Ohio State basketball: OSU gets big man Joey Brunk from transfer portal

The Ohio State basketball team has been in search of a big man to help them out for the upcoming season. They were able to find one in the transfer portal.

One of the biggest flaws in the roster for the Ohio State basketball team in 2020 was their lack of an effective true big man. They didn’t have anyone over 6’8 who played significant minutes for them. They have been trying to fix that problem this offseason.

Chris Holtmann seems to have figured out the solution to this problem for the 2021 season. Joey Brunk, a 6’11 big man who previously played at both Butler and IU, has decided to transfer to Ohio State for his last eligible season. Brunk will be the tallest player on the Buckeyes’ roster.

Brunk was recruited by Holtmann to attend Butler. Even though Holtmann obviously left for Columbus, Brunk stayed in Indy. He played three years at Butler, although he was a medical redshirt his freshman year after getting hurt.

At Butler, he played in 60 games while starting 13 of them. He only averaged 12.9 minutes a game and had 5 points and 2.7 rebounds a game. He really didn’t make much of an impact. At IU, he started every game but one and scored 6.8 points, and grabbed 5.2 rebounds a game. He did not play last season because of his intention to transfer.

Brunk will be a bench guy next season. With Kyle Young coming back and E.J. Liddell likely coming back after testing the NBA waters, Brunk will most likely help Zed Key be the key big man off the bench. Only if Liddell gets drafted will Brunk start in 2021.

With Young returning and Brunk now added to the roster, that likely means the Buckeyes won’t be getting Efton Reid. Reid was originally going to make his decision on Thursday but has now postponed his decision indefinitely. Ohio State is likely no longer in consideration.

Having watched Brunk a decent amount over his career, this move doesn’t really excite me. He is not an impact guy. He is someone who can use his big body to deter shots at the rim but doesn’t do much offensively. Brunk can’t shoot threes or stretch the defense in any significant way.

This move might end up actually hurting the Ohio State basketball team. Brunk is just a taller, poor man’s, Kyle Young. He works hard and can play decent defense, but ultimately doesn’t have enough skill to affect the game in any truly meaningful way. And now, they likely won’t land Reid because of this.

Brunk does play hard and fits Holtmann’s identity. I just hope he can help a bit offensively when the Buckeyes need a scorer off the bench.