Brian Conklin wants to win. He dedicated an entire summer to it, and in return he helped deliver some of the biggest wins in Billiken basketball history. It also helped launch a professional basketball career that ensures he will forever be celebrated in two hemispheres.
Conklin's path to success began early in his hoops career. The Eugene, Ore., native, was a two-time All-State selection at North Eugene High School. He led the Highlanders to a state championship and a perfect 28-0 record as a junior. He parlayed his successful prep career into a scholarship at Saint Louis University, where he scored more than 1,000 points and helped the Billikens to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than a decade while earning Academic All-America honors.
After graduating from SLU with a finance degree AND an MBA, Conklin returned to his hometown and awaited a call to play professionally. He landed in New Zealand, and within several years emerged as the MVP of Australia's National Basketball League while playing with the Townsville Crocodiles.
Much of Conklin's success can be traced back to the summer of 2011. It will forever be known in Billiken lore as the Conklin Summer.
Conklin was certainly enjoying a solid collegiate career through his first two seasons. He was a starter who was averaging 8.7 ppg and 4.3 rpg.
The 2011-12 season – his senior season – was the breakout year for Conklin. He scored 13.9 ppg and averaged nearly five rebounds a contest. Conklin was named first-team All-Conference. Most importantly, he helped the Bills win 26 games that season. The Billikens earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, kicking off a string of three-straight appearances in the NCAAs in what was one of the most exciting eras in the program.
But it was the work in the summer prior to that season – the Conklin Summer – that set the tone for the rest of his career. So, what exactly is a Conklin Summer?
“Ha, the mystical Conklin Summer, almost as majestic as the Billiken himself,” Conklin joked. “It was a culmination of knowing what my role on the team was going to be entering my final year. It was my senior year so I was going to give it my all and help the team win.”
Conklin describes the Conklin Summer as a lot of movement. Head coach Rick Majerus would continually talk to him about game shots, game spots and game speed.
“I generally worked out with a period of time in mind, not necessarily a number of shots,” Conklin said. “If I was in a rhythm I'd be there for an hour and a half. If I was sluggish, maybe 30 minutes. On average I would work out for about an hour at a time getting up game-speed shots. I'd roll the ball to myself in the post and work on footwork. I'd throw the ball of the backboard and gather and finish for offensive boards. I'd throw the ball out for pick-and-pops, flashes in the zone and rolls to the basket.
“Really, I just kept moving the entire time unless I was shooting free throws. I would sprint the floor and make a couple moves like was bringing it coast-to-coast to work on ball-handling.”
Conklin indicated there was a lot of imagining. He would envision players guarding him a certain way and make moves to the basket as such, of course, at game speed.
Conklin also knew he would get to the line a lot his senior year, so he practiced free throws and kept a chart to track his percentage. And this is where the Conklin Summer paid dividends for himself and the Billikens. In SLU's NCAA Tournament opener against Memphis, Conklin went 9-for-10 from the line over the final four minutes to help the Billikens seal the thrilling seven-point win over the Tigers in Columbus, Ohio.
“When I was walking to the free-throw line late in the Memphis game, all I told myself during my dribble routine was how I had already envisioned this in the practice gym at Chaifetz Arena,” he said. “This moment, shooting free throws, with the game on the line in the NCAA Tournament. I felt like I had already done it before.”
He did. During the Conklin Summer.
