In an alternate universe, Jalen Brunson shared a backcourt with Cassius Winston. He tossed lobs to Miles Bridges and freshman Jaren Jackson Jr. Tom Izzo, a one-time national championship winner, is a multi-time national championship coach and, possibly, already onto the next phase of his life.
Unfortunately, for this Michigan State graduate, that wasn’t reality. In the real world, Brunson went to Villanova (2015-18), won two national titles and was one of the best college players of the 2010s.
Brunson considered going to Michigan State, though.
“I think so,” Brunson told The Athletic when asked if he would have gone to Michigan State if not for Villanova. “I love Izzo. I didn’t want to go on the visit because I was afraid I’d like it too much. I was set on Villanova and didn’t want anything to change my mind.
“(Villanova) was the right place for me.”
College fans of major universities across the country are often teased with the idea of an elite high school prospect entering their program. Most premier college recruits have a top-five list before revealing the school they end up choosing. Some a top-three list before the big reveal. We know what the No. 1 choice ends up being, but we don’t always hear about the school that was almost selected and why that was the case.
So, with March Madness here, I decided to have some fun with the New York Knicks. I asked every main-roster player who went to college what school they would have attended if they hadn’t chosen the school that they went to.
Enjoy!
Precious Achiuwa
College attended: Memphis (2019, 2020)
College he considered: North Carolina
Achiuwa: “If I didn’t go to Memphis, I probably would have went to North Carolina. It was super close. The difference was that I wanted to play for pros. I had Penny (Hardaway) as the head coach and Mike Miller as an assistant coach. I already knew going in that I was only going to be at college for a year. I had a few of my friends already committed to Memphis. I decided I was going to go there with my friends from high school and then, of course, play for pros.”
OG Anunoby
College attended: Indiana (2015-17)
College(s) he considered: Iowa and Georgia
Anunoby: “I can’t say one. Indiana was the choice. It was Tom Crean. He recruited me very hard. It was his passion, and he believed in me. He thought I was an NBA player, and he was right.”
Mikal Bridges
College attended: Villanova (2015-18/redshirt 2014-15 season)
College he considered: N/A
Bridges: “I don’t have an answer. The coaching staff (at Villanova), the school is a great school and the location. It’s close to home. And all of their principles. They started recruiting me in the summer going into my senior year.”
Josh Hart
College attended: Villanova (2013-17)
College(s) he considered: Penn State and Rutgers
Hart: “It was close. It was either going to be Villanova or Penn State … or Rutgers. I love (Jay) Wright. The character that they had as a coaching staff, I knew that when I left that I’d be a better person than a basketball player. That was the deciding factor.”
Tyler Kolek
College(s) attended: George Mason (2020-21) and Marquette (2021-24)
College(s) he considered: Northeastern (right out of high school), Penn State and Oklahoma.
Kolek: “If I didn’t go to George Mason, I probably would have went to Northeastern. George Mason was the highest level that I could go to. It was the best opportunity, I felt, that I could step right in and play.
“I went to Marquette after George Mason for the same reason: opportunity to play. I had belief in the coaches, and they had belief in me.”
Miles McBride
College attended: West Virginia (2019-21)
College he considered: Duquesne
McBride: “Maybe … probably Duquesne. It was West Virginia all the way. Once they offered, I was going to West Virginia.”
Cameron Payne
College attended: Murray State (2013-15)
College he considered: Wichita State
Payne: “I probably would have went to Wichita State. That’s the school I almost committed to on-site. I didn’t commit. My mom didn’t want me to go. She was like, ‘It’s too far away.’ So then I went on my visit to Murray again, and she was like, ‘I like this school.’ I went to Murray because it was close to home.”
Landry Shamet
College attended: Wichita State (2015-18)
College he considered: Colorado
Shamet: “I was pretty close to going to Colorado to play for Tad Boyle. There were a combination of things as to why I chose Wichita State. I’m from Kansas City, so it was close proximity to home. It was the best team that I could step into. It had the best balance of everything. It was a good team with two NBA guards (Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker) who I could learn from, I had a chance to play right away; it was close to home and the development.
“(As for considering Colorado), I thought Tad was a genuine person. A great dude. I thought I had a chance to play a lot. It was just far from home, and they weren’t going to be as competitive as Wichita State was.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
College attended: Kentucky (2014-15)
College he considered: N/A
Towns: “I don’t want to give credit to any other team but Kentucky. My mom liked it. I didn’t do any official visits. There were long car rides back in the day. You had MapQuest. My mom just had a good feeling. She felt really good about her boy going there. There were other schools, as well, that gave such amazing (pitches), but I’m a mama’s boy. I felt mama knew best. She was right.”
Delon Wright
College attended: Utah (2013-15)
College he considered: Washington
Wright: “Long story short, I was trying to go to the University of Washington because my brother’s high school coach was a lead assistant. They offered another kid over me. It was Nigel Williams-Goss or Darin Johnson. One of those two. Probably both of them. I wanted to go to the University of Washington and then that happened, so I went to Utah. They showed me the most interest.
“Utah was the only visit I took. I was going to go on my Washington State and Gonzaga visits, but I canceled those after Utah. I just felt like that was a better situation for me.”
(Photo of Brunson: Tom Pennington / Getty Images)
