Knicks star Jalen Brunson's success is no surprise to his Chicago-area high school coach

With the NBA Finals tipping off Wednesday night in San Antonio, New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson has a chance to add another title to the championship résumé he started building at Stevenson High School in Chicago's north suburbs.

Brunson helped Stevenson, in Lincolnshire, win its first ever state championship as a senior in 2015. He went on to win two national titles at Villanova, and now, he is leading the New York Knicks to the NBA finals

This all comes as no surprise to his high school coach, Pat Ambrose.

"It was a matter of time in my mind where he was going to be, at the biggest stage and winning championships for not only his team, but also getting a lot of personal awards like the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals," said Ambrose, now an assistant coach at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

But before all of that, Brunson, a former Illinois Mr. Basketball, was one of the top high school point guards in the country. His unique skillset was noticed early on.

"He was kind of an eighth-grade graduate playing against juniors and seniors, and didn't skip a beat in terms of his ability and his ability to score. Don't ever underestimate the mental aspect of how smart and how sharp he is," said Ambrose. "I call him the basketball savant. You know, it's like one of those 7-year-olds that can play piano at a young age. He has that."

Brunson also has an ability to lead. He was named captain as a sophomore, and in 2024, became the Knicks' first captain in six years.

"Every team he seems to be on, the team kind of propels or kind of elevates their success levels. I attribute that to his kind of personality; his ability to bring people together," said Ambrose. "The thing I always like to share about Jalen is he is a tremendous player, but he's really a much better person than he is a player."

Now, Brunson's sights are set on the ultimate championship which would be the latest milestone of a career that's made the community and Ambrose proud.

"You know, people doubting him, whether he's big enough or strong enough or fast enough or athletic enough, but on the biggest stage in a great moment, he rises up, and has that incredible Game 1 where he goes on that incredible hot streak. But I think it probably was neat to see Game 2 and 3, where he has tons of assists, because Cleveland says… 'We're going to double team you.' He changes his tune and changes his mindset to maintain success for the Kicks and his team," said Ambrose. "That's the chameleon of Jalen Brunson where he knows what it takes to win."

As one might deduce from that comment, Ambrose has watched every game.

"I have. My old line in that one is it's a movie I like to watch. I often know the ending of it. But it's, you know, one of those 'Shawshank Redemption' — you watch it even though you know what's going to happen," Ambrose said. "I still like to watch, because it's so fun to watch him and see him succeed, and through high school I had to best seat in the house."

Brunson's dad, Rick, is a Knicks assistant coach — and is as proud as Ambrose.