Brodeur unsurprisingly wins Ivy League Rookie of the Week

Another week, another award for AJ Brodeur.

The Penn men’s basketball star’s performance against La Salle last Wednesday earned him the honor of Ivy League Rookie of the Week — the fourth time he has taken the award this season.

But the freshman’s game against La Salle wasn’t just one of the best performances in the Ivy League last week. Brodeur scored more points in one game — 35, to be exact — than any other men’s basketball player for Penn in the past 20 years. Despite his rookie label, the forward was quick to play down his inexperience.

“If someone said, ‘Oh, he’s just a freshman,’ I don’t appreciate that excuse,” Brodeur said after the game. “Because when I’m out there it doesn’t matter how you play, it’s whether your team wins or loses. ... You’re out there for one purpose.”

The Massachusetts native scored a large number of points, but his efficiency might have been more noteworthy. He shot 73.7 percent from the field, and even displayed his longer range by making a career-high trio of three-pointers.

“I think they underestimated my range a little bit, and I was able to take advantage right there,” Brodeur said. “And that opened up a lot more, not only for me, but for my teammates.”

The overall performance secured Penn’s only Big 5 win of the season, and the team’s first away Big 5 win in more than ten years. With it, Brodeur boosted the Quakers’ hopes of turning things around in Ivy League play, given that they lost their first three. They’ll have the chance to turn it around, though, this weekend against Harvard and Dartmouth.

And if Brodeur can score another 35 or draw attention away from his teammates like he did last Wednesday, then the Quakers might have the chance to get the ball rolling at last.