Jalen Brunson to Villanova: Wildcats Land 5-Star PG Prospect

The Villanova backcourt just improved significantly. On Wednesday, 5-star point guard Jalen Brunson announced his decision to join the Wildcats, according to Rob Dauster of CollegeBasketballTalk:

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Villanova landed their third commitment in the Class of 2015 on Wednesday afternoon as Chicago native Jalen Brunson announced that he will be playing his college basketball for the Wildcats.

Brunson is a five-star recruit that is currently ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the class by Rivals, but he may actually be the best point guard in the country. He’s not as quick as Jawun Evans and he’s not as talented of a scorer as Isaiah Briscoe, but he’s a strong, left-handed leader that knows how to run an offense and can make plays off of the dribble when it is needed.

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This ends the speculation surrounding where the 6'2", 180-pound Lincolnshire, Illinois, product will begin his college career. A highly sought-after recruit, the lefty has the ability to facilitate, run a team and shoot with precision from the perimeter. On Monday, Eric Bossi of Rivals.com announced the two schools remaining in contention for Brunson's services:

Now that we know which college the guard will attend, what exactly does he bring to the table?

Brunson has the ability to get his teammates involved right out of the gate. An unselfish player and great ball-handler, he routinely makes intelligent passes, creating shots all over the floor. An extremely well-rounded player, his prowess as a shooter has been prominent on many occasions.

One such occurrence was during the summer with USA Basketball, earning a gold medal in the under-18 FIBA Americas. The guard spoke of his experience, and his upcoming decision, during an interview with Mike Helfgot of the Chicago Tribune:

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I give this summer for experience an A-plus. I got so much experience playing internationally and had a great summer paying with my AAU team (Mac Irvin Fire). I experienced a lot of different playing styles and different people. Playing-wise, I think I played pretty well.

It feels good. There's a lot of weight off my shoulders, but I still have a big decision coming up. It's a not a decision for four years, it's a decision for the rest of my life, so it's real big.

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He's produced some gaudy numbers over the last two seasons with Adlai Stevenson as well, via The EYBL Circuit:

Brunson's performance against the nation's No. 1 Whitney Young, featuring Jahlil Okafor, in the Illinois state tournament may be the best example of his ability to take over a game. Brunson put his team on his back, racking up 56 points in the contest, and despite losing by a score of 75-68, he was given a standing ovation at the game's end:

The shooting ability and ankle-breaking moves on display in that game are only two of the many reasons why Brunson will be a solid starting point guard on the collegiate level. Combined with solid on-ball defending and a high basketball IQ, we should expect to see him produce for the Wildcats right away.