Carter, Brunson lead different teams from same place
BOSTON – Jevon Carter and Jalen Brunson know a little bit about each other.
Even though both want to down play it ahead of the Sweet 16 game between West Virginia and Villanova set for Friday evening at 7:27 p.m.
The two Ilinois natives were teammates on the same AAU team, Next Level Performance, with Carter being a year older than his counterpart.
At that time the two were on the same side, but this will be a much different approach this time around for a berth in the Elite 8 on the line.
“It’s pretty cool,” Carter said. “It’s going to be a fun game.”
Carter was then an under-recruited guard prospect from Proviso East High School collecting his only major offer from West Virginia. The Mountaineers only uncovered Carter because assistant Larry Harrison had a connection with his AAU coach and was pointed in that direction.
After Harrison watched him at a tournament in Orlando, he passed it on to head coach Bob Huggins. The rest is history as they say with Carter receiving an offer and signing with the Mountaineers.
Brunson, was quite a different story. A year behind Carter, Brunson received major offers from a long list of programs and was recruited like he was one of the top players in the nation. Villanova, Kansas, Michigan State, Michigan, Illinois and a number of others were involved.
The Wildcats won out.
But Carter isn’t overlooked anymore. One of the best two-way guards in all of college basketball will square off with his one-time teammate, another of the best in all the land.
Brunson has watched the development of Carter from afar as he has completely transformed his game from a high-effort defensive player to a consistent scorer at all three levels.
Carter has more than doubled his scoring during his four years while still maintaining his edge as one of the best defenders in all of college basketball.
Through two tournament games to date, Carter has scored 49 points, hitting 19-35 shots, with 13 assists, 11 steals and 9 rebounds all while playing on average 34-minutes per game. That’s a total that’s actually less than he played on average this year.
“He’s gotten so much better as a player. He was a great shooter, a great defender then. He’s just really gotten a lot better now, being more consistent at it,” Brunson said.
The Villanova guard has lived up to his high-school billing as well. Brunson leads the Wildcats in scoring at 19.1 points per game while also serving as the lead facilitator on the team. The offense typically runs through him and he has the ability to score on the inside or on the perimeter.
It’s a tough match up for any guard. How tough?
“He’s smart. He’s very smart. He’s crafty. He knows how to use his body well. He knows about angles and stuff,” Carter said.
But according to Carter that’s been the type of player Brunson has been since the beginning.
While there have been some minor adjustments, no scouting report is needed for each other to get a look at what the other brings to the table. However, both reinforce that it won’t come down to a one-on-one matchup to determine the outcome of this game.
“We’ve got to play together. There’s no individual match ups,” Brunson said.
The two still maintain contact, although they haven’t this week. That’s because the focus is on the game and trying to push each other’s team onto the next round.
It’s one match up on a floor filled with many.
But all eyes will be on this one regardless.
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