Local Love: Great Valley grad honored; Brunson on first team

Villanova guard Jalen Brunson was officially deemed as one of the top five players in the nation Tuesday, and even in that group is a grizzled veteran. Wildcats junior Brunson and Kansas senior Deandre Ayton are the only two upperclassmen on the AP AllAmerica first team in a year of “one-and-done” players.

Villanova’s Mikal Bridges, a Great Valley graduate, was named to the AP’s third team.

Also named first team were three freshmen; Oklahoma’s Trae Young, who led the nation in scoring and assists, Deandre Ayton, who played his one season at Arizona with power and athleticism few could match, and versatile Duke big man Marvin Bagley III.

It was the first time three freshmen were named to the AP AllAmerica first team in its 70-year history. The team was selected by the same 65-member national media panel that selects the weekly AP Top 25.

Brunson flirted with the idea of a two-anddone, leaving for the NBA after his sophomore season. His decision to return keyed Villanova’s return to the Final Four.

The 6-3 guard is arguably the nation’s best allaround player. He led Villanova with 19.2 points, 4.6 assists and grabbed 3.1 rebounds per game while leading the Wildcats to the Final Four for the second time in three seasons.

“On the court he’s as complete a player as there can be, very intelligent,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “Posts up, shoots 3s, drives, passes, does everything. Defend, rebounds. And his work ethic is maturity every day. We joked he’s the most mature person in the program including all of the coaches and me. And he is.”

Graham took a backseat to All-American Frank Mason III in Kansas a year ago. This season, he’s been the Jayhawks’ unquestioned leader. Heady and with knack for making big plays late in games, Graham led Kansas with 17.2 points. 7.3 assists and grabbed 4.0 rebounds per game while taking the Jayhawks to the Final Four.

“He’s the best intangible guy we’ve ever had here and has as good of leadership qualities as anybody I’ve ever coached,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “So he’s been the complete package as a player, and basically he’s a guy that I don’t think coaches get an opportunity to coach but every few years. And certainly we’ve been blessed to have him.”

Young, Ayton and Bagley set a new standard with stellar one-and-done seasons.

Young was a top recruit coming out of Norman, Oklahoma, and chose to play for his hometown Sooners. Oklahoma fans were sure glad he did.

A 6-foot-2 point guard, Young popped up on the national radar by scoring 43 points against Oregon early in the season and broke the NCAA record with 22 assists against Northwestern State less than a month later.

Ayton averaged 20.1 points on 61 percent shooting, 11.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game on his way to becoming the Pac-12 player of the year.

“He’s a once-in-a-generation player,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “I doubt if I will ever coach anyone like him again. I don’t mean that we won’t try, but there just aren’t many Deandres walking around.”

Same could be said of the 6-11 Bagley, the first Duke player since the 1960s to have 30 points and 20 rebounds in a game when he had 32 and 21 against Florida State, and led the Blue Devils with 21.2 points and 11.1 rebounds.

“He’s the most unique player we’ve had here at Duke during my 38 years,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He has everything.”