At this time every year, with the Thanksgiving Day holiday approaching, people often take a moment or two to appreciate the good things they have in their lives.
Joey Brunk is thankful for quality time he spent with his late father, Joe, last season after the elder Brunk was diagnosed with cancer. That quality time Joey spent with his dad cost him virtually all of his freshman season at Butler. But it was time well spent with the man Joey thought of as more than a dad.
“I think my dad and I definitely had a relationship that was probably closer to two friends than father-son,” said Brunk, a highly-touted, four-star recruit out of Indianapolis who was named to several Top 100 recruiting lists coming out of Southport High School. “Every day after seventh and eighth grade he would pick me up to go take me to work out. And once I started high school, before and after the season, we’d work out before and after school. We spent a lot of time together and had a lot of really neat experiences. But basketball wasn’t the be all and end all.”
No, basketball was just a small part of what Joey and Joe shared in their dynamic relationship. There was also a shared love of all things Indianapolis Colts, and some wonderful memories were made over their passion for football.
“We took a lot of really neat trips and I grew up going to every Colts home game,” said Brunk, a 6-11, 240-pound forward/center. “And we went to the two Super Bowls the Colts played in. So our relationship obviously extended way further than basketball.”
But the Colts’ ride to winning Super Bowl XVI was Brunk’s favorite among a bevy of memories he has with his dad.
“Really it was that whole year that the Colts won the Super Bowl,” Brunk said. “They beat the Chiefs in the (wild card) playoffs (23-8), then we went to Baltimore to watch them there and they beat the Ravens (15-6). Then they came back to beat New England (38-34) at home (in the AFC Championship Game). Then it was on to the Super Bowl (where the Colts completed the Brunk’s dream season with a 29-17 win over the Bears). That whole year was just a special, special year.”
Joe Brunk passed away last April with Joey constantly by his side, along with his mom, Helen, and younger brother, Johnny. And while being away from Butler basketball for most of the season was tough on Joey, the decision to the stay with his family was a no-brainer.
“Oh yeah, I certainly missed basketball and the way that it made me feel and the passion that came along with it,” Brunk said. “But at the end of the day there was no other decision that I would have ever made in that scenario. I will never regret spending all that time with my dad.”
These days Joey Brunk is thankful again, this time for his return to basketball and a chance to be with his other family, the Bulldogs. The fact that he got to be part of the Bulldogs’ summer trip to Spain for four games was just an added bonus.
“It was incredible to be back out there and play again,” Brunk said. “I felt rejuvenated when we got back from Spain. I got to play in a real game again. It was incredible. It was a wonderful feeling to be back out there playing with my guys. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
But as wonderful an experience as Spain surely was, it paled in comparison to Butler’s first exhibition game of the season, back on October 28, when the Bulldogs hosted tiny Hanover College, whose alumni include Vice President Mike Pence, actor Woody Harrelson and a certain former basketball player named Joe Brunk Sr.
“He went to Hanover and was an NAIA All-American,” Joey Brunk said. “He is fifth all time in points and fourth in rebounding and he was the fourth or fifth player in Hanover history to get their jersey retired.”
Joey logged six points and three rebounds in a 68-36 Butler win that night. But more than the victory, the experience of it all is what Joey took away from the day.
“That was a really neat experience,” Brunk said. “I grew up going to Hanover basketball camp, so it was really cool to get to play them, especially it being my dad’s alma mater. It really was neat just to be out there and play Hanover, especially with coach (Jon) Miller being there. When I went to basketball camp he was the coach down there and I had that relationship with him. So it was neat to have a bunch of my dad’s buddies that he played with in attendance. Really just the whole day was special.”
Brunk is now looking forward to just concentrating on basketball and his school work as he looks to become a pivotal cog in the Bulldog machine this season.
“Basketball is definitely my focus for the year and obviously I have to take care of my school work, but it’s been a great start to the year,” Brunk said. “I’m ready to fulfill whatever role I need to and help out team in whatever capacity that is.”
Brunk won’t be home for Thanksgiving this year but he’s totally fine with that because the Bulldogs will be partaking in the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Ore., and will be facing Texas and perhaps, No. 1 Duke. For Brunk, it’s the perfect way to get the season off and running.
“I don’t think anyone in this locker room would want to spend Thanksgiving any other way,” Brunk said. “I think it’s really nice to be together as a team and go out there and play some high-level competition.”
When Butler does return home, Brunk says he can count on a strong contingent of family and friends to be on hand for any home games.
“I have a lot of family that come to games,” Brunk said. “My mom and my brother come all the time as long as (Johnny) doesn’t have any conflicts with his high school schedule. But I’ll have a lot of family and friends at just about everything.”
Because he missed last season, Brunk said he may not be where he hoped to be with his game. But it shouldn’t take him long to be where he wants to be and where many predicted he would be coming out of high school with such high acclaim.
“I’m just surrounded by good people and I’m just trying to learn on the fly,” Brunk said. “It’ll play out the way it’s supposed to. I just want to get a little bit better each day and make progress whenever I get a chance to be out there.
So what would be the perfect season for Brunk now that he is back among the Bulldogs?
“A perfect year would mean we’re going to come out and as a team and we’re going to play hard and we’re going to let the chips fall where they may,” Brunk said. “We’re going to go out and do whatever we can to win and be competitive. That’s my perfect year, my perfect scenario.”