Rick Brunson played basketball for John Chaney at Temple in the 1990s and now he is set to return to his alma mater as an assistant coach, according to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer. For Villanova, the move could do serious damage to the Wildcats chances of landing top Class of 2015 point guard Jalen Brunson -- Rick's son.
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The younger Brunson is considered the nation's top point guard prospect and had listed both Villanova and Temple in his final eight schools, along with Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue. He is a five-star recruit according to ESPN, Rivals, and 247Sports, who just finished helping the Team USA Under-18 squad to a FIBA Americas Gold Medal. He averaged 12 points and 5.6 assists in five games at the international tournament.
The Brunsons currently live in suburban Chicago after Rick took a job as an assistant coach with the Bulls. Prior to that, they lived in South Jersey. The elder Brunson has been an assistant at both the college and professional levels after his professional playing career ended. If the report is correct, he will displace one of Dunphy's three assistant coaches (who may be re-assigned to a different title or position) on the Temple bench.
Jalen stars for Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Illinois, but indications are that he was very interested in returning back east for college. It is believed that he is willing to play for his father.
The job was posted to the NCAA's career website on Tuesday and, according to the Inquirer, an official announcement should be made within the next month.