Jason Brickman was getting his house ready for one of the most important visits of his life. Stephen F. Austin head coach Danny Kaspar was coming to Brickman’s home to talk about him playing for the Lumberjacks.

He cleaned all the rooms and replaced the nets on his indoor basketball court. The normally even-keeled Brickman couldn’t hide his anticipation.

But then the phone rang. It was Kaspar. They had found a new point guard. His services were no longer needed.

Brickman broke down into tears.

“That really hurt him,” said his father, Bruce Brickman. “I could see in the look in his eyes. He was really hurt. I said, ‘Listen, you’re too great of a player. It’s going to be his loss.’”

The words didn’t ease the pain in the moment, but have proven true four years later. Now a senior at Long Island University-Brooklyn, Brickman leads the nation in assists with 10 per game — a full 2.5 ahead of the next highest player — and has made the NCAA Tournament in his first three seasons.

The Filipino-American star that only received one Division I offer has NBA scouts lining the Steinberg Wellness Center bleachers for each of his home games. He’s established himself as one of the most fine-tuned guards in the nation.

“I definitely wanted to prove myself, and not a whole lot of colleges recruited me,” Brickman said. “I just wanted to prove that I could play at this level. I definitely had a chip on my shoulder.”

The only Division I school that wanted Brickman was LIU.

Then-assistant coach Jack Perri was making his annual recruiting visit to Texas when he first saw Brickman.

The way he played fascinated Perri, who knew that Brickman would fit right into LIU’s high-octane offense.

“We watched him three or four times and we just kind of followed him around,” said Perri, who was promoted to head coach before last season. “We’re watching him and we’re looking around and no one is in the gym watching this kid.”

Brickman was the point guard on an LIU team that finished third in the nation in scoring his sophomore year. He led the country in assists as a junior. This year, with a far less talented team, he’s basically been the Blackbirds’ only weapon.

“It’s great to have that for the program, but he deserves it,” Perri said. “He’s absolutely, 100 percent the hardest working kid on our team.

“We have five guys in double figures, all because of him.”

Being a senior on a team full of underclassmen has forced Brickman to be the defunct team leader. It’s a role that he isn’t necessarily comfortable with. Brickman might light up the stat sheet, but he’s far more comfortable in the background.

Growing up, concerned coaches would ask his dad if he ever talked. On his visit to LIU, his quiet nature had the coaches worried he wouldn’t sign.

“I think that’s part of his charm, why he’s so good,” Perri said. “You can’t faze him. He doesn’t get too high, get all amped up when things are going really well. He’s straight. So he doesn’t get too low.”

Though soft-spoken, Brickman’s poise shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of determination. He often goes to practice at the SWC alone, early in the morning, and comes back late at night. Sometimes, when Perri sleeps in his office behind the court, he does so to the noise of a bouncing basketball.

“Someone like Jason has to keep proving himself,” Bruce Brickman said.

It’s an attitude that Brickman has, but doesn’t show.

This season, when the Blackbirds traveled to play at Texas State, where Kaspar, the former Stephen F. Austin coach, was in charge, Brickman said it meant more for him to win that game.

He did. And it felt good.

But after the game, Kaspar approached Brickman. The same man that had crushed his dream with a simple phone call told Brickman that letting him go was the worst mistake of his life.

Brickman knew that the moment Kaspar had called him, but continued to spend the past four years proving it.

“I just told him thank you,” Brickman said. “It was great to hear from him after the game.”

Published on February 4, 2014 at 2:24 am

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3