Film Room: Taylor Bruninga In-Depth Scouting Report
One of the hottest names on the recruiting trail in the state of Illinois has been Illini Bluffs 2017 power forward Taylor Bruninga. The face up four man opened eyes this spring/summer with the Illinois Irish with his perimeter shooting. …
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Continue ReadingOne of the hottest names on the recruiting trail in the state of Illinois has been Illini Bluffs 2017 power forward Taylor Bruninga. The face up four man opened eyes this spring/summer with the Illinois Irish with his perimeter shooting. He picked up a few D2 offers. Then opened the high school season averaging close to 38 points and 16 rebounds per contest. He has posted big numbers all season, granted against small school competition. Since then Bruninga has added a couple D1 offers. PrepHoopsIllinois evaluated two full game tapes and have broken down the senior’s game in depth here!
By the Numbers
The two games we evaluated were against Elmwood and Athens. Below are his stat lines and how he got each of them.
Elmwood
Bruninga recorded 39 points, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 1 assist. His points were scored in the following manner:
Post – 2 points
Three Pointers – 12 points
Free Throws – 11 points
Drives – 10 points
Transition – 4 points.
Athens
Bruninga dropped 49 points, 20 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals against Athens. The breakdown of that game was:
Post – 20 points
Three Pointers – 0 points
Free Throws – 17 points
Drives – 2 points
Transition – 10 points
Physcial Tools
Bruninga went from listed at 6’6” the majority of the summer to listed at 6’9” now. It is hard to completely tell on film, but it does appear that he has grown a couple inches since we last saw him live. The senior has a good frame with broad shoulders that he should be able to add strength onto as time progresses. Quality athlete for a big man as we will go into more depth about later.
Competition Level
One of the bigger question marks with the insane numbers he has been posting is who exactly is he playing against. Granted Elmwood and Athens aren’t exactly going to be playing for state titles, but neither were awful. Athens actually put up a pretty good fight against Illini Bluffs in their contest. Where there similar college size post players? No, but there really aren’t a ton around the state.
Post Play
After evaluating Bruninga 20+ times over the spring and summer my primary concern was his scoring on the interior. These two games were very different in that respect. Against Elmwood his post game was rather nonexistent. He hung out by the perimeter most of the night and looked to space the floor. This was a bit concerning especially against a team that he should have been able to pound inside. Was rather pleased what we saw in the Athens film. He opened the game with three offensive rebound put backs where he crashed the glass hard. When he posted up he did a nice job of opening wide giving his guards a big target to throw the ball into. Likes to go to a right handed jump hook where he uses the glass. Made quick and decisive moves with the ball in the paint. Not a lot of wasted time. Also had a couple scores on dump off passes that he converted at the rim.
Mid-Range
Was expecting to see some mid-range game in these two game tapes. With his ability to shoot it from three he didn’t have a single jumper inside the arc in either game. When he was run off the line he either shot it or took it to the hoop.
Three Point
Bruninga was phenomenal shooting it in the first game from three. Let it fly from really deep including one he drained from the volleyball line. Mostly shoots it off the catch. Can make a crisp cut away from the ball to get open to set up jump shot. He has a pure looking stroke with a quick release. Doesn’t force bad threes if the defense is right on him or flying at him. Also showed he could reset his feet. Drilled on impressive step back three that he was fouled on. Think this will be the strength of his game at the next level.
Driving
The area that we were the most pleasantly surprised in was his ability to score off the bounce. This was an area he flashed on the circuit, but he showed well in the Elmwood game. When defenders would crowd his shot or look to block his three point attempt the senior went right around them with a shot fake. Loves to use his left hand to drive hard to the hoop. Solid ball handler through traffic and overall has good body control at the rim. A couple times he did have wild shots at the cup, but overall he finished well. This will definitely add to his skill set offensively at the next level as a face up four man.
Free Throws
The first aspect here is that he got to the charity stripe a lot! Bruninga isn’t shy from contact on either his drives or when fighting on the glass. That helped him get to the line quite a few times. He is a great free throw shooter. Consistent mechanics and repeatable delivery. He was 11-11 against Elmwood and 17-19 against Athens.
Transition
We expected Bruninga to be able to run the floor well. He is a quality athlete for being a big man. The Illini Bluffs senior did just that. He ran the floor hard consistently. Several times he went right down the lane and received passes for scores. What opened our eyes was his ability to get the ball off the glass and start the break on his own. Not having to wait for a guard he would handle it until he was stopped on the other end or on a few occasions going coast to coast.
Rebounding
After watching the first film against Elmwood we definitely didn’t see the big rebounding numbers as he only recorded three against a team that lacked much height. This was seriously concerning considering he didn’t rebound at a high level during the summer. The second game tape against Athens Bruninga brought in 20 boards. It seemed to be simply a mindset thing right from the jump. He was more aggressive going to the rim especially on the offensive end of the floor. Goth multiple put back opportunities. Won 50/50 balls in traffic throughout the contest. One very good game rebounding and one that was not very impressive.
Passing
Didn’t see a ton of passing out of Bruninga in these game films. He seems to overall have a decent feel for the game, but only had 1 assist between the two games.
Defense
A lot of the times Bruninga guarded out on the perimeter. Played a little bit too high for what he will have to do at the college level even defending perimeter based four men. Worried a little that against a better quality athlete they will be able to go around him. When on the perimeter more than a few times he was too focused off the ball and wasn’t able to recover in time to get to his man who hit an open jumper. When playing in the paint he anchored the back of their 2-3 zone several times swatting shots. Probably a slightly below average defender.
Conclusions
That is a lot to take in right there. Overall we saw a lot of positives in these games. The shot is legit, above average athlete that can score off the bounce when man flies at him, and impressed with transition handles. Would like to see improvement in his mid-range game, passing, and defense. Rebounding was great in one game and below average in other. Our conclusion is that he should be a priority D1 recruit at the low-major level. Mid-major minus schools or ones that are looking for his specific skill set should also take a long hard look.