Iowa center Andrew Brommer's PTL future set next week

NORTH LIBERTY - Andrew Brommer is one week from knowing whether he'll be able to play in the Prime Time League this summer.

Brommer, an incoming Iowa senior center, had surgery on his right knee last month to remove a bursa sac and scar tissue around his knee cap. He's rehabbing right now but is limited in his workout activities.

"It was bothering me all throughout the season, but then I hit knees in the last game, the Michigan State game, and my knee was swollen for three months," Brommer said. "Finally they decided to take care of it the end of the school year. Now I am where I am.

"As of right now I see the doctor on (June 29), and he'll tell me more about when I can play and all that kind of stuff."

Brommer, who stands 6-foot-9, suffered a sprained neck as well as his knee injury in the Big Ten Tournament loss to Michigan State. It was a sour ending for Brommer, but the season was sweet otherwise.

After playing sporadically his first two seasons, Brommer posted his best numbers last year. He played in all 31 games after missing 22 the previous two seasons because of coaching decisions. He averaged 12.5 minutes a game and provided depth behind senior Jarryd Cole. Brommer averaged 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds a game after putting up 1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds a game his first two years.

Twice last year Brommer scored 12 points, including his top game at No. 1-ranked Ohio State. Brommer played a career-high 30 minutes, pulled down six rebounds and blocked three shots while competing against first-team All-American Jared Sullinger. Ohio State won the game, but Brommer made an impression to Coach Fran McCaffery.

"I would like to see Andrew go get that (starting center) spot," McCaffery said this spring. "I told him that at our end of the year meetings. That should be what his goal is, he should kind of prepare himself for that reality. He's got to go make it a reality. He's got to be in the best shape of his life and just believe that he's a starting Big Ten center.

"We saw him, when he played the best game of his career, against the best player in the country, arguably. So if he can do that, he can do it against other people and whenever he stayed out of foul trouble he was phenomenally effective. I would like to see him have the kind of senior year that you saw Jarryd Cole have."

Brommer, a Rosemount, Minn., native, said his effort against Sullinger and Ohio State gives him confidence he can compete each night against the league's premier centers.

"I see that I can do that against the top talent in the NCAA, so why can't I do that against everybody?" Brommer said. "I just take that as motivation, and I run with it."

Brommer likely will wear a sleeve over his right knee to keep it warm when he does return to the court. He's sticking to upper-body and core lifting and uses an elliptical machine every day. He wants to play in the PTL but doesn't want to risk reinjuring his knee and blowing his senior year, either.

"I need to get back from this knee injury first and take care of this first, then I'll think about all that kind of stuff," he said.