brunner525

SoCalHoops College News Report

Kenny Brunner Jumps In The Bowl. . .
And Flushes--(May 25, 1998)

Geez, go away for a weekend to watch some hoops and relax with friends and family and what happens? Things go to hell in a handbasket.

Kenny Brunner, formerly an all-star point guard from Compton Dominguez High, was apparently arrested Saturday in LA and has been charged with, of all things, taking a small handgun, and placing it to the chest of Mike Miller (not the Mike Miller from WestCoastHoops), the head coach at LA City College. Brunner reportedly put the gun to Miller's chest, pulled the trigger but the gun didn't go off. Brunner reportedly stole $1,500 from Miller.

According to the LA Times, which wrote the most complete story so far, Miller, who was voted California's Junior College Coach of the Year in 1997, could not be reached for comment. Brunner is reportedly being held on $50,000 bail at the downtown Parker Center jail today, and will be formally arraigned Wednesday, according to LAPD spokesman Eduardo Funes. LaDale Lunnie, a 20-year-old student at Los Angeles L.A. City College, was also arrested, according to the police report. He was released Sunday after posting bail.

The Times also spoke with Fresno State Coach Jerry Tarkanian , who apparently was stunned by the allegations. He told the Times, "I feel bad for Kenny. I find it hard to believe he could do something so stupid."

Apparently, at least according to the police report obtained by the Times, the incident began Friday when Brunner walked up to Miller, who was sitting in his office inside the gymnasium at the junior college. Witnesses told police that Brunner pressed a chrome semiautomatic handgun to Miller's chest and pulled the trigger but the gun did not go off.

Miller reportedly asked Brunner what he wanted and the witnesses said that Brunner replied "Money." Brunner grabbed the money out of Miller's wallet and escaped in a white Nissan sedan parked a few yards away from the gymnasium, the witnesses said.

"We received information on the suspect's whereabouts several hours later," Funes said. "He was arrested at a home in Los Angeles about 1:30 a.m. Saturday." Funes added that officers had recovered a handgun.

If these allegeations are true (and yes, we say if, because until he's convicted, he's still presumed to be innocent. That's right, presumed.), this would be one of the all-time great basketball tragedies, comparable to Earl "The Goat" Manigault, and ironic in it's timing, given that The Goat died last week. One year ago, Brunner, a point guard, was one of the most highly recruited high school players in the country. Dominguez, led by Brunner, had just won a state championship. But since then, his life has been a downward spiral into disaster. At first he committed to Fresno, then signed with Georgetown. He played 16 games there, and then quit the team in midseason, and returned to Fresno State. Georgetown officials have said that Kenny left for "emotional reasons." Ok, we'll buy that.

He enrolled at Fresno, but never played a game. Before he could even play, he was suspended from the Fresno State team indefinitely after his March 17 arrest with former Fresno State and USC center Avondre Jones. The two have pleaded not guilty to charges that they attacked a fellow student with samurai swords and demanded money from him. Then, Brunner announced in April he was making himself eligible for the NBA draft. But he apparently reversed his decision later, saying he wanted to enroll at a junior college instead.

Our guess is he won't be enrolling at LA City College any time too soon.

What a shame.