I don't know if you have ever dreamed of such a picture when you were in college: you and your most powerful buddies have entered the society after graduation to work hard, although they have experienced a lot of hardships, but in the end they can get ahead, and even one day, several brothers can get together by chance to fight side by side - to use a more vulgar word to describe, that is, to make an appointment with your good buddies, and one day to "meet at the top".
But the cruel reality of life will soon shatter such dreams, telling you that it is good to live your own life, winter goes to spring, and you know whether you are warm or cold.
What I didn't expect was that in the NBA, a world that is always full of competition, there are really people who have realized such a dream, and even they started from one summit and got together at another summit many years later, as a party, Jaylen Bronson, who was selected as an NBA All-Star for the first time this season, admitted frankly, "Back then, we also had a vision for many things, longing to play in the NBA together, looking forward to living in the future, but we never thought that we could be like today," Bronson paused, "Well, maybe there have been jokes, but it's definitely not a scenario that everybody takes seriously. ”
Yes, who would have thought that those teenagers who came out of the same university, the same team, or even the same dorm room could become teammates again on the NBA-level stage, and even start at the same time on a playoff-level team: Jaylen Bronson, Josh Hart and DiVincenzo from Villanova University are now on the New York Knicks, and they have written the unimaginable comic book plot into reality.
The fate between the three people has been going back more than ten years. In 2013, Josh Hart, a high school student from Washington, D.C., joined Villanova University under the tutelage of Coach Jay Wright. It was also that summer that DiVincenzo and Bronson met at a training camp as high school players in the same division. But interestingly, their first conversation happened just when they were about to break up, and after the event, the two met at the airport, and the sense of surprise pushed them to open the conversation, DiVincenzo from Delaware, although he was only a sophomore in high school at the time, he had already promised to join Villanova University, which was not far from home, so he took the initiative to ask, "Hey, why don't you come to our school too?" ”
Bronson didn't even think much about it, "No, I'm not going." And such an answer was not unexpected. Bronson in high school has become famous in the United States and has been listed as a five-star high school student in the United States by several authoritative **, so he can choose too many schools, and there is no need to succumb to Villanova like Hart and DiVincenzo - you know, on ESPN's list of 2013 high school students, Hart is only ranked 92nd in the United States; DiVincenzo ranked 80th in the class of 2015, and Villanova University, as a small but not prestigious basketball school, generally recruits players of this grade.
But just a year after Bronson rejected DiVincenzo, things took a 180-degree turn. After some setbacks in 2014, Bronson began to look for change, and his final list of options narrowed down to just two schools: the University of Illinois in his hometown, and Villanova, which DiVincenzo had already selected, and Villanova because of his appreciation for Coach Jay Wright's knowledge.
So, when the Villanova varsity players reported for duty in the summer of 2015, the freshmen Bronson and DiVincenzo were placed in the same dormitory, and at the same time, they and Hart officially became teammates.
Despite being thrown into the same dormitory, Bronson and Devon soon discovered that their personalities were not the same, DiVincenzo was more quiet, and his biggest hobby in the dormitory was to entertain himself with a game console, while Bronson was completely different, not only turning up the songs of Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift to a deafening volume, but also talking to DiVincenzo endlessly, and always saying that Devon put down the game and concentrated on chatting with him.
But in addition to the fact that he was too enthusiastic and made DiVincin scratch his head, Bronson had some even greater merits that made DiVincenzo soon treat him as a true friend.
After they became roommates, they went to training, competitions, and meals, and the two often went in and out together, but as a five-star high school student, Bronson could get star-level treatment on almost any occasion, and he was hugged back and forth, but DiVincenzo, who was not very characteristic in appearance, was often overlooked, and almost no one knew that he was also a member of Villanova's varsity team.
Fortunately, Jay himself will never lead in that direction," DiVincenzo introduced the beginning of their friendship, "In order to take care of my feelings, whenever someone calls him, he will immediately introduce who it is, and he will not let me be left out in the cold." ”
As a result, it no longer matters how loud the mildew ** is in the dorm, and DiVincenzo begins to regard Bronson as his best friend. But the beginning of his and Josh Hart was a completely different script, and it can even be regarded as not knowing each other.
In the 2015 summer camp, Hart, as the main player of the upcoming junior year, often played against first-year rookie substitute DiVincenzo, and the two of them were incomprehensible personalities on the court, which often caused a little friction. In addition, Hart is a squirting and noisy character, and when he returns to the locker room, he often catches Devon and gives him a senior lecture.
But unexpectedly, DiVincenzo didn't buy the set of "rookies should swallow their anger", he felt that he had done nothing wrong, and he would never bow his head easily. So when Hart repeatedly taught himself a lesson, DiVincenzo suddenly broke out, and in the power room, a major conflict broke out between the two of them.
How dangerous is this conflict? DiVincenzo had already picked up a 10-pound dumbbell piece at that time, and shouted to Hart, "You say it again, Lao Tzu immediately threw this weight plate over", Hart's mouth of course did not stop, so the dumbbell plate really flew out, Ding Ling was long, and the two of them almost moved their hands in the power room, fortunately no one was injured, but a power room was almost a mess because of this.
I remember it was the last day before school started," Hart remembers the incident vividly, "and we broke the team's power room, and everyone went to the regular student power room to train that day, and then we had to hurry up and get the team gym up, after all, the other side wouldn't let us borrow it right away." ”
By the time Bronson arrived at the scene, the conflict was almost over, but the mess in front of him made him realize what kind of personalities the two guys had. It's just that now, this has become an interesting story that makes the parties laugh in retrospect.
Deven and Bronson are sympathetic to each other, Hart and Devon don't know each other, so another part of this triangular relationship: between Bronson and Hart, in fact, is the most popular connection today, after all, the above story sharing is even produced from the ** podcast "Roommate" (roommate) created by the two people now, DiVincenzo appeared on the show as a guest, and it is even said that he has declined three invitations before, which shows that Divin's personality is not so fond of talking.
But Bronson and Hart are two out-and-out talkers, and in today's era of NBA player podcasts, these two are naturally unwilling to be left behind, and they have also started their own daily sharing plans.
Outside of the show, the two of them were also full of laughter everywhere they went, including when the curtain opened on training camp this season, Bronson also pretended to say to reporters, "I hope you don't ask me about Josh anymore, and Deven is the same, I don't know them well, we are just business partners." ”
As a cold-faced joker, Bronson himself said that there was no laughing scene, but he should not forget the trade deadline a year ago, when he returned to his alma mater Villanova to retire his jersey number, before the ceremony, he happened to receive a push from his mobile phone that Hart was traded to the Knicks.
So Bronson was quick to tell the truth, "Okay, I don't lie to you. Life now, indeed, often makes us feel like we're back in school, competing with each other in training, and sometimes even skirmishes. But if you look at where we are right now, it feels like it's so special. ”
In fact, the Knicks had four Villanova players at the beginning of the season, and the trio's grandmaster, Ryan Archidiacono, was also on the lineup, and these four players can be said to have accompanied Coach Jay Wright to build the glory of Villanova's "little dynasty" in college basketball.
In 2016, Villanova won the NCAA championship, and Hart, who was selected to the All-American team, was the team's strongest player that year, but Archidiacono was just as important, and he was selected as the MOP in the final four of the NCAA that year; In 2018, Bronson, who was already a junior, evolved into the strongest player in the United States, almost sweeping all major individual awards, but in the championship journey that year, DiVincenzo's play should not be underestimated, especially in the final battle against the University of Michigan, DiVincenzo scored 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting as a substitute, and was also elected as the MOP in the final four of this year - it can be said that the superposition of the individual honors of these four players basically represents the whole process of Villanova's rise as a new giant team.
But in 2024, Archidiacono was sent away by the Knicks as an add-on in a trade, but the Villanova Gang's status in New York has entered a new level. Because Barrett and Quickley were traded, Randle and Anunoby were injured one after another, DiVincenzo and Hart came to the starters from the bench, which made every recent home game of the Knicks, when introducing the starting five Tigers, the on-site MC would repeatedly chant, "From Villanova, from Villanova, from Villanova." ”
This magical sense of hearing made Bronson feel too unreal.
According to a survey in New York**, three players from the same university started together on an NBA team, and only appeared in the past half-century when Rick Pitino was at the helm of the Celtics in the 1997-98 season. Having just been re-hired from the University of Kentucky to coach in the NBA, Pitino chose to bring in a lot of his old division in terms of personnel, and the Green Army roster at that time had four players from Kentucky, including Walter McCarty, Ron Mercer, and Antoine Walker were the top three starters on the team. However, the use of these players by Pitino himself is inevitably suspected of "entrainment", which is still a different concept from Thibodeau's trust in the Villanova trio.
What's even more impressive is that these three players have performed really well this season. Especially in the current situation where the Knicks are extremely short of personnel, they have worked together to support the crisis in New York, so that the Knicks still retain a place in the top four in the East.
Among the three, Bronson's performance has gone without saying, how many people have been crying out for his failure to start before the All-Star, and when the season is over, Bronson is entirely likely to be the best team candidate, and give him 4 years 1The $0.4 billion contract is already one of the best investments in Knicks history;
DiVincenzo climbed into the machine-gun position after the team's outside firepower was missing, and took on the strong output of three-point firepowerSo far this season, he has made 192 three-pointers, a number that is second only to Curry and Doncic in the leagueEven after coming to 2024, DiVincenzo's three-point production has ranked second in the league;
Hart's recent performances have been equally jaw-dropping: he's had rebounded double-doubles in eight straight games before the All-Star break, and he's only rested for three minutes and 28 seconds in the last twoHe is 1.93 meters tall but grabbed 37 reboundsAmong them, against the archrival Cavaliers, he not only scored his third triple-double in more than a month with 13 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists, but even in the final moments of the game, he shot a winning step-back three-pointer against the tall Mobley, and led the Knicks to a dangerous ride when Bronson retired with an injury that day.
After the ball was thrown, Hart turned around and even inexplicably grabbed a necklace from Donovan Mitchell, showing his "annoying" quality as always. But in fact, his former teammates and current teammates are extremely fond of this big living treasure who is both playful and joking, and who doesn't like a serious and lively work partner? Recently, Hart also posted a photo of the three of them on social media, saying, "My brothers are my mother's good children."
The 2024 Knicks are still looking forward to their goals for the season after the return of injured players, and the three players from Villanova are now in the top five on the team in terms of victory contributions, which shows that no matter what the goal, these three players will be key figures in the rebuilding of New York basketball's glory.
Of course, the magical scene of being able to come from the same campus, the same dormitory, and be able to fight side by side is a magical scene for the three players themselves. But behind the magic, it is the story of them being despised one after another in their basketball life, but finally winning back respect. Whether it is Hart and DiVincenzo, who were not favored in middle school, or Bronson, who was reduced to a second-round pick in the draft, they all gradually stood out after entering the NBA with their excellent basketball awareness, super execution and team spirit, and all of this depends on the careful cultivation of Villanova University.
For example, in the recent Knicks narrow victory over the Pistons, the three not only scored 20+ points in the same game for the first time in their careers, but also completed the cooperation drama of DiVincenzo's steal, Bronson's pass, and Hart's stunner at the last moment, which fully reflects the unparalleled practicality of these players. They have been in college for at least three years and have done all the preparation work before they can take the most important step towards the NBA.
Therefore, the happiness of these three players today is not only a beautiful story, but also conveys a kind of basketball values: in today's basketball world, there are too many talented young people, but at the same time they are unruly, disdain to follow the rules, and only pursue natural liberation; Only a school with modest talent like Villanova will have the patience to give everyone the right guidance, to pass on the correct basketball philosophy, deep-rooted team spirit, and even the inner motivation to constantly push through their own limits.
People who really practice these qualities will be regarded as treasures not only on the basketball court, but also in any field.