Lake County Gazette

Jalen Brunson has embraced realizing his NBA dream in the same way he made it all happen.

The former Villanova and Stevenson High School star knows nothing will come easy, and that’s all serving as fuel for his new position with the Dallas Mavericks, he said.

“I’m never satisfied with anything I do,” Brunson told the Chicago Tribune. “I always strive for greatness and am going to push myself and them the best I can.”

The former Wildcats' star is a two-time national champion and national player of the year. However, despite all his aplomb, including averaging 18.9 points, 4.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds during his junior year at Villanova, Brunson lasted into the second round of the recent NBA draft, going No. 33 to the Mavs. 

At Stevenson, he led his team to a Class 4A state and was named a McDonald’s All-American and Illinois Mr. Basketball. These days, none of that carries the same weight for Brunson. He’s only looking forward.  

“I’m just really thankful I got the opportunity to be a part of this organization,” he said. “The things I’ve done are in the past. I’ll cherish them after I retire.”

Besides, the way Brunson sees it, he has too much to do to spend time looking back.

“Right now, I’ll continue to get better and push forward and not really worry about what other people think of me or what should’ve happened,” he said. “I’m here now and ready to work and ready to move forward.”