Brookfield Central boys basketball coach Dan Wandrey had many conversations with Shaka Smart when Smart was recruiting former Lancers star David Joplin.

There was one comment from Wandrey that Smart recently recalled when asked about Joplin, who committed to Smart at Texas and then followed the staff to Marquette in 2021.

“He said, listen, each year Jop will get better," Smart said. "Each year he’ll gain confidence and he’ll give you a little bit more of him. And we’re seeing that on both ends of the floor.”

Joplin went from Big East sixth man of the year last season to starter for the fourth-ranked Golden Eagles. The 6-foot-8 junior forward has always been a confident scorer, but he's become a much-improved defensive player, especially in recent weeks. He will be a key player when MU (19-5, 10-3 Big East) takes on No. 1 Connecticut (23-2, 13-1) in one of the biggest games of the season.

Brookfield Central coach Dan Wandrey saw potential in David Joplin

Wandrey felt confident in saying that because of what he witnessed at Brookfield Central. He first got to know Joplin as a middle schooler, not long after being hired in 2014 to coach the Lancers' boys team after 16 years leading the girls.

"One of the first times I really went and watched him play, I think he scored the first 12 or 14 points of the game, including a dunk," Wandrey said. "It was like, OK, yeah, this guy’s going to be OK.

"It was such a unique skill-set that he has. It’s impressive how he’s transformed himself a little bit. When you look at his body now, he’s real big and strong. He was never really built like that. He was a little bit more lean and long. I would use the word graceful, I guess. So at a young age, he had that unique combination of probably being a 6-4 kid as a seventh grader, who had the ability to move around pretty well. So it was kind of fun."

Wandrey really took note of Joplin's commitment to getting better.

"He came in as a freshman and we had a really good team," Wandrey said. "And he was our biggest guy, our tallest guy as a freshman. So we kind of asked him to do stuff that you don’t normally ask freshmen to do.

"But David was always very goal-oriented in terms of he knew right away at that young age that he wanted to be a college player: If I want to be a college player, I’m not going to be 6-10, I’m going to be 6-6, so I have to be able to handle the ball and shoot."

Joplin has put up 132 three-point attempts this season, making 40.9% of them, and his easy shooting stroke looks natural. But that was the result of countless reps.

"We won the state championship when Dave was a sophomore," Wandrey said. "If I remember correctly, he maybe attempted 35 or 40 three-point shots in a 28-game season as a sophomore.

"That was an area where he knew he had to get better at and become more consistent. And, all of a sudden, in an early game as a junior, I think he hit 7 or 8 threes and had 42 or 44 points or something like that."

Wandrey credits Joplin's parents with instilling that work ethic.

"David’s family is a great family," Wandrey said. "They are all together. You see it, if you’re following Marquette, Howard and Lisa and (sister) Elise are at all the games. They’re totally engaged. Totally into it.

“Sometimes my biggest worry at BC was that his dad was going to yell at him more than I was going to yell at him. Because they had such high expectations for him."

That's why Wandrey was so confident in telling Smart that Joplin would succeed at the college level.

"That whole package of the work ethic and the pride in what you do," Wandrey said. "Then just his personality and his attitude.

"The one challenge we had, and I did talk with Shaka about this on a few occasions, we had a few juniors and seniors when Dave got here as a freshman, but in terms of natural ability, like I said being a 6-6 kid who’s got athletic ability, there was no other kid in our gym like that when David was even a freshman.

"So I think it’s human nature as a young kid to kind of just play to the level of what you’d be, if that makes sense. And the one thing I always told Shaka was that David had a pride to him, with that upbringing with his family, and with his competitiveness, that when he got into a gym where there were other dudes just like him, he wouldn’t want to be in the bottom of that group."

Shaka Smart sees improvement in David Joplin's deflections

There was a telling defensive possession in MU's victory over Seton Hall on Jan. 27 at Fiserv Forum in which Joplin had three deflections.

"That was last season's total," Wandrey joked.

Joplin couldn't chase down the loose ball before it bounced out of bounds, but he got an enthusiastic chest bump on the sideline from Smart. In their three seasons together at MU, Smart has given Joplin leeway on offense while pushing him to get better as a defender.

“If you had to ask him which end that he enjoys most, that would be a silly question," Smart said. "But we’ve explained to him, hey, we really need you on our defensive end.

"Your activity is important. Your rebounding is important. You’re going to be guarding a big-time scorer from the other team a lot of the time."

Joplin's stats show how much he has improved with his activity on defense, especially in the last month as the Golden Eagles have ripped off an eight-game winning streak. In 11 non-conference games, Joplin had two blocks and 10 steals. In 13 Big East games, those numbers increased to 14 blocks and 13 steals.

He had 22 steals and 11 blocks in 36 games last season.

Smart makes it well known that he prizes deflections. In the team's internal tracking, Joplin's numbers have skyrocketed as the season has progressed. In the non-conference games, Joplin averaged 3.1 deflections per game with just two games of three or more. In Big East games, he's up to 4.3 per game with eight games of three or more. In the last five games, Joplin has averaged six deflections per game.

“I think that’s he continuing to grow," Smart said. "At the same time, there’s a few more notches he can take this season. I’m not even talking about the long-term future.

"So we are on him daily about that. In fact, he and I sat down this week and watched a bunch of tape. Defensive clips. Offensive clips. Off the ball. When he gets the ball, that’s not the issue. He knows a lot more than me about scoring the basketball. But off the ball, on both ends of the floor, we want to continue to push him forward. He’s been really receptive, which is the most important thing.”

Wandrey has seen the steady build-up of Joplin's defensive acumen.

"I remember going down to practice and Shaka said it took him an entire year to be able to stay in stance for an entire possession," Wandrey said. "So he was a sophomore before he did that. That type of stuff.

"I’m sure I have to have some type of responsibility in that. When he’s scoring 26 a game in high school, you can sometimes look the other way on defense.

"I think his motor is much better. I think he has a better understanding of anticipation and being in the right spots. His off the ball defense has gotten much better."

How has Smart gotten buy-in from Joplin on defense?

"David loves Shaka," Wandrey said. "He would run through a wall for him.

"Then, when I talk to Shaka or I talk to (MU assistant coach) Neill Berry, that feeling is totally reciprocated. They talk about relationships and trust and all that kind of stuff, but that’s real. You can see it. That, to me, kind of all goes together. David doesn’t want to let anybody down, and he’s going to work."

Because Joplin followed Smart to MU, Wandrey gets an up-close view of Joplin's development.

"It’s awesome," Wandrey said. "I’m so proud of him. What I’ve always loved about David is that, as good of a basketball player he is, he’s always been that much better as a person."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Shaka Smart thinks David Joplin has improved dramatically on defense