As Jerry Garcia once said, “What a long strange trip it has been.” Tuesday night’s Summit League Conference Championship game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota was a microcosm of the long and winding Denver men’s basketball season. DU was picked last in the preseason coaches poll with a mystery roster of eight new players and one true freshman. The Pioneers were massive underdogs against #1 South Dakota State on, essentially, their home court. Denver’s best player Tommy Bruner was hobbled with an ankle injury. The Pioneers slow defensive start put them in a 20-point first-half hole and missed offensive opportunities carried the 20-point deficit until 8:17 remained in the game. Somehow, these pesky Pioneers chipped away over the remaining time to slice the lead to 5 points – twice in the final minute on DeAndre Craig buckets. The DU run silenced the Jackrabbits crowd at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. Unfortunately, the hill was too high to climb for DU and the Pioneers fell, 76-68.
Yes, in many ways this team was flawed – sometimes on offense and sometimes on defense – but they never quit or accepted the low expectations placed on themselves by others. Their season-long journey started and ended with the country’s top regular-season scorer, Tommy Bruner, who played bigger than his 6’1″ frame. They were guided by a head coach trying to build a winning culture from the ashes of the past with new faces. They beat the odds, recording a number of stunning, improbable victories. They didn’t reach the hilltop but they tried and nearly succeeded. Not enough stops. Not enough makes.
𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 this program to a higher standard this season.
Focused to make this level our new expectation as we reach for more.#GoPios pic.twitter.com/3BxvavjmaS
— Denver Men's Basketball (@DU_MensHoops) March 13, 2024
In the first half, SDSU started with dunks to ignite the partisan Sioux Falls crowd, 8-3. Then, the Jackrabbits started to rain threes, 17-5. Five threes contributed to a 27-11 SDSU lead. Denver went ice cold for more than four minutes and SDSU doubled up Denver 36-18 with two minutes to go. Denver went to the locker room down 37-23. Denver shot 35% from the field and 2 of 12 from distance. SDSU shot 50% from the field and a sizzling 42% from three (6 of 13). The Jackrabbits added a 7 rebound advantage. Frankly, Denver was fortunate to be down by 14.
A fast start to the second 20 minutes by SDSU, capped by a Zeke Mayo three, stretched the lead to 20, 48-28. At that point, Denver was forced to gamble and shoot threes- all with little success. SDSU’s William Kyle had a monster game, pounding Denver in the paint. Denver trailed by 21 at the midway point of the second half. Several minutes later, DU caught fire. Denver went on a 13-2 run, closing the score to 65-53, with under five minutes remaining. Denver continued to close the gap to 10 with three minutes to go. A Jaxon Brenchley three pulled the game to single-digits at 1:53 at 67-58. Another Brenchley three-point make closed the game to five points, 67-62. All the damage was done by Denver while the Jackrabbits experienced a six-minute scoreless streak. As the clock wound down, Denver started to foul and shoot three-point shots but most of Denver’s shots never found their mark. SDSU hung on for the 76-68 win and the Summit League Conference Championship.
This past DU basketball season has featured an exciting team and a group of players who stuck together and accomplished great things both on and off the court. They represented us well. There was a new buzz around Denver men’s basketball that had been absent for a long, long time. It took a fifth-year sharpshooter, new faces, belief and a stubborn head coach who refused to be shackled by the past. That is their legacy and greatest accomplishment.
____________________________________
If you want to support our outstanding Denver players, the Crimson & Gold Collective is a different kind of NIL. The goal is to raise funds to provide our basketball players with an outstanding campus experience, commensurate with other Denver students – not lifetime wealth. Please consider a gift HERE.
Do you want to contribute to Tommy Bruner’s 501(C)3? You can contact Tommy at therealbedifferent@gmail.com.
Way to go Pios. Loved the fight in the dog. Keep climbing
Bruner is maybe a great player but he a dirty player!
Dang if DU could’ve come out more competitive for the first 10 minutes then this could have gone either way. Tough to claw back 18 in a championship game that’s effectively a home game for the other team. Glad they fought back but damn would’ve loved to have seen them keep it within 10 in the first half. Definitely some promise for next year (if they can retain a core of guys)!
Denver gave it all they had, and for that, we stand and cheer. It’s pretty hard to win in Sioux Falls when your best two players are playing on one leg (as Bruner and Tainamo clearly were).
Jeff Wulbrun has now created a program where actual D-I level players now wear Crimson and Gold, and for that, we are most grateful. While DU was picked for last place this year by the coaches, getting to the Summit Championship Game proved them all to be wrong. Bravo.
The 17-17 record DU turned-in this year was solid, with some spectacular moments (against good teams) that brought joy and possibility to the DU fan base, and put DU back on the basketball map as an up-and-coming program. Watching Bruner lead the nation in scoring, Brenchley provide critical leadership and Addo-Ankrah knock down big shots with games on the line was often awesome, setting some great examples for all who follow them at DU.
The challenge now is player retention in this portal era, and the creation of roster depth. This is not at all easy in the new era of NIL, where real money is waved in mid-major players’ faces to jump ship. Wulbrun will bring in three freshmen next season, and while the development of those players will be important, it is DU’s ability to retain existing players and augment them with portal gems that will determine program advancement. Whomever stays or goes from the roster, Wulbrun and his staff really need to improve team defense if they hope to build this program beyond .500 to a NCAA tournament calibre program. Progress has been made, and more is needed.
It was great to see them get this close to an ncaa tourney spot. I’ve been waiting for that since they went D1 while I was an undergrad. It seems like they have finally found a coach who can make strides improving the program.
I found it encouraging to see that they signed a high school player who also had offers from two Pac12 schools (Cal and Arizona State). Hopefully that, coupled with success in the transfer portal, will keep this team trending in the right direction.
Hell of an effort last night. Really proud of the team–those guys fought their asses off and turned a blowout-in-the-making into a competitive contest.
As we all know, Wulbrun is building something here. It’s hard to not feel optimistic about the future.
The 17-17 record is an outstanding turnaround from where we were just a few years ago. Hats off to the team and the coaches. I wanted so much for them to win last night. I have more hope than ever for this program.