Nov. 12, 2014 VILLANOVA, Pa. - A trio of standouts, all with roots in the Delaware Valley, have signed national letters of intent to attend Villanova, it was announced today. Joining the Wildcats in the fall of 2015 will be 6-1 guard
Jalen Brunson (Adlai E. Stevenson (Ill.) High School); 6-4 guard
Donte DiVincenzo (Salesianum (Del.) H.S.); and 6-9 forward
Tim Delaney (Blair (N.J.) Academy).
"We're so excited to welcome this class to the Villanova family," stated head coach Jay Wright.
Brunson is the son of former Temple basketball star Rick Brunson and his wife Sandra, also a former student-athlete at Temple. Jalen Brunson is originally from New Jersey and spent much of his youth in the area before moving to the Chicago region with his family. Brunson is listed at No. 23 in the ESPN Top 100 after an outstanding junior season at Stevenson H.S. in which he was named the Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year.
"Jalen is a dynamic guard and the son of two outstanding college athletes in Sandra and Rick Brunson," said Wright. "He is an elite student and he will bring energy and passion to the court and classroom at Villanova. The program at Stevenson is one of the best in Illinois and his coach, Pat Ambrose, is a well respected teacher of our game."
Delaney is a versatile forward who will play his senior season at Blair (N.J.) Academy after moving over from Pitman (N.J.) High School. Delaney's mother, Jeanine, played college basketball at Saint Joseph's. Tim Delaney was named first team All-Group 1 by the Newark Star-Ledger for his work in 2013-14 at Pitman, where he averaged 13.9 ppg and scored 1,598 career points. He also played a key role in leading his squad to a USA Basketball 3x3 U18 National Championship last summer.
"Tim is an outstanding young man who has size, skill and a great basketball IQ," stated Wright. "He comes from a loyal basketball family and a storied prep school at Blair Academy where he is being taught well by coach Joe Mantegna. Tim is going to be a big part of Villanova's future."
DiVincenzo is a versatile 6-4 guard ranked at No. 115 by Rivals.com. He averaged 15.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game at Salesianum High School as a junior and played AAU basketball for Team Final.
"Donte DiVincenzo is one of the most heralded players to come out of Delaware in a long time," said Wright. "We've had great success with Will Sheridan and Jermaine Medley from Delaware. I think Donte is the same kind of impactful player those guys were. He comes from a terrific high school program at Salesianum Prep and has been well-coached there by Brendan Haley."
