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Brunson repeats as Gatorade's Illinois player of the year

The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, has named Stevenson senior guard Jalen Brunson its Gatorade Illinois boys basketball player of the year.

It's the second year in a row that the Villanova recruit has earned the honor.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Brunson as Illinois' best high school boys basketball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade national boys basketball player of the year award to be announced this month, Brunson joins an elite alumni association of past state award winners, including eventual NBA all-stars Dwight Howard, Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce and Chris Bosh.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Brunson has led Stevenson to a 28-3 record and berth downstate for the third year in a row. The Patriots face Bolingbrook in a 6:30 p.m. Class 4A state semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Peoria.

Brunson averaged 23.1 points, 5.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 steals through 31 games. He shot 48.7 percent from the field, 38.3 percent from 3-point range and 82.0 percent from the free-throw line entering the round of four. His 56 points as a junior in the 2014 Class 4A state semifinals set a single-game state tournament record.

In addition to participating in Nike's LeBron James Skills Academy and Elite Youth Basketball League this past summer, he helped capture the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship as a member of the USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team.

Brunson has maintained a 3.22 weighted GPA. In addition to donating his time as a voting registrar, he has volunteered locally on behalf of his church and as a youth basketball instructor.

"He is a matchup nightmare," Lake Zurich coach Billy Pitcher said. "If you crowd him, he goes by you. If you give him space, he hits a 3-pointer. If you double him, he fires a no-look pass to the open teammate. And he never turns the ball over. His decision-making is excellent."

  Stevenson guard Jalen Brunson puts the ball up against Lake Forest on Friday in the Class 4A Waukegan sectional final. For the second straight year, Stevenson's Jalen Brunson has been selected as Gatorade's boys basketball player of the year for Illinois. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
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