Former Temple star, NBA player coaching Camden High School basketball team

Friday, January 31, 2020
Former Temple star, NBA player coaching Camden High School basketball team
Rick Brunson is bringing the same fire and intensity he did as a star player at Temple University and in the NBA to Camden High School.

CAMDEN, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Rick Brunson is bringing the same fire and intensity he did as a star player at Temple University and in the NBA to Camden High School, as the new boys' basketball coach.



"It was a struggle for me but I made it work. I tell these kids to do the same, to achieve their dreams," said Brunson.



"He's pretty intense, but I love it," says Camden star Lance Ware who is committed to playing college at the University of Kentucky.



Brunson describes his style as John Chaney esque, trying to pass on what he learned in the early 1990s from the hall of fame Temple coach



"I try to be a father figure, like coach was for me," Brunson says.



Brunson spent parts of nine seasons scrapping and crawling in the NBA for eight different teams. He was an assistant coach for four different teams and even coached up his son, Jalen Brunson, plays with the Dallas Mavericks after he won two national titles at Villanova.



When Brunson talks or yells these kids listen.



At 14-1, Camden is considered one of the best teams in New Jersey-- looking to win their 1st state title in 20 years, when Dajuan Wagner played here. Ironically his son is a freshman and is one of Brunson's biggest stars.

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