1. Jalen Brunson – Villanova
When you look at the full picture, you will not be able to find a single athlete in this entire project who accomplished as much as Brunson did during his collegiate career. A 6’3 guard originally from Lincolnshire, he was a five-star prospect who found his way to Jay Wright and Villanova, beginning his time with the Wildcats in 2015 and not leaving until history had been made three years later.
As a freshman, Brunson did nothing but help the Wildcats win the national championship, with a couple of nice scoring efforts along the way. He was a bigger piece of the puzzle as a sophomore, but it was his junior year that set him apart. During that season, Brunson averaged 18.9 points per game and was dynamic all season long; a season that ended in another national championship victory. He had a career-high 31 points four times that season, including in the Big East title game victory over Providence.
It’s not just that Brunson was named National Player of the Year for that stellar junior campaign, nor that he was a two-time All-Big East member. When you combine that with his pair of national championships, it’s clear that Brunson’s unique and impressive accomplishments are virtually unmatchable, especially by some of these one-and-done prospects of recent years. Immensely successful in college, Brunson was a second round draft pick and has now been in the NBA for four season, recently signing with the New York Knicks.
At long last, we’re done with our deep look into the ten best college basketball players from the state of Illinois; did we get the list right or was there someone else more deserving?