DALLAS— The Dallas Mavericks announced that they have selected guard Jalen Brunson with the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Brunson (6-3, 190) is a two-time NCAA Champion (2016, 2018) and an early-entry candidate to this year’s draft after spending three seasons at Villanova. As a junior, he averaged 18.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists on his way to winning Big East Player of the Year, Big East Scholar Athlete of the Year and the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard. He was also the only player in a Power 6 conference last season to shoot better than .520 from the field, .400 from behind-the-arc and .800 from the foul line.
The New Jersey native moved to Lincolnshire, Ill., in high school and became 2015 Mr. Illinois Basketball as a senior at Adlai E. Stevenson High School. Brunson was named McDonald’s All-American, Parade All-American and USA Basketball 2015 Male Athlete of the Year after leading Team USA’s under-19 team.
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