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1 - Jalen Brunson

6-2, 200 Point Guard
Villanova Junior
Birthday
08/31/96 (27.5 yrs)
Hometown
Lincolnshire, IL
High School
Adlai E Stevenson
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
6
Size
7
Defense
7
Strength
8
Quickness
6
Leadership
9
Jump Shot
8
NBA Ready
9
Ball Handling
8
Potential
6
Passing
8
Intangibles
8

NBA Comparison: Mark Jackson

Strengths: Brunson is one of the most accomplished/successful guards to come out of college basketball in recent memory … This past season as a junior, he won his second national championship, earned AP Player of the Year honors and the Wooden Award … Brunson started 115 games at one of the top college programs in the country in Villanova and is an NBA-ready guard with great maturity and basketball IQ for the point guard spot … He was highly productive in his final season, averaging 18.9 points and 4.6 assists as a junior while shooting 52.1 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from the three-point line … There are very few questions about Brunson’s leadership/ intensity / and pure basketball skills … He is an outstanding leader on the court and makes everyone around him better … Brunson can score at all three levels and be a quality facilitator of the basketball as well … While lacking elite size and explosiveness for an NBA lead guard, Brunson has the skill and craftiness to somewhat make up for it … He has the full arsenal of moves on offense … He is left-handed, which is already more difficult to guard in and of itself because defenders aren’t as used to guarding them … Brunson also moves without the ball very well and cuts with purpose to look for angles where he might be open to catch a pass in open areas … He is excellent at advancing the ball with a sense of urgency to spark the break … He consistently has his head up early in the backcourt and is willing to skip the ball ahead to the open man in transition … Brunson also has a very strong fundamental game on the defensive end … His footwork is very good … He understands how to use his body … He is willing to play with physicality … He anticipates, sees the floor and understands how to play in the team defensive concept … With all of that said, Brunson will still have to prove that he can keep NBA point guards in front of him … He also protects the ball by shielding it with his body and by using his strength … Brunson plays with a steady pace, changes gears and directions very well and creates space by initiating contact, all of which helps when penetrating the defense to score or kick to an open teammate … He has very good court vision and the instincts to see and deliver pinpoint cross-court passes or cunning bounce passes to open cutters … Brunson’s strength and decisiveness allows him to finish effectively around the rim, too, and he makes use of jab-steps and pump-fakes regularly, often times making strong and creative drives to the rim while staying low to the ground before taking off and finishing the play when he’s created the right angle … Brunson is comfortable finishing with either hand and is crafty in transition … He regularly utilizes Euro-steps and other advanced footwork moves while attacking from smart angles to get a high percentage shot off …

Weaknesses: The defensive end is where the most questions will arise for Brunson … In today’s NBA, most teams prefer to play lineups that are extremely versatile and switchable on the defensive end … It is far too easy for teams to force switches and get the match-ups they want … Brunson could be a liability in this regard if things go poorly … To be even more clear, Brunson projects as a player who can only defend one position, the point guard position, and it is not 100 percent clear that Brunson would be successful defending starting NBA point guards … The fact is that most players Brunson defends, even without getting switched on to wings or bigs, will be both bigger (longer) and faster than Brunson … While Brunson is an unselfish player, he has a tendency to at times over-dribble while probing the defense, which leads to turnovers … If he can develop a more consistent floater and pull-up mid-range jumper it would help to make decision making simpler while opening up angles to the rim while making him a more versatile scorer … The defensive end is where Brunson must make strides to prove to scouts that he hs what it takes to excel in the NBA … Brunson’s lateral quickness, effort, and willingness to contest shots left a lot to be desired, which is concerning considering his relative pedestrian physical tools … When projecting to the next level it’s necessary for Brunson’s stock that he proves to be a capable defender since he’ll have to stay in front of the best playmakers in the world at the NBA level …

Notes: Son of former NBA player Rick Brunson … Measured 6’1 barefoot and 6’2.25 in shoes, 198.4 lbs with a 6’4 wingspan, an 8’0 standing reach, a 6.7% body fat and a 8.25 hand length at the 2018 NBA Draft Combine … Measured 6’1.5 (with shoes) 182 lbs with a 6’3 wingspan at the 2013 LeBron James Skills Academy … Measured 6’1.5, 194 lbs, with a 6’3.5 wingspan and 8’0 reach at the 2014 USA U18 tryouts … Measured 6’0 without shoes, 6’1.5 with shoes, 194 lbs, with a 6’3.5 wingspan and 8’0 standing reach at the 2014 USA Junior National Team Mini CampTwo-time Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year (2014 and 2015) and also was Illinois’ Mr. Basketball as a senior in 2015 … Selected as a McDonald’s All-American and to the Jordan Brand national game following his senior year … Has one sibling, Erica (14) … Rick Brunson played college basketball in the Philadelphia Big Five at Temple and spent nine seasons playing in the National Basketball Association … Rick Brunson was also a McDonald’s All-American … Born Aug. 31, 1996 in New Brunswick, N.J.

William Peter Desautelle III 5/24/18

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