2010-2011 Season in Review: Andrew Brommer

Andrew Brommer is a bit of an enigma. For every 12 point, 6 rebound, and 3 block game like he had at Ohio State this year, there were ten games similar in nature to the 2 point, 2 rebound, 2 block, and 5 foul game like he had at Michigan State. Then you have his season stats, which are just as enigmatic. Brommer's 56.94% eFG%, was second best on the team. His 0.25 points per minute, however, was second to last on the team. His offensive rebounding rate of 8.87% was pretty good, finishing nineteenth in the the Big 10. His defensive rebounding rate of 13.97%, on the other hand, was twenty eighth in the Big 10. Brommer actually showed a pretty good talent for finding the cutter in the lane, as he had a decent assist rate for a big man, at 11.1%. Unfortunately, he also showed a pretty good talent for giving the ball to the other team, as his 28% turnover rate was third worst in the Big 10. Add to all of that, the fact that he had major fouling problems this year, and you see why he was an enigma. Basically, for every good thing Brommer did, he also had one equally or worse bad thing that he did. Which, leaves Iowa fans wondering what they can expect from him next year, when he will most likely need to step into a bigger role. Brommer's senior year will be now or never, and I hope the answer is now.

Strengths:

• Shooting- Brommer went from a 38.4% eFG% (10-26 FG) last year, to a 56.9% eFG% (41-72 FG) this year. Brommer's shooting was helped by the fact that he took 55 shots in the paint, where he just so happened to shoot 67.86% on field goal attempts from there. Unlike, like some other players on the team, Brommer actually played to his strength this year.
• Offensive Rebounding- Brommer's offensive rebounding rate has taken a step forward every year since his freshman year. This year he pulled down 8.87% of all available missed shots by Iowa this year, while he was on the court. That number is not great, but it's decent. The reason I put it in strengths, is because since it has increased every year, it's pretty realistic to think that it could jump up to about 10% next year. For reference, Jarryd Cole had a 10.63% offensive rebounding rate this year. If Brommer can get that up to about 10%, and keep himself in the game for longer than the 12.52 minutes per game he averaged this year, then he could be a nice asset on the offensive glass next season.

Weaknesses:

• Turnovers- I've already mentioned in a few of these posts, that Iowa was a turnover plagued team this season. Well, Brommer was the most turnover prone player on the turnover plagued Hawkeyes. His 28% turnover rate was third worst in the Big 10 this season. If you take the non-conference games out of the picture, then Brommer's 33.3% turnover rate (!) was the worst in the Big 10. It wasn't just worse by a little, either. He was almost 3% worse than the number two player, who just so happened to be Iowa's own Zach McCabe (We so dominated at turning the ball over this year). If you go beyond Iowa's turnover twins, Brommer was worse than Keith Appling by almost 5%. Also, unlike his offensive rebounding rate, Brommer's turnover rate is trending in the wrong direction. In Brommer's freshman year, he had a 22.5% turnover rate. That increased to 25% his sophomore year, and then to 28% this year. Knock it off, Andrew.
• Free Throw Shooting- He wasn't the worst on the team (it's hard to be worse than Archie at free throws), but he was the second worst free throw shooter for Iowa this year. In 33 free throw attempts this year, he made only 14 (42.42%). If you want another example of Brommer being enigmatic, well then look at his free throw shooting. His freshman year, he made 5 of his 22 free throw attempts (22.7%). During his sophomore campaign, he made 18-24 from the line (75%). He then built off of that good showing, by going 14-33 this year. So, who knows what the hell he'll do next year? He could go 30-40, or he could go 18-40. Neither would surprise me.
• Fouling- To get an idea of how much of a fouling problem, Brommer had this year, one should look at his stats adjusted to 40 minutes per game. If a Brommer were able to play a full 40 minute game, and continued to foul at the same rate, he would average 6.80 fouls per game. Technically, he wouldn't actually be able to reach 6.80 fouls per game, as he would have fouled out just before the 30 minute mark (29 minutes and 23 seconds to be more precise). But, to get an idea of how often he fouled the opposing team, here is a graph comparing his fouls per 40 minutes to other stats he would compile in the same amount of time:

 Statistics: 

Oddly enough, Brommer's scoring dropped once conference play started, by 0.08 points per minute, but his points per scoring attempt went up by 0.33. Most of that is from a bad shooting November, where had an eFG% of 42.11%. It also came from the fact, that he had a 64.86% eFG% in Big 10 play, which was the best on the team (not counting Stoermer, who didn't play much).

Brommer pretty much lived in the paint, as he took more than three-fourths of his shots from there. As a result, he got about 80% of his offensive value from inside the colored area. The rest came from Brommer miraculously making a free throw or jump shot. 

Brommer's eFG% was a very good 56.94%. Most of that largely stemmed from the fact that he shot 67.86% on shots in the paint, which was where most of his shots were attempted from. His FT% was bad, but you didn't need stats to tell you that. You could see that with your own eyes. Finally, Brommer's 18.75% FG% on two points field goals outside of the paint, wasn't good. However, that's not a huge deal, considering he only took 22.22% of his shots from out there. The one thing to praise Brommer for, is minimizing his low percentage shots, while maximizing his high percentage shots.

Something positive to take from the graph above, is that Brommer's rebounds and blocks didn't take a hit as the competition increased. Instead, his stats actually increased. Some more than others, but he did play his best against conference teams. His offensive rebounding rate got up to 9%, his defensive rebounding rate to 14%, and his block rate increased slightly to 4.45%.

His defensive rebounds are a little intriguing. Yes, a 14% defensive rebounding rate in Big 10 play is not great for a post player. However, it could be a sign of improvement for Brommer. A 2% jump in defensive rebounds in Big 10 play is a pretty good jump. Hopefully, it's not just noise in a small sample size (which, it very well could be), but actual improvement that he can carry into next season.

Like I said earlier, his assist rate is pretty damn good for a post player. If you recall from game action, he seemed to have a knack for finding the cutter in the lane. The turnover rate, on the other hand, is scary. If he wants to increase his playing time next year, he needs to not only cut down on the fouls, but the turnovers too. At least get them back down to the 22% range that he inhabited his freshman year.

Expectations for Next Year:

Does anybody know what to expect from Brommer next year? On one hand, I can see him cutting his fouls just enough to play 20 minutes per game, being a good rebounder, and scoring the occasional basket. On the other hand, I can see him fouling and turning the ball over way too much, irritating the hell out of Fran, and getting pulled from the game.


Next season being his Senior campaign, it's put up or shut up time for Brommer. Without Cole, Iowa is going to need more minutes from him. Honestly, I'm not really sure that I see him getting into the starting lineup, though. It's no secret that Coach Fran and his staff are actively recruiting last minute point guards and post players to add to the 2011 recruiting class. I have a feeling that Fran lands a Junior College big man, and he ends up being the starter at Center. If Brommer wants to work his way into the starting rotation, he's going to have to take a big step forward next year. He could do it. He's shown flashes of being a pretty good player, but unfortunately, that has been the exception and not the rule. The question for his Senior year is: Will Brommer put it together, or will he continue to be the enigma that makes Iowa fans scream at their TV "What the fuck was that Brommer?"