Austin James Brodeur (born October 4, 1996) is an American former basketball player. He played college basketball for the Penn Quakers and professionally in Germany, Iceland, and Belgium.

A.J. Brodeur
Personal information
Born (1996-10-04) October 4, 1996 (age 28)
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegePenn (2016–2020)
NBA draft2020: undrafted
PositionPower forward
Career history
2020–2021Mitteldeutscher
2021Stjarnan
2021–2022Kangoeroes Mechelen
Career highlights and awards

Early life and high school career

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Brodeur grew up in Northborough, Massachusetts and originally attended Algonquin Regional High School for two years before transferring to Northfield Mount Hermon School and played basketball and volleyball at both schools.[1] As a sophomore at Algonquin, he averaged 17.5 points, 15.5 rebounds and 7 blocks and was named to the Telegram & Gazette Regional Super Team. He reclassified as a sophomore after transferring to Northfield-Mount Hermon.[2] As a senior, Brodeur averaged 15.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game and was named first team All-State by USA Today as he helped lead the Hoggers to the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Class AAA title.[3]

College career

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Brodeur became a starter for the Quakers as a true freshman and was named second team All-Ivy League after leading the team with 13.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.[4] As a sophomore, he averaged 13.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and was named first team All-Ivy and second team All-Big 5. Brodeur helped Penn reach the NCAA Tournament.[2] Brodeur was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2018 Ivy League men's basketball tournament after scoring 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a semifinal win against Yale and scoring 16 points with 10 rebounds in the conference championship game against Harvard.[5] He was again named first team All-Ivy and first team All-Big 5 as a junior after averaging 17.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.[6][7] Brodeur became Penn's All-time leading scorer, passing Ernie Beck, and career leader in blocked shots on March 7, 2020 in a 85–60 win over Columbia while also recording the first triple double in school history in a 21-point, 10 rebound, 10 assist performance.[8][9] Brodeur averaged 17.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game as a senior and was named first team All-Ivy for as third straight season and the Ivy League Co-Player of the year alongside Paul Atkinson as well as first team All-District 13 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.[10][11] He was also named to the First Team All-Big 5.[12] Brodeur criticized the Ivy League for cancelling its men's basketball tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying "it doesn't feel right."[13]

Professional career

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On July 23, 2020, Brodeur signed with Riesen Ludwigsburg of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).[14] However, he was released on September 11 as he did not pass the physical.[15]

On October 14, 2020, he has signed a two-month contract, with the option to extend until the end of the season, with Mitteldeutscher of the Basketball Bundesliga.[16]

In January 2021, Brodeur signed with Stjarnan of the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild karla.[17] During the regular season, he averaged 13.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He helped Stjarnan to the semi-finals in the playoffs where it was eventually knocked out by Þór Þorlákshöfn. In 10 playoff games, he averaged 11.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

In May 2021, Brodeur signed with Belgian club Kangoeroes Mechelen for the 2021–22 BNXT League season.[18]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Penn 28 28 30.9 .526 .421 .607 6.9 1.9 1.0 2.4 13.8
2017–18 Penn 33 33 31.0 .538 .286 .611 7.2 2.5 .9 1.2 13.1
2018–19 Penn 31 31 32.5 .528 .340 .576 8.3 3.6 1.0 1.3 17.6
2019–20 Penn 27 27 34.6 .504 .274 .716 8.9 5.2 1.1 1.8 17.3
Career 119 119 32.2 .524 .308 .625 7.8 3.3 1.0 1.6 15.4

References

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  1. ^ Mitchell, Sam (February 14, 2019). "Inside Northfield Mount Hermon's legacy in Ivy League men's basketball". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Toland, Jennifer (March 13, 2018). "Northboro's AJ Brodeur leads Ivy League champion Penn into NCAA Tournament". Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  3. ^ "2015-16 ALL-USA Massachusetts Boys Basketball Team". USATodayHSS.com. April 19, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  4. ^ Yesselman, Tessa (March 11, 2017). "Ivy League Tournament primer: Princeton appears poised for victory". MidMajorMadness.com.
  5. ^ "Penn Wins Ivy League Tournament". IvyLeague.com. March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  6. ^ Narducci, Marc (June 4, 2019). "Penn's new basketball recruits bring needed depth". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  7. ^ Weitzman, Yosef (November 12, 2018). "AJ Brodeur named Ivy Player of the Week after his stellar start to the season". The Daily Pennsylvanian.
  8. ^ Jensen, Mike (March 7, 2020). "Penn beats Columbia to squeeze into Ivy playoffs as A.J. Brodeur breaks school scoring record". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  9. ^ Dumas, Tim (March 15, 2020). "Northborough's AJ Brodeur breaks two Penn records, nets triple-double in final basketball game". The Milford Daily News. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  10. ^ DiGrande, Will (March 11, 2020). "Brodeur, Dingle, and Goodman earn postseason accolades from Ivy League". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  11. ^ Franko, Kyle (March 23, 2020). "Rider's Dimencio Vaughn named to NABC District I First Team". The Trentonian. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  12. ^ Watkins, Eric (April 15, 2020). "2020 Philly Big 5 men's basketball award winners announced". 247 Sports. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  13. ^ Jensen, Mike (March 10, 2020). "Penn's AJ Brodeur: Ivy League canceling basketball tournament 'doesn't feel right'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  14. ^ Maggi, Alessandro (July 23, 2020). "AJ Brodeur signs with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg". Sportando. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  15. ^ Lupo, Nicola (September 11, 2020). "Ludwigsburg, AJ Brodeur part ways". Sportando. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  16. ^ Skerletic, Dario (October 14, 2020). "MBC Syntainics ink A.J. Brodeur". Sportando. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  17. ^ Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (January 29, 2021). "Stjarnan búin að finna bandarískan leikmann og vonast til að hann verði með í stórleiknum í kvöld". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  18. ^ "AJ Brodeur en Luka Kotrulja naar Kangoeroes Mechelen". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). Retrieved September 16, 2021.
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