Duke has been active this week as the Blue Devils look to get in the running for two of the top graduate transfers in the NCAA portal. Mike Krzyzewski’s staff has been in contact with both Seth Towns of Harvard, the 2017-18 Ivy League Player of the Year, and Yale’s Jordan Bruner. (It’s down to Duke and Ohio State for Towns.)
Multiple sources have reported that the 6-foot-9 Bruner may decided to go pro; however, he’s keeping his options open, currently. According to Evan Daniels of 247 Sports, Duke is among the many teams that have contacted Bruner.
According to @EvanDaniels, Duke has reached out and expressed interest in Yale graduate transfer Jordan Bruner.
Averaged 10.9 PPG & 9 RPG last season for the Bulldogs. Bruner is also exploring going pro but the unknown with COVID-19 may keep him in college for one more season.
— #DukeNation (@TheDukeNation) March 19, 2020
A native of South Carolina, Bruner started 58 games over the last two seasons for Yale. During the 2019-20 season, he averaged 10.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game. Bruner also upped his 3-point output this year, too: 32.3 3P% on 3.5 attempts per game. According to Synergy Sports, Bruner posted an effective shooting rate just under 51 percent on catch-and-shoot attempts this season.
Defensively, Bruner adds rebounding and shot blocking. In Ivy League action, Bruner led the conference with a 25.9 percent defensive rebound rate, per KenPom. During his career at Yale (over 2,300 minutes), Bruner blocked an impressive 2.6 shots per 40 minutes.
Bruner has experience playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium, too. Back in Dec. 2018, he played 29 minutes for Yale in a 91-58 loss at Duke. In that game, Bruner recorded eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
Among schools that have reached out to #Yale's Jordan Bruner: Duke, Xavier, Georgetown, Kansas, Maryland, Alabama, USC, UConn, Boston College, Iona.
Georgraphy not an issue for South Carolina native.
— David Borges (@DaveBorges) March 19, 2020