USA Basketball names Villanova's Brunson male athlete of the year
USA Basketball named Jalen Brunson the 2015 Male Athlete of the Year on Monday afternoon.
Brunson led USA to the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championships this summer in Greece. The Villanova guard earned tournament MVP honors, averaging 14.0 points, 5.6 steals and 3.3 rebounds. He recorded 39 assists to 12 turnovers (five of which came in one game) in seven contests against international competition.
Brunson picked up the scoring in the medal round, averaging 20.3 points in wins over Italy, Greece and Croatia. He tied with Harry Giles as the team's leading scorer.
In overtime victory over Croatia in the gold medal game, Brunson played 40 minutes and committed zero turnovers.
“It definitely means a lot, but it’s also a credit to everyone that has helped me – my parents especially, my coaches and teammates, Coach [Sean] Miller,” Brunson said in a statement released by USA Basketball. “They helped put me in the right position so that I could be successful. It’s an individual honor, but at the same time it’s a team honor. Everyone helped me, and I can’t thank them enough.”
His coach from that team, Arizona's Sean Miller, was recently named USA Basketball's National Coach of the Year.
Brunson has gone on to make an immediate impact for Villanova, averaging 10.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
