Jay Wright called it an “obligatory meeting” with Jalen Brunson’s parents, understanding the crafty point guard was likely leaving college.
It was right after Brunson’s sophomore season, and Wright suggested the NBA as the next move.
But Rick and Sandra Brunson had other ideas.
“His mom said, ‘Nope, he hasn’t gotten his degree yet.’ And his dad said, ‘He needs another year of learning, he needs another year of basketball IQ.’ ” Wright told The Post. “It was that simple.
“I was like, ‘Is that it?’ His parents are like, ‘That’s it.’ I’m like ‘All right, we get him for another year.’”
The basketball IQ portion of Brunson’s higher learning is well-documented and on display nightly at MSG, the way the Knicks All-Star navigates the pick-and-roll and creates turnovers from the opposition with his heady play.
But fewer know about the academic accomplishment on Brunson’s résumé.
He’s not only the rare NBA player who was drafted with a college degree, he actually finished his credits a full year ahead of schedule — a commitment that underscored Brunson’s ambition and required, more than anything, a sacrifice of his teenage summers.
Put another way: Brunson won two NCAA titles at Villanova, two Big East First Team selections and a National Player of the Year — all while graduating in three years.
“It was pushed by my mom,” said Brunson, who will lead the Knicks out of the All-Star break on Thursday against the 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, the same place he played home games at Villanova. “But I wanted to do it.”
Science was a pain, Brunson said, a bugaboo. But the other coursework — the math and writing — was easy.
He turned down multiple prestigious basketball camps — whether Nike or Adidas — to stay on campus in the summer and take the courses necessary for graduation.
Now 27 years old, he says it was important to set an example for his charity work with the Second Round Foundation (named after Brunson’s NBA draft round), which is involved in educational initiatives.
“How can I push the importance of education if I don’t have my own degree,” Brunson said.
Brunson’s major was communications, which he hopes will someday translate to a career in journalism or media.
Unlike Knicks teammate Josh Hart, also a Villanova graduate, Brunson chose communications with a career in mind.
Hart’s motivation was strictly for the freebie computer.
“They gave Comm majors a free Macbook. And I wanted a Macbook,” Hart said. “So I wanted to be a Comm major. That was really it. Nothing else. I did it for the Macbook.”
Hart was a year older, and Villanova discontinued its Macbook handout before Brunson chose communications. Now the two are podcast partners on “The Roommates Show,” leaping into the self-production media-sphere with higher education lessons on how this should work.
According to a list from Tuesday, “The Roommates Show” was the fourth-most popular sports podcast on Spotify — ahead of Carmelo Anthony’s “7PM in Brooklyn,” “Pardon My Take” from Barstool Sports and “The Pat McAfee Show” from ESPN.
Maybe a communications major is worth something.
But Hart, the quipper, said he wasn’t impressed by Brunson’s three-year graduation timeline.
“If he did it, anyone can do it, honestly,” Hart said.
Most would disagree. And you’d be hard pressed to find another NBA player who graduated college in three years and was drafted.
“Incredible,” Wright said. “Got through a highly competitive academic institution in three years.”
