Knicks star gives BYU star blueprint for success

New York’s Jalen Brunson just showed the world that on basketball’s grandest stage, the smallest player on the floor can also be the biggest.

One undersized point guard in Provo, Utah, was watching his every move — and it wasn’t the first time.

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“He went to Villanova and that’s 30 miles from my house, so I’ve been watching him growing up,” BYU guard Rob Wright III told the “Y’s Guys” livestream show earlier this week. “Just seeing him get that done was motivation for me because I’m a small guard. I was tuned in for sure.”

So was Wright’s head coach.

“I think the things they have in common is they are always under control,” BYU coach Kevin Young added during the show. “Brunson is a low-turnover guy. That’s my favorite thing about Rob. I feel very safe when Rob has the ball. He’s not going to give it away. No one is going to take it from him. Now it becomes a second layer — the decision making.”

Wise and wily, Brunson ran circles around San Antonio to earn MVP honors as the Knicks beat the Spurs in the NBA Finals. In the deciding Game 6, the 6-foot-2 guard sliced and diced his way through San Antonio’s giants for 45 points.

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“I referenced Brunson (Monday) at practice. He’s arguably the most un-athletic guy in the NBA and he just won the NBA Finals MVP,” said Young. “Why? He’s very under control. He almost always plays off two feet in the paint. You can never speed him up. He can always get to his spots and he’s never dead, even when he picks his dribble up. That’s something we talk to Rob (about) quite a bit.”

Next challenge

As a 6-foot-1 sophomore, Wright delivered several big moments in his BYU debut, scoring a season-high 39 against Colorado, 30 at Baylor, 27 against Texas Tech, 23 at West Virginia and 21 at Cincinnati. His 2-point shooting percentage improved from .435 during his freshman year at Baylor to .490 at BYU. His 3-point shooting jumped from .351 to .410 and his points per game increased from 11.5 to 18.1.

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“The next challenge for Rob is to do that, but then also make the proper reads as it relates to finding guys. I thought he really got good at his paint efficiency as a scorer, and so now it’s (adding) the next layer there,” Young said. “(With) the team that we assembled, he could close his eyes and probably get an assist with the amount of shooting that is going to be around him this year, which will be fun.”

Comparing Wright to Brunson may not be fair. Brunson is NBA-elite. But when comparing their sophomore seasons in college, the numbers are enlightening. Brunson averaged 14.7 points and 4.1 assists at Villanova in 2016-17. Wright, who is already Big 12-elite, averaged 18.1 points and 4.6 assists last year at BYU.

Making the jump

Brunson took a big jump his junior season and catapulted himself into the NBA as college basketball’s player of the year. Wright is preparing to make his jump with a summer focus on “guarding the ball and making better decisions when I get into the paint,” he said. “I can get past anyone at will, so I’m just trying to tighten things up.”

Getting past defenders became a little easier after Wright cut off his locks.

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“I surprised myself by getting the haircut,” he laughed. “Getting into the chair, I didn’t think I was going to cut it all off, and then, I just was like, ‘Cut it all off.’ I feel a lot lighter. Now when I run, I don’t have to worry about having five pounds on my head. I think I’m a little faster.”

Being a little faster and having improved judgment as he goes may not turn Wright into Brunson, but it just might keep the Cougars contenders in the Big 12 and a tough out in the Big Dance.

In a game where big men occupy a lot of space, there is still room for the smaller guys, especially guys like Brunson and Wright who remind us that in the fabled matchup between the tortoise and the hare, the hare still wins most of the races.

Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.