Going crazy for Cameron

Canfield’s Bruno ready for Walsh, visit to Duke

Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes Canfield’s Joey Bruno, right, shoots a jumper against a Chaney defender during this year’s Division II Boardman District tournament. Bruno has signed to play basketball at Walsh University next season.

Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium is one of the legendary basketball arenas in college basketball.

Joey Bruno can’t wait to visit there. More importantly, he’ll be on a visiting team.

The Canfield High School senior found out he and the rest of the Walsh University men’s basketball team will be there after he signed to play with the Cavaliers next season.

Bruno, a 6-foot-4 Cardinals player, saw the news break on social media during this pandemic.

“That was probably one of the best days I’ve had in quarantine,” said Bruno, who averaged 13 points per game last season for Canfield. “That was the first thing I saw, and I had a smile on my face the whole day.”

Canfield boys basketball coach Todd Muckleroy is thinking one thing — road trip.

“Believe me, I’m trying to score some tickets for that game,” he said. “I think I’d like to take a trip down there to Durham to see that game, to be in the gym and see him.”

Bruno was one of the main reasons Canfield went to this year’s Division II Boardman District semifinal before succumbing to eventual district champion Chaney.

He was one of the Mahoning Valley’s best 3-point shooters, an asset at a collegiate level where most teams are predicated on the long-range shot.

“This day and age, it’s so important when you can find someone who can consistently make shots like that,” Muckleroy said. “He is one of those guys that certainly (did that) at the high school arena. We counted on him a lot to shoot he ball effectively from the outside. I think he’s going to learn very quickly, but he’ll adjust, going against guys that are little bit longer and a little bit stronger and a little bit more athletic at the collegiate level. He’s going to have to keep that consistency in mind and really work on being catch ready and have a quicker release off of guys that will be on him very quickly.

“I have no doubt, 100 percent, that Joe will adjust appropriately to the college game.”

Bruno drew some interest from some NCAA Division III teams before committing to Walsh, a Division II team that went 25-6 last season and won the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship.

They were going to play in the NCAA Division II Tournament before the coronavirus outbreak.

Bruno said after watching the Cavaliers a couple of times he noticed a couple of things to help him contribute.

“Watching them play a couple of times, being able to space the floor, get the ball going toward the hoop is a big thing — balanced inside-out attack,” Bruno said. “Keep them guessing, too.

“Being able to stretch the floor, create areas on the inside is really important. That’s why I take pride in my shooting because it opens up other things, too.”

Bruno said playing at Canfield and with his AAU team — PK Flash out of Pittsburgh — was beneficial to his basketball success.

“That’s where I started to grow as a basketball player,” Bruno said of PK Flash. “I fell in love with the way some of those guys played the game and the team ball they had. I tried to build my basketball set around that. Without these people in my life, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Muckleroy said Bruno will work out in the weight room, making himself stronger for the collegiate level.

“If I had Joe another year at the high school level, I think he would be OK,” Muckleroy said. “Considering you’re playing guys that are accomplished athletes, he’s going to have get stronger, which he’s dedicated to. And, he’s got to get a little quicker in order to shoot off the bounce or make sure your feet and hands are ready to shoot the basketball. Whether it’s the weight room or it’s speed and agility or even in the classroom, Joe Bruno is a guy that is focused on spending as much time necessary in order to perfect on how to hone his skills. I have so much confidence in him that he’ll adapt.”