It wasn’t Jalen Brunson’s jumpshot that immediately caught Kyle Neptune’s attention. It wasn’t his crossover or anything about his impressive game, either.
Neptune, at the time an assistant coach at Villanova under Jay Wright, could tell there was something different about the McDonald’s All-American when Brunson arrived on campus in 2015. But not his skills. It was a maturity most freshmen lack.
“There was nobody that was more ready in my mind to play, especially mentally, than Jalen Brunson,” the new Villanova head coach told Sports+ this week in a phone interview. “It seemed like he was a pro from jump, in terms of his work ethic, how much time he was putting in, how he was taking care of his body. He graduated in three years — he just was so goal-driven.”
That’s why Neptune isn’t surprised at what Brunson has developed into, proving wrong the detractors who pegged him as a career NBA backup following his standout career at Villanova. It is why Neptune, the head coach last season at Fordham, didn’t hesitate when asked whether Brunson is ready to run his own team and whether he could handle the pressure of being the next Knicks point guard.
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