The three of them were NCAA champions together at Villanova, but the trio of former Wildcats appreciate how rare it is that they likely will be sharing a starting lineup with the Knicks for as long as Julius Randle is sidelined.
Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo have been joined as starters by Josh Hart over the past two games, blowout victories over the Hornets and the Jazz that have vaulted the Knicks into the lofty third playoff position in the Eastern Conference entering Thursday’s home game against the Pacers.
The significance and rarity of starting together in both college and the pros certainly is not lost on the longtime trio.
“Yeah, it is. I’m not gonna lie,” said Brunson, who is fully expected to be named an All-Star for the first time in his career Thursday night. “Every now and then I’ll think about all of us, like, back at school, competing in practice, getting after it, having little mini fights back then. And then to see where we are now, it’s really special.
“So, yeah, it’s really cool to see. You don’t really see it too often, if ever. To hear the starting lineup saying ‘from Villanova, from Villanova, from Villanova,’ that’s pretty cool.”
There may be others, but The Post found at least one similar example: the 1997-98 Celtics had Antoine Walker, Walter McCarty and Ron Mercer each start at least 62 games under their former college coach Rick Pitino after they also were teammates at Kentucky.
Brunson finished one point shy of another 30-point game against the Jazz, but he still has managed nine of them while appearing in 14 games during the Knicks’ 14-2 run in January.
What's happening on and off the Garden court
Sign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.
Thank you
He missed two games earlier in the month with a calf injury, but as DiVincenzo said after scoring 33 points Tuesday night, the next-man-up mentality is Tom Thibodeau’s “blueprint” for success.
To wit, Hart and Precious Achiuwa have stepped seamlessly into the Knicks’ lineup in the absence of Randle (shoulder) and OG Anunoby (elbow) in the past two games, with Hart recording the first triple-double of his career against Utah.
Hart had joined his Villanova brethren in the starting lineup twice before this season, against the Wizards with since-traded RJ Barrett sidelined on Nov. 17 and again with the Knicks playing shorthanded in Indiana on the day of the Anunoby trade on Dec. 30.
“It’s cool, man. It’s dope,” Hart said. “It’s obviously something that we never thought about. Obviously we were in countless lineups together at Nova, but to have something like that, guys that you shared the court with for I don’t know how many games in college, and just seeing the progression individually, it’s really cool to see.
“I think the first time that we did it was the first D.C. game in D.C., and it’s funny cause the announcer was like, ‘and also from Villanova.’ So it was just cool, but it’s definitely dope.”
Like old friends are wont to do, the three players — along with little-used reserve Ryan Arcidiacono, another Villanova alum — often tease each other.
For instance, DiVincenzo last week termed a rare Brunson dunk as “weak,” rating it a “one” out of 10.
Brunson returned the jab following Tuesday’s game, joking that DiVincenzo getting rejected on two dunk attempts as “one out of 10.”
But Brunson provided a far higher score when asked about his former college mate’s impact since joining the Knicks as a free agent last summer.
“His work, I think, has been consistent,” Brunson said of DiVincenzo. “It gets better and better every single year. Now that he’s growing as a player and then, just the way, the confidence he has no matter what the situation is, comes from his work ethic.
“Seeing that is special and like I said before, it was really cool seeing guys you used to work with almost eight, seven years ago, whatever it was, and seeing where we are now is pretty cool.”