Before Jalen Brunson was a champion, his mother was a Malverne Mules champ
Students watch the Knicks parade in Manhattan at the Davison Avenue Intermediate School in Lynbrook on Thursday. Credit: Neil Miller
Forty years before Jalen Brunson was winning an NBA championship for the Knicks, his mom, Sandra Brunson, was learning invaluable life lessons at Malverne's Davison Avenue Intermediate School in Lynbrook. Four decades later, the school is using the Knicks to teach its students about teamwork, determination and friendship.
"We were very excited when the Knicks won the championship, so all week long we were talking about the importance of teamwork and working together," said teacher Colleen Moran. "We watched a video on the importance of teamwork, and then we discussed how Jalen Brunson's mother was a Malverne alum and her influence not only in the community, but her as a team player for the Malverne Mules."
Like her son, Sandra Brunson, then Sandra Davis, played basketball, anchoring a key role in the Mules' Nassau County championship in 1988. That year, Davis, a sophomore, was named to the National League III All-Division team.
"A lot of the kids didn't know [she went here]," Moran said. "It's a good history lesson for the community members that we have here, and they were very excited for the win."
"The Jalen Brunson connection has made this championship hit so close to home," said Principal Rachel Yudin. "Here in Malverne, we're all about our Malverne pride and the legacy we leave behind. Knowing that we have a piece in this championship, it's reminded us as a team what it means to make an impact. I think it's very cool that when you say the Knicks are blue and orange, you can actually trace Jalen Brunson's blue-and-orange blood back to Malverne."
Malverne school district's colors, as luck would have it, are blue and orange, just like the Knicks. The Malverne basketball jersey that Sandra Brunson used to wear is nearly indistinguishable from an actual Knicks jersey: royal blue surrounded by a singular white-and-orange stripe around the neck and arm holes. Big orange numbers in the middle outlined in white, and "MALVERNE" above them, written in arcing orange letters.
Sandra Brunson, back row, third from the left, with the 1988 Nassau County girls' basketball champion Malverne Mules. Credit: Malverne High School
After graduating from Malverne High School, Sandra went on to play Division I women's volleyball from 1990 to 1993 at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she met Jalen's dad, Rick. To this day, Sandra is Temple women's volleyball's all-time leader in career block assists with 346.
As Jalen and his Knicks were showered with endearment in their ticker-tape parade in Manhattan on Thursday morning, the Davison Avenue Intermediate School was celebrating with them from its classrooms.
"All classrooms were given a clickable PDF where they could explore the history and our connection with Sandra Brunson," Yudin said. "We watched film from the 1973 Knicks championship and the interviews from in the locker room. The kids watched the final few minutes of this year's championship again to experience that exhilaration once again, and we watched the parade live today, of course."
Harrison Thomas, 11, a basketball player himself, has taken inspiration from Jalen Brunson and the Knicks' run this year.
"If the Knicks can do it, then maybe I can do it one day," he said.
