Maybe it’s my absolute unequivocal disdain for his style of play, but I would take at least 4 players over Brunner in that spot. His career totals are a pure byproduct of the fact he got to play as a freshman; had Bowen played on those down year teams, he would have surpassed Brunner’s total. As for those “big” numbers he put up in 2006? Brunner cost his team as much in horrendous shooting and turnovers. He shot .454 from the field, despite taking the majority of his shots from inside 6 feet (by the way, that’s a 6% drop from his junior year). He launched an inexplicable 41 threes, each and every one of which could be described as “ill-advised.” He turned the ball over 84 GOD DAMN TIMES (that’s 2.5 per game, which is a bad number for a guard; it’s horrendous for a player who doesn’t even handle the ball). That’s not even counting the effect of his never-ending string of offensive fouls stemming from his one move: lower the shoulder, jump at the defender, and flail wildly. And when your only low post move AS A POWER FORWARD is to try to draw a foul, you sure as hell better make free throws at better than 65%.

I would take Adam Haluska there without thinking. You want to talk big seasons? 20.5/4.6/2.6 as a senior on far better peripherals, homes. The 2006 team would have been better off if he played a bigger role.

Ryan Bowen’s senior year matched Brunner’s 14/9, and he also did it on far better peripherals (60% from the field, a full turnover per game less, and with far fewer headslap-inducing idiotic episodes). For his career, Bowen shot at a 7.5% higher percentage that Brunner, was a far better shot blocker, and matched or bettered everything else along the way (Bowen’s 4-year career turnover total is just 2 more than Brunner’s final two seasons). That’s the same production in a far more efficient manner, which means more scoring for everyone else.

Chris Street was bettering Brunner’s senior year (against tougher competition) when he was killed, and had another year to improve. He was also a far superior defensive player; Brunner’s singleminded obsession with taking charges often led to easy layups.

And yeah, I’ll say it: I’d take Luke Recker. His senior season: 17/3.5/2.5, led the team in steals, and automatic from the line.

You’re right. It’s entirely subjective, and I’ll be the first to admit I couldn’t stand watching Brunner’s one-trick pony show for as long as I did. The only player on my list who is unquestionably better than Brunner at the things Brunner did is Ryan Bowen, and the numbers bear that out. It’s an argument, I guess, and as good at killing time in June as anything else.

In a bar.