Stevenson grad Jalen Brunson named Big East Player of the Week

With his team climbing to No. 4 on The Associated Press men's college basketball rankings, Villanova's Jalen Brunson continues to collect more honors and accolades.

Brunson, a Stevenson High School grad, earned Big East Player of the Week honors for leading the 6-0 Wildcats to the Battle 4 Atlantis title.

The 6-foot-3 guard from Lincolnshire also was named tournament MVP after averaging 19.7 points and 4.0 assists in wins over Western Kentucky (66-58), Tennessee (85-76) and Northern Iowa (64-50).

“One thing I learned about this team here is that we don't quit,” Brunson said in a report at villanova.com. “We strive to play hard for 40 minutes. In the preseason, we had our struggles. But we kept getting better and better.

“We really got tested at this tournament. We kept battling back, kept grinding, kept sticking together no matter what the fatigue was or what the score was.”

In the championship game against Northern Iowa, Brunson scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and contributed 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

Earlier this season, Brunson, who was named Mr. Basketball for Illinois in 2015, was selected to The Associated Press Preseason all-American Team, the Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List, and the Big East's Preseason Player of the Year.