate transfer Joey Brunk who has interest from IU and Ole Miss. #iubbhttps://t.co/bzmJzhkav0
Joey’s career at Butler started slow with playing just 7 games his freshman year. Because of his desire to watch after his ailing father Joe Brunk, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Joey made the decision to sit out the rest of the season. His father passed away on April 15, 2017, almost exactly two years ago to the date of this publication.
That’s more important than anything I could have done last year,” Joey said. “That’s something I’ll never regret or ever look back on.
Joey Brunk on sitting out the rest of his freshman season.
When Joey was ready to return back to the team, Butler went through a coaching change after coach Chris Holtmann announced that he would be taking the Ohio State opening. Joey decided to stay with the Bulldogs and played 20 games under the coaching of LaVall Jordan, averaging just 5.5 minutes per game.
This past season, Joey had career numbers for Butler as he posted 7.6 points per game in 33 games that he played in. Joey would start in 13 of those appearances. When the Hoosiers faced Butler in the 2018 Crossroads Classic, Joey Brunk tallied eight points, two assist, and five rebounds in 23 minutes of game action.
Known for his footwork, Joey Brunk has a knack to score around the rim. He would partner up very well with Indiana’s De’Ron Davis, since both players understand how to best position their giant frames to open optimal looks at the rim. Brunk’s 230 pound frame is wide and gives him the ability to create space in the interior. Despite his size, Joey Brunk has not been the best rebounder given in his limited time with the Butler Bulldogs.
Out of high school, Joey Brunk was a four-star recruit and he was ranked just outside of the top 100 according to the 247Sports composite ranking. Other recruiting sites had Joey well within the top 100 ranking of the 2016 class.
After Virginia Tech announced their coaching change, four-star Anthony Harris announced that he would be re-opening his recruiting. Since then, Harris has been reported to be in contact with the Indiana coaching staff.
Indiana is also pursuing five-star forward Trendon Watford. Trendon is planning to make his decision announcement on April 20th at the Jordan Brand Classic. Indiana has not yet had an official visit with Trendon, but there are plans for Indiana to visit him before the recruiting dead period begins again on April 15th.
