Five-star Brunson picks Villanova
Wednesday afternoon, five-star point guard Jalen Brunson decided that his college playing days would be a homecoming of sorts.
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A 6-foot-1 senior who attends Lincolnshire (Ill.) Stevenson, Brunson chose to play for Jay Wright and Villanova during a ceremony at his school's district building.
Though he has played his high school ball in the Chicago suburbs, Brunson spent several earlier years in the Philadelphia area while his father Rick completed his NBA career.
Despite a strong pitch from Illinois, it was the chance to return to a city that Brunson felt a connection to as well as Wright and the Wildcats proven success with guards that allowed Villanova to win out.
Over the past years, Wright has drawn acclaim for his willingness to play small and use lineups that include three and even four guards at a time. In a system that is so dependent upon perimeter playmakers, Brunson will be a natural.
A surgeon in ball screen situations, Brunson has become one of the premier point guards in the class of 2015 because of his well-balanced game and high-level decision making. Whether to drive, whether to refuse the screen and run things all over again or whether to simply elevate over the top of it for a jumper, Brunson is capable of doing any of them and more often than not he picks the right move for the right situation.
Vocal by nature, Brunson is a true floor general with a college ready mentality and the strength to play right away. The way things look, minutes will be there for the taking during his freshman season in Philadelphia and he'll be awfully difficult to keep off the floor.
Brunson will have to continue to work on his lateral quickness and there are times where he can be a head down driver. But, the positive in his game far outweighs anything negative and he should make an instant impact.
By picking Villanova, Brunson joins a class that already includes Rivals150 combo guard Donte Divincenzo and hard working big man Tim Delaney.
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