WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jon Brockman has been hearing it from fans, from the media, heck, even from his own team: We don’t need you to be our leading scorer, but we do need you to score.
After being held scoreless through the first two games of the NCAA Tournament – and taking just two shots – the 6-foot-7 freshman power forward from Snohomish apparently got the message.
Always aggressive on the boards and on defense, Brockman finally showed an aggression on offense that had been missing recently in Washington’s 98-92 Sweet 16 loss to Connecticut Friday.
“It just came tonight,” Brockman said. “They give me the freedom to do that, they want me to do that. A lot of times I only have one guy on me, and I need to take advantage of that. I’m comfortable doing it. I wasn’t thinking about it, I was just lost in the game. I just wish I could have done it with us winning.”
Brockman, who garnered McDonald’s All-American honors last season and was one of the nation’s top recruits, scored 11 points – his most since March 2 – and was 4-for-6 from the field. Five of his points came in overtime as he tried desperately to keep Washington’s season alive.
Brockman, sporting a foot-long scratch on his arm suffered in practice earlier this week, broke his scoring slump with a jump shot about a minute into the game, putting Washington on the scoreboard for the first time. He made another jump shot later in the half before picking up his third foul with 9 minutes to play and going to the bench. Brockman was calling for the ball for the first time in the tournament, and took three shots in the first half.
After making two free throws early in the second half to give Washington its biggest lead at 51-40, Brockman went scoreless the rest of the half and spent plenty of time on the bench in foul trouble.
But in overtime, Brockman came alive. He scored on a layup to tie the score at 84, then tipped in a miss to tie it at 86. With Washington down 88-86, Brockman made one foul shot but missed the second and UConn went on to win.
Brockman said he didn’t necessarily make a conscious effort to be more of a factor on offense, though he seemed to call for the ball more and certainly looked for his shot, stepping out and taking some jump shots that he has been reluctant to do lately. That could bode well for next season, when he will be asked to be a bigger part of the offense.
But on Friday, a clearly distraught yet composed Brockman said he just did what he could to help the team.
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