{"id":61808,"date":"2018-03-30T08:03:24","date_gmt":"2018-03-30T08:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=61808"},"modified":"2018-03-30T08:03:24","modified_gmt":"2018-03-30T08:03:24","slug":"final-four-villanova-star-jalen-brunson-can-back-you-down-with-the-best-of-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/final-four-villanova-star-jalen-brunson-can-back-you-down-with-the-best-of-them.html","title":{"rendered":"Final Four: Villanova star Jalen Brunson can back you down with the best of them"},"content":{"rendered":"

Final Four: Villanova star Jalen Brunson can back you down with the best of them<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The first time Jalen Brunson backed Villanova freshman Collin Gillespie down into the post, the bewildered rookie had no clue what was going on.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHere I am, coming out of high school, and I think I\u2019m gonna be playing on the perimeter all the time,\u201d Gillespie told USA TODAY Sports. \u201cWhen he first put his shoulder in me, I was taken aback.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the 6-3 junior guard turned around and shot a high-arching fadeaway. Gillespie relaxed, thinking it was sure to miss. Instead, it dropped through the net, and the veteran turned to the freshman.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d Brunson assured Gillespie, \u201cYou\u2019ll get used to it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But learning how to play in the post was only part of guarding Brunson, who has won multiple player of the year awards, and on Thursday took home that honor from the Associated Press. Brunson repeated the other lesson to Gillespie every time he got the freshman up in the air defensively:<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t. Fall. For. Shot fakes.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is, Gillespie said, much easier said than done, especially when it’s Brunson shot faking.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now it will be Kansas point guard Devonte’ Graham who has to guard the most unconventional, and maybe most complete, guard in college basketball, when the Jayhawks (31-7) meet Villanova (34-4) Saturday in the national semifinals.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cHe does have a little throwback game to him,\u201d Graham said of Brunson, who averages 19.2 points and shoots 52.7% from the field, second-best on the team. \u201cHe stays so poised, tries to get you lifted and then make his move. He\u2019s not going to out-quick you. His IQ is real high.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Brunson is old school to the core, and he\u2019s got his father, Rick, to thank. A nine-year NBA veteran, Rick Brunson insisted Jalen have an all-around attack, showing him clips of Steve Nash, Chris Paul and even himself to hammer home that the more complex your skill set, the harder you are to guard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted me to be the most complete player I could be,\u201d Jalen Brunson said. \u201cWe worked on all aspects of my game, on both sides of the floor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Brunson has heard more than once that his game reminds people of NBA journeyman Andre Miller, who played 17 seasons in the NBA and was routinely praised for his basketball IQ. Rick Brunson harped constantly on outsmarting your defender. It\u2019s not about being \u201coverly athletic or eye-popping with quickness,\u201d Jalen Brunson said. \u201cReally skilled, really smart players (find) ways to get into the defense and make plays.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wright called Brunson \u201cas complete a player as I\u2019ve seen in high school,\u201d describing Brunson\u2019s game as \u201crefined.\u201d Wright credits Rick Brunson and Brunson’s high school coach with developing footwork and array of post moves long before he arrived in Philadelphia.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe received a pretty finished product,\u201d Wright said.<\/span><\/p>\n

It just took Wright time to realize how to properly use that product. A few years ago, Villanova players were going through a drill where they took turns guarding the post when Brunson got the ball. By the end of Brunson\u2019s move, Wright and his assistants had a new wrinkle for their playbook.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe put Jalen in there and everybody, coaches started looking at each other like, wow, his post moves are incredible,\u201d Wright said. \u201cAfter that we’re like, we’re going with this, we’re using this. But then as he’s continued to develop, he loves it \u2026 and his footwork is incredible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Brunson scoring in the paint is a staple of the Wildcats\u2019 offense. In last week\u2019s East Regional final against Texas Tech, a Brunson post up and score gave Villanova a 61-53 edge with 1:47 to play, just as the Red Raiders were starting to cut into Villanova\u2019s lead.<\/span><\/p>\n

After VU\u2019s 71-59 win that sent the Wildcats\u2019 to their second Final Four in three years, Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said watching Brunson get to the post \u201cwas like watching Magic Johnson back down.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gillespie knows how Beard feels. He joked that when watching film or from the bench, he empathizes when a defender falls for a Brunson shot fake, or suddenly finds himself on Brunson\u2019s hip in the paint.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly,\u201d Gillespie sighed, \u201che\u2019s probably our best post player.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s exactly why he’s likely to give Graham, and Kansas, problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/ncaab\/2018\/03\/29\/final-four-villanova-jalen-brunson-old-school\/471383002\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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