Jalen Brunson Beats Out Trae Young, Marvin Bagley III to Win 2018 Wooden Award

Villanova Wildcats guard Jalen Brunson was named winner of the 2018 Wooden Award on Friday in Los Angeles.

Brunson beat out 14 other finalists, including Arizona's Deandre Ayton, Duke's Marvin Bagley III and Oklahoma's Trae Young. Brunson, fellow Villanova Wildcat Mikal Bridges and Kansas' Devonte' Graham were the only finalists whose team made the Final Four.

It's just the latest honor for Brunson. The Villanova junior was named an All-American, won the AP National Player of the Year award, the Bob Cousy award (nation's top point guard) and, oh yeah, he won his second national championship in three years.

"It's written on my wall," Brunson said when accepting the AP National Player of the Year in March. "It's something that I strived for but never really focused on. I just knew that the more team success that we had, the individual honors would come. I just really focused on what the team needed and how I could be a key contributor."

Brunson averaged 18.9 points, 4.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game in 2017-18. While those numbers are impressive on their own, the finer details only hype up his game more. The 6'3", 190-pound guard shot 52.1 percent from the floor, 40.8 percent from beyond the arc and 80.2 percent from the line; an impressive all-around game, to say the least.

The Wildcats star's game even caught the eye of a former National Player of the Year:

Of course, being the best player on a top team helps his case. Villanova earned a No. 1 seed, won the Big East tournament and finished the season at 36-4 after cutting down the nets in San Antonio on Monday.

Plenty of players had strong resumes this season, but in the end, the voters felt nobody had a better year than Brunson. It turned out to be a fitting end to a dream season.