Jalen Brunson to return to Villanova for his junior season

Villanova Wildcats guard Jalen Brunson is returning to the program for his junior season.

The program announced as much on Thursday afternoon in a release they provided.

In his two years at ‘Nova, Brunson has proved to be one of the best young point guards in the conference and the rest of the country as well. After a terrific freshman season, which culminated of course with a National Championship, the suburban Chicago native made strides in nearly every single statistical category. Brunson averaged 14.7 points, 4.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game last year with a field goal percentage of 54.1 percent, a 3-point percentage of 37.8 percent and a free throw percentage of 87.6.

With Jalen back in the fold, Villanova should once again be the favorite to win the Big East Conference in the 2017-18 season. He and fellow hoopers Donte DiVincenzo, Omari Spellman, Eric Paschall and Mikal Bridges will likely prove to be a force to be reckoned with come the fall.

In addition, Brunson stands to be one of the favorites to win Big East Player of the Year, if not the outright preseason favorite depending on the status of Angel Delgado and Trevon Bluiett who are testing the waters of the NBA Draft. Preseason All-American and Bob Cousy Award nominee could also be in the cards for him when those accolades are doled out.