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Years have passed, yet one enduring lesson from Jay Wright remains etched in Jalen Brunson’s memory.
“Attitude was everything,” recalled the star guard for the Knicks, speaking of his former coach at Villanova. “It was emblazoned on every wall, every shirt, even inside our jerseys. Jay always emphasized controlling your attitude. I might not say it as often now, but my version of that is focusing on what you can control.”
This mindset has been crucial to Brunson’s journey. Despite clinching two national championships with Villanova and earning the title of National Player of the Year in 2017-18, Brunson found himself drafted in the second round. It took him until his fourth NBA season to secure a position as a starter. When he signed with the Knicks, many questioned if he was worth the investment.
Drowning out external distractions—whether praise or criticism—has been key to Brunson’s rise in the league.
“Controlling your attitude, and your effort, those are the constants you can manage,” Brunson explained, reflecting on Wright’s teachings. “That was the mantra we lived by, from ending huddles to beginning games and practices. Once we truly embraced it, everything seemed to fall into place more naturally.”
Brunson, of course, isn’t the only former Villanova star on the Knicks. Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges were teammates with the Wildcats, too.
They are looking to become the fifth group of teammates to win an NBA and NCAA championship together.
The previous ones are Derek Anderson and Antoine Walker (Kentucky, Heat), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lucius Allen (UCLA, Bucks), John Havlicek and Larry Siegfried (Ohio State, Celtics) and Bill Russell and K.C. Jones (San Francisco, Celtics).
“Man, you can tell Coach Wright has instilled a lot of great qualities in all of these guys,” Mike Brown said. “They’re selfless. They all have a competitive spirit. They’re all about the right stuff, and they’re great human beings to be around.
“So I’m sure it wasn’t just Coach Wright who helped raise them, but to be able to play for him and have that continue at the highest level while competing for championships in college definitely made my job easier. When you have guys like that and those guys are the leaders of your team, we were talking about all of them, and then it rubs off on everybody else, and it just makes for a fantastic environment to be a part of.”