Villanova’s Brunson adds another major trophy to the collection
The names read like a Who’s Who of the best players in college basketball history.
Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Shaquille O’Neal and Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) are just a few of the 52 players who have been named Player of the Year by the Associated Press in the 58-year history of the award.
You can add Jalen Brunson’s name to that impressive list. Villanova’s junior guard received the honor Thursday during a ceremony at the Alamodome, where the Wildcats (34-4) are scheduled to take on Kansas (31-7) in the second game of a national semifinal doubleheader Saturday night.
“It’s really humbling,” Brunson said. “It’s something you can’t really put into words, to know the great players that have won this award and to be named in the same breath as them is really honoring and something that I’m going to cherish forever.”
Brunson received 36 of the 65 votes cast to become the first Villanova player to win the award, and the third from the Big 5. Chester High graduate Jameer Nelson won it as a senior at Saint Joseph’s in 2004. Lionel Simmons won it as a senior at La Salle in 1990.
It’s the latest Player of the Year honor in a string for Brunson, who also earned the honor from The Sporting News, USA Today and NBCSports.com. He’s in line for a few more. The United Stated Basketball Writers Association will release its Player of the Year Friday. He is the leading candidate for that honor, too.
Brunson also is a finalist for the Naismith and Wooden Awards, given to the top players in college every year. He leads the team in scoring (19.2 ppg) and assists (4.6) and has the Wildcats (34-4) chasing their second national championship in two years.
“It’s been fun,” Brunson said of the ride to the Final Four. “I think the outside gets the perception that we’re a machine and so robotic that we don’t show any emotion. This is fun. This is really fun to be a part of. I love playing with my teammates. I love being part of this program. There are so many great names you can go back on and say, `These are the guys that played here. These are the guys that started this and kept this tradition going.’
“I’m just so thankful to have the teammates I have and coaches I have, (who) have the confidence in me and us to be able to go out there every day and work as hard as we can to be the best team we can be. We try not to take anything for granted. Just try to continue to work hard and focus on how we can get better every day.”