While Filipino basketball fans are busy cheering for Fil-German Michael Standhardinger in the US NCAA, another player with Filipino blood suddenly emerged.
Brickman led the NCAA in assists in his last two seasons and led LIU to the NCAA Tournament in his first three years before injuries to the team’s other key players hurt the Blackbirds’ chances of making it this year.
Brickman wound up with 12 assists for the Long Island University (LIU) Brooklyn Blackbirds during a 62-81 loss to Bryant Bulldogs Sunday (Manila time).
Jason Brickman was born on November 19, 1991 with his mother being a Filipina.
Rookie Year
In the fall of 2010 Brickman began his collegiate career for Long Island. As a freshman in 2010–11 he averaged 5.5 assists per game, led the Northeast Conference (NEC) in total assists (180) and in assists-per-turnover ratio (2.81).
The 180 assists were the fourth-highest season assist total in school history. He also helped lead Long Island to a berth in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, and in a first round loss to North Carolina, Brickman recorded eight assists and two steals. Then-head coach Jim Ferry claimed Brickman was the “John Stockton” to their team.The Blackbirds earned a second consecutive berth to the NCAA Tournament behind Brickman and NEC Player of the Year Julian Boyd. Brickman’s 7.3 assists per game ranked fifth nationally while his 249 total assists set a new school record.
Brickman led NCAA Division I in assists per game with an 8.50 average. He managed this despite Long Island losing reigning NEC Player of the Year Julian Boyd to an ACL injury in December 2012 that sidelined him for the entire season.
His name is Christian Standhardinger.
Listed at 6-foot-8, Standhardinger averaged 15.6 points and 7.7 rebounds for the Rainbow Warriors last season en route to being named Most Outstanding Player on the team.
He has continued his fine showing this season, averaging 18.4 points and 7.2 rebounds in his first 13 games . He hit the game-winning shot in Hawaii’s 76-74 victory over the St. Mary’s Gaels last December 23. Two games later, he scored 29 and grabbed eight rebounds in a victory over Norfolk State last December 31.
Standhardinger Cited by Gilas
Standhardinger has been in the radar of Filipino scouts since 2009, when he was identified as a possible recruit for the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national program under coach Rajko Toroman.
Born in Munich to a German father and a Filipino mother (Liz Hermoso), Standhardinger began his foray into athletics by playing football as a kid. Later, he learned basketball during vacation in Los Angeles with his grandfather Pablo, who played the game in the Philippines.
He began his collegiate career at University of Nebraska, before early in his sophomore season.
After transferring to Hawaii, he told Warrior Insider website: “There are a lot of Filipino people here, I am happy about that.”
It remains to be seen, however, whether he will end up playing in the Philippines. As a youth player, he has already spent time with Germany’s junior national team.
Complications with his passport could also bar him from suiting up for Gilas in FIBA Asia tournaments, which require natural-born players to acquire a passport by the time they turn 16 years old. However, there’s no such requirement for non-FIBA Asia tournaments such as the Asian Games.
To join the PBA, he would also have to complete residency requirements, which means either suiting up for the national team or playing in the D-League for at least two conferences.
Fil-Foreign’s Success
Brickman and Standhardinger are just starting their basketball career but if they just work hard for it, expect that it will bare fruits.
Whomever the two of them become successful, expect Filipino fans to cheer for them and make them proud of our country.