Can 'Nova Knicks' Bring Championship Mentality to New York?
There's really nothing quite like winning the annual NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament ... twice.
New York Knicks guards Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo played at Villanova and accomplished that feat in 2016 and 2018. Josh Hart was with them for the 2016 title but was drafted just over a year later.
All three of them were major contributors during their respective championship runs and made the NBA because of it. The only thing that might be better than winning with your friends in college is doing the same in the pros.
The basketball calendar is 10 days away from the one-year anniversary of Brunson officially signing with the team. This week, Hart extended his player option worth $12.9 million, while DiVincenzo signed a four-year, $50 million deal on Saturday after declining his own player option from the Golden State Warriors.
These three bring a championship mentality the Knicks could definitely assimilate to. Their chemistry while donning the navy, light blue, and white is also something that could become contagious in the Knicks' locker room. An argument could be made that chemistry is among the most crucial keys to a championship NBA team, even if it stems from college play.
Probably the best/most recent example would be in another league. In 2019, the Cincinnati Bengals were the worst team in the NFL. With the top overall pick they picked up at the end of it, they would draft LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. The thrower tore his ACL a little past the midpoint of the season, dooming the Bengals to finish his rookie year with a 4-11-1 record.
Burrow's receiving group was among the worst in the league, but so was their offensive line. They had two options with the fifth overall pick in the next draft, where they could choose between offensive tackle Penei Sewell or receiver and Burrow's LSU teammate Ja'Marr Chase.
Burrow and Chase were the leaders of one of the greatest college football teams of all time at LSU, winning the National Championship in 2019. The duo connected 84 times for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns that season, their chemistry through the roof en route to a blowout win over Clemson.
Despite some draft night protests, Cincinnati drafted Chase over Sewell and their chemistry spread to the rest of the Bengals as they went all the way to the Super Bowl. That could be seen as clear proof that collegiate chemistry translates when the former teammates reunite in the pros.
Hart proposed the Villanova reunion idea on June 5.
"There are Nova guys that I'm trying to get to NY," Hart said, hardly able to contain his giddiness over the prospect. "(DiVincenzo's) my guy. I was talking to him the other day ... (Brunson and DiVincenzo) are my brothers and I hope we can share the court for a long time and hopefully in the same uniform."
Hart's "Nova Knicks" plan isn't done yet though, as he's going after Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges, another Villanova teammate. Bridges has since responded, though he's locked into a $90 million commitment to the rival borough, and it thus wouldn't be wise to expect him to also come over.
The new trio is hoping their chemistry rubs off on Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and the rest of the Knicks squad. Their group might even have a step ahead of the aforementioned Bengals: whereas the Bengals struggled the year before the Tigers' rival, the Knicks posted their best season in a decade, winning 47 games and reaching the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
You can follow Hunter De Siver on Twitter @HunterDeSiver.
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