Jordan Bruner’s star shines bright for Yale: ‘He’s the glue that keeps us together’

It’s nearly 800 miles from Spring Valley High School to Yale University. That’s a 12-hour drive.

It is across that vast expanse that Jordan Bruner has left his mark on the sport of basketball. The Columbia native is currently starring on the court for the Yale men’s basketball team that sits atop the Ivy League standings.

Bruner, a three-time all-state selection at Spring Valley, is currently the third-leading scorer for the Bulldogs at 11.4 points per game. He is also the fifth-leading shot blocker in school history.

In late February the senior earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors after his triple double — 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists — in am 81-80 win over Cornell.

“Jordan’s tremendous,” Yale coach James Jones said. “He’s the glue that keeps us together. He does so many things for us. I’ve been asked a lot of times who our best player is, and it’s hard to tell you because we have so many guys that are important but there’s nobody more important than Jordan.”

Bruner left his mark on the Bulldog program from the moment he walked onto campus. In his first game his freshman year he scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds, and it’s been all upward since.

Coming out of high school, Bruner was recruited by South Carolina and Clemson but elected to head north to Connecticut because of Yale’s reputation both athletically and academically.

“They were a competitive basketball team with a high academic track record,” Bruner said. “The combination of that plus the relationship I developed with the coaches was pretty much the reason.”

Bruner isn’t the only Division I basketball player in his family. His older sister Ashley played 128 games and scored nearly 1,000 points for the Gamecocks before graduating in 2013. His younger brother Tommy is currently a freshman at USC-Upstate and is on pace to become a 1,000-point scorer himself.

Jordan was quick to say that he’s the best player of the three, and that playing together growing up helped build a competitive streak in him that helps on the court.

“It certainly doesn’t hurt having people in your family motivate you to be good,” Jones said. “His brother Tommy is at USC-Upstate and is doing a great job. Having a family like that and being around people in your house, he played in high school with PJ [Dozier], who’s in the NBA. Working with him every day I think has motivated him to be really good. He has visions on continuing to play after college, and I’m sure he will.”

On the court, Bruner sees himself as a facilitator, a leader. He’s played on teams with different vibes and different styles but has found ways to thrive in each system. Last season, he had 20 points over Yale’s two Ivy League tournament wins and had 16 points in the Bulldogs’ NCAA tournament loss to LSU.

“We’ve had different dynamics, different identities in the time that I’ve been here and [I enjoy] being somebody that makes my teammates better whichever way I can whether that’s scoring, rebounding, sharing the ball, being the best defender. I just try to do that.”

It was that type of talent and adaptability that made Bruner an attractive recruit for Jones and the Yale coaching staff.

“His athleticism, his length certainly jumped out at me,” Jones said. “His court vision. His ability to pass the ball, and his understanding of the game and throughout the process is something I was very keen on understanding, that he understand the game of basketball. He does a great job of making his teammates better.”

In a February loss to Harvard, Bruner had three points, a team-high eight rebounds, and a blocked shot that was key in Yale’s second-half comeback.

Bruner said he felt responsible to do more.

“I just want to keep winning,” Bruner said. “We dropped one tonight, and that’s heavily on me. The goal is to win every game every time you step out.”

While Bruner puts a lot of responsibility on himself, Jones said that he already does so much for the team (22-6, 10-2) on both ends of the court.

“He does so many things defensively: blocking shots, changing shots, rebounding the ball and making his teammates better,” Jones said. “His assists. His ability to pass the ball and get out in transition has been great for us this year.”