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Five-star point guard Jalen Brunson sets all five official visits

Illinois Class 4A Basketball

Stevenson’s Jalen Brunson (15) cheers on his team as they play Edwardsville for the Illinois Class 4A third place game in Peoria, Ill., Saturday, March 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Journal Star, Fred Zwicky)

AP

Stevenson High (Illinois) rising senior Jalen Brunson is a top-15 recruit and is arguably the top point guard in the Class of 2015.

The five-star floor general narrowed down his list of options to eight back in May. On Tuesday night, Joe Henricksen reported Brunson had scheduled three of his five official visits. The 6-foot-1 point guard will remain in-state for his first visit, going to Illinois on Aug. 29-31. Brunson will head to Philadelphia the following two weekends, heading to Villanova on Sept. 4-6 and then Temple from Sept. 11-13. Later in the week, Brunson revealed his final two official visits. Henricksen also reported Brunson will be at Michigan State from Sept. 19-21. That will be followed by a trip to Purdue on Sept. 26-28, according to Reggie Rankin of ESPN.

The third visit is the most intriguing. In June, a report surfaced that Jalen’s father, Rick Brunson a Temple grad who both played and coached in the NBA, would be added to Fran Dunphy’s coaching staff as an assistant. However, Rick Brunson was charged with attempted sexual assault and battery in July after an incident involving a masseuse. Hiring Rick Brunson was likely an attempt to land Jalen. A package deal like that is allowed by the NCAA.

Jalen Brunson is also considering Kansas, Michigan and UConn.

As a junior at Stevenson, Brunson averaged 26.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.9 steals per game. He dropped state tournament record 56 points in a playoff game against Jahlil Okafor and Chicago powerhouse Whitney Young. This summer, he was part of a USA Basketball U18 team that won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championships in Colorado Springs. Even in a reserve role, Brunson averaged 12.0 points and 5.6 assists per game in the five-game tournament. He also shot the ball well from deep, at a 40 percent clip. In 23 games on the Nike EYBL circuit with Mac Irvin Fire, he averaged 11.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.

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