The only member of the 40 For 40 list to have earned two national titles in his tenure in the Big East, Jalen Brunson ended his college career as the most decorated athlete in Villanova basketball history.

The son of Temple alumnus and NBA veteran Rick Brunson, Jalen grew up outside Cherry Hill, NJ in his youth before the family relocated to the Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire when Rick joined the Chicago Bulls as an assistant coach. By his first season on the varsity at Stevenson HS, there was no debut that Jalen Brunson was on a trajectory to be one of the very best, averaging 21 points a game and he only underclassmen named to the first or second team all-state roster. As a junior, he scored 56 points in the state title game, but it was not until his senior season he carried Stevenson to the title, while earning consensus 1st team all-state honors, the Illinois "Mr. Basketball" award, and placement on every major recruiting list in the country as the nation's top ranked point guard and #16 ranked overall. In a tight recruiting battle between Villanova and Illinois, he chose Villanova on September 10, 2014, signaling a golden age to come in Villanova basketball.

"Jalen is a dynamic guard and the son of two outstanding college athletes in Sandra and Rick Brunson," Villanova head coach Jay Wright said in a news release. "He is an elite student and he will bring energy and passion to the court and classroom at Villanova."

Entering the 2015-16 season, there were some who questioned if Brunson would start in a deep lineup that already included junior Josh Hart and returning Big East Player of the year Ryan Arcidiacono. Sensing the opportunity, Wright adapted, starting all three as the Wildcats roared through the 2015-16 season. Brunson was a valuable addition, but by no means the leading scorer in the lineup--he finished fifth in scoring with just under 10 points a game, but came up big when it counted. A Big East All-Freshman selection, he scored a season high 25 in a matchup with his dad's alma mater and shot 50 percent from the field in the NCAA tournament, including a pair of free throws to clinch the national semifinal win over Oklahoma. In the final versus North Carolina, it was reserve guard Phil Booth who soared with 20 points, as the Wildcats won the national title.

Brunson was a first team All-Big East selection in 2016-17, scoring in double figures in 31 of 36 games with a 14.7 points, 4.1 assists per game average. He averaged 54 percent from the field, highlighted by a 22 point, 10 assist game versus Seton Hall where he was 7 for 7 from the field. He finished fourth in the Big East in field goal shooting accuracy and third from the free throw line and in assists. Despite a second round exit in the NCAA, Brunson was already on some NBA draft boards. He opted to return for his junior season, whereby Wright remarked that "This was a simple decision made by Jalen's family. Jalen wants to graduate, be a leader on this year's team, and compete for a championship."

He did all three.

The 2017-18 Villanova team, without a senior in the lineup, was a juggernaut from start to finish. With five starters that would all go to the NBA, the Wildcats were never ranked lower than #5 all season. Brunson was the team leader across the board: 52 percent from the field, 41 percent from three, averaging 4.5 assists per game. When the Wildcats needed him, he delivered: 27 in a home win over Marquette, 31 in the rematch three weeks later. Fighting through a 3 for 16 stretch from three point range in mid-season, Brunson then went inside, averaging 27.5 points per game in key wins over St. John's and Seton Hall.

Returning to the Big East finals for a third straight year, it took a career high 31 points from Brunson to get the Wildcats past Providence in overtime for the title, earning the Wildcats their third consecutive #1 seed and set the course for a memorable run of NCAA games. He opened it up shooting 7 for 9 in a first round win over Radford, and took the Cats to the regional final with a 27 point effort versus West Virginia.

Brunson averaged 16 points in six NCAA games, with an 18 point, six assist game in the semifinal versus Kansas. Brunson's only game below double figures on the entire season came in the national final, an anticlimactic finish in a game dominated by the Wildcats from start to finish. Donte DiVicenzo's 31 points led the way but the recognition for Brunson's effort that season were already complete: consensus All-American, Big East Player of the Year, National Player of the Year. Brunson became the first guard, and only the fourth player in NCAA history, ever to complete his college career with two or more NCAA titles and National Player of the Year honors, joining Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, and Christian Laettner.

Following his junior season, Brunson declared for the NBA draft. Despite the accolades, Brunson was the last of four Villanova players drafted that season, dropping to a second round pick of the Dallas Mavericks owing to his smaller size. He started 38 games his rookie season with a 9.3 points per game average.

In 2020, the Associated Press commissioned an All-Decade team of All-Americans. At the top of the list: Jalen Brunson, a recognition of a remarkable guard in an era where the Big East returned to the summit of college basketball.