Bruns Known as Quiet Competitor for Coyotes

Coaches and teammates know Paul Bruns, a sophomore in his first season with South Dakota, to be a quiet player who is nevertheless fiercely competitive. 

As such, his productivity comes without exclamation points. That’s the way he wants it. And the coaches don’t mind it either. It still shows up, though, at the end of the game or practice or season. 

A year ago after an outstanding high school career at Dakota Valley, he was the Summit League freshman of the year while leading the University of North Dakota in scoring (14.8 ppg.). His 460 points were a freshman record at UND. That included averaging more than 16 points a game as a starter.

 After the season, he decided to pursue other options. Those options included a visit with first-year Coyote coach Eric Peterson, who was hired at USD about the same time Bruns indicated his intention to transfer. 

While a lot went into that decision for Bruns, it remains a fact that Vermillion is a half-hour from his hometown of Jefferson, S.D., and Grand Forks, N.D., is 387 miles north of Jefferson.

In addition, next year Bruns will be joined at USD by his brother Isaac, a senior at Dakota Valley who played alongside Paul two years ago with the Panthers and was a frequent one-on-one opponent growing up.

No doubt that quiet competitiveness was honed by the countless driveway battles with his younger brother.

“Some people think to be competitive you have to be loud and in your face but that’s just not Paul’s style,” said USD assistant coach Casey Kasperbauer. “He comes to us every day with the same mentality. He goes about his work, gets his extra reps in and then he leaves. When Paul comes to the gym you don’t have to worry about anything other than coaching Paul. You don’t have to worry about what kind of mood he’s in or if he went to class today or if he’s taking care of himself. All you have to do is coach him.”

The 6-foot-4 guard is averaging 11 points and 3.6 rebounds for the Coyotes in 24 minutes a game, highlighted by a 20-point performance against UC-Irvine last Saturday. 

A year ago at UND, Bruns quickly established himself as the Fighting Hawks’ top scoring threat. This year with new teammates and a somewhat more experienced roster, he has taken on a role that includes an assortment of everything. 

“It’s been a little bit of an adjustment but the guys on the team have really helped me,” said Bruns, a two-time Class A South Dakota player of the year who scored 2,204 career points at Dakota Valley. “They’ve made it a little easier on me. The coaches have helped me out, too. I think every game I’m getting more and more comfortable with my role.”

Bruns was an all-around athlete in high school, excelling at golf and baseball in addition to basketball. He finished second at the state Class A golf tournament his senior year and was also one of the area’s top high school pitchers.

It was a rare combination of strengths. It’s a versatility he shares with his younger brother and remains evident now that he’s playing only basketball.

“With both Paul and Isaac I think they have qualities you really can’t coach,” Kasperbauer said. “They’re both multi-sport athletes and really good at the other sports they play. They just have a knack for being impactful.”

Paul didn’t come back to USD because of Isaac exactly but he is looking forward to the opportunity. Both Bruns brothers are excellent shooters who also excel in other roles on the court.

“I loved having him as a teammate in high school,” Paul said. “We have a really good friendship so I’m looking forward to him being part of the team next year. We’re both focusing on what we have to do this year, though. He’s focused on his season and I’m focused on mine.”

The pair have similar games but they’re not exactly the same. Both defend well and, in Kasperbauer’s estimation, are excellent at the offensive end without the basketball.

“We’ve always been super-competitive,” Paul said. “I think that helped us, regardless of whatever sport we were playing. We played a lot of one-on-one and P-I-G in the driveway. We’re getting closer to the same size now so it’s more even than it used to be. But I still always beat him.”

The season is still young but the move back to Vermillion for Paul has been a great gift to a family that includes mom, dad and four boys. To hear Coyote coaches tell it, though, they’re the ones getting the gift. 

“I know Paul well, obviously, and I’ll get to know Isaac much better next year but you can tell they’ve been raised really well,” Kasperbauer said. “There’s no nonsense. They get all their stuff taken care of in the classroom and everywhere else.”