Jay Wright’s First Impression of Jalen Brunson: “Too Small”

Raised and developed into a basketball phenomenon almost from the moment of his birth, Villanova legend Jalen Brunson’s expansive trophy case includes a high school state championship, five-star billing and a McDonald’s All-American nod as a recruit, two national championships with the Wildcats and a host of nation player of the year honors.

Now Brunson is an NBA champion with the New York Knicks… and naturally, he won Finals MVP honors. Former Villanova head coach Jay Wright, who brought Brunson to the Main Line, divulged in a podcast appearance with Mike Francesa that he almost didn’t recruit the 6-foot-2 point guard. The chief criticism of Brunson’s game is his lack of size and corresponding athleticism, and Wright had the same first impression.

“When we first saw Jalen, we thought he was too small. We just thought great high school player, but he’s just too small,” Wright admitted. “Rick [Brunson’s father] kept saying ‘keep an eye on him, I’m telling you.’”

Wright coached at Hofstra before Villanova and knew Rick Brunson from that stint; Brunson had practiced at the Pride’s facility while trying to hang on as a fringe roster player in the NBA, giving Wright a first-hand look at the family’s work ethic and desire for greatness.

Despite — or perhaps because of — that rapport, Wright nearly backed out of recruiting Jalen Brunson a second time.

“We had great trust in Rick.  And at one point, where Rick was going to go be an assistant at Temple and take Jalen with him,” Wright said. “I told Jalen and I told their family ‘look, if Rick takes the job he should go with Rick. That’s his dad who’s raised him up.’”

Brunson Parents Change Villanova History

This time it was Jalen’s mother, Sandra Brunson, who interceded on her son’s behalf.

“I’ll never forget where I was: on the New Jersey Turnpike, Exit 7 driving home from New York recruiting,” Wright said. “She called me [at] 11:30 crying like ‘please don’t stop recruiting him. He’s his own man, he’s gonna make his own decision. Rick can take this job, but I want him to make his own decision…’ So we kept recruiting him, Rick stayed with the Bulls, we got him and the rest was history. He was a star from the day he came here.”

The Brunson parents left their mark on Villanova history once again after the 2016-17 season, Jalen’s sophomore year. Wright thought Brunson was ready for the NBA, at least as a second round pick. His parents thought otherwise. Sandra wanted Jalen to earn his degree; Rick wanted him to polish up his defense. Jalen Brunson stayed in school, leading the Wildcats to another national title win. While it was bench guard Donte DiVincenzo who won Most Outstanding Player honors for the Final Four — one of the few awards to elude Brunson — Wright described how Brunson set the tone in the national championship game, recounting the charge he took in the opening minutes.

“He knew we had to be the tougher team,” Wright said, “so he gave up scoring points and set the tone for our team physically.”