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The Divergent Paths of Dunn and Ledo

Dunn vs. Kentucky

In our final “15 in 40” season preview article, Kevin Farrahar takes a look at the two different paths of Ed Cooley’s most prized recruits.

The first time I saw Kris Dunn play I didn’t know what I was watching. Literally.

It was April 2010 and despite a horrible 2009-10 season, the growing sense in Providence was that the Friars were on the verge of making a big dent in the local recruiting scene. These were the days of Pat Skerry, the ace New England recruiter who helped a hurting program land top-75 guard Gerard Coleman a year prior and a top-60 point guard in Naadir Tharpe that March.

Skerry was said to have the Friars in solid shape with Khem Birch, a springy power forward and future McDonald’s All American who committed to Skerry at Pittsburgh after he left PC later that spring.

In April 2010 the Providence Jamfest was loaded. The year prior a team featuring Kyrie Irving and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist took the title, but the 2010 field was deeper: Andre Drummond, Michael Carter-Williams, Alex Murphy, Kaleb Tarczewski, Kuran Iverson, Noah Vonleh, Wayne Selden, Zach Auguste, Ryan Arcidiacono, Cleanthony Early, Markus Kennedy, Birch, Tharpe, and the headliner for the locals, Ricky Ledo.

Ledo was the next star out of Providence, and unlike fellow Rhode Islander Alex Murphy, there were strong indications he wanted to stay home and play for the Friars.

So, I tracked him more than any prospect at the Jamfest. I watched Ledo with Expressions teammates Carter-Williams and Birch as they faced off against Drummond and the Connecticut Basketball Club. I saw Ledo pour in deep 3s off the dribble (if memory serves he scored around 25-27 points), and while the aforementioned four were the headliners, CBC had other prospects I kept an eye on at the tournament. Tavon Allen and Freddie Wilson had decent upside, and Vince Van Nes was certainly tall (the 7 footer committed to Ed Cooley at Fairfield before injuries derailed his career).

I also made a grainy first foray into videotaping the Expressions/CBC game and putting the entire thing on YouTube.

For all the talent in the gym that day and the different projected PC lineups I’d created in my mind, none of them included Kris Dunn.

You know the story by now. Dunn wasn’t a national recruit at the time, and things were about to change at Providence. Skerry was gone a month after the Jamfest, Tharpe was next, and PC fired Keno Davis at the end of the season.

When Cooley arrived at Providence 11 months after the 2010 Jamfest, the idea of Kris Dunn soon followed. That March Dunn’s name began circulating around Friartown as an underrated local point guard that Cooley knew was on the verge of taking off. And he was one of two recruits that could help Cooley make an early statement.

The other, of course, was my Jamfest headliner.

Ledo’s path to prep stardom, and eventually PC and the NBA, stood in complete contrast to that of Dunn. On talent, he was as can’t miss as it came and he had the notoriety that came with it. After leading Bishop Hendricken to the 2009 Rhode Island state title as a sophomore, he would soon settle into the top of virtually every top 25 list.

The state championship was followed by a year at St. Andrew’s, a semester at South Kent, a semester at Notre Dame Prep and eventually a return to South Kent.

His recruitment included a verbal commitment to Davis on Christmas Day 2010, and a de-commitment 35 days later. His reneging came a week after his arrival at Notre Dame Prep.

Eight months later, Ledo committed to Providence once again — this time to a program with more stability under Cooley and a superstar point guard already in the fold.

Dunn became a superstar in his own right in the meantime.

As Cooley expected, Dunn exploded nationally in the summer of 2011. As has become an annual trend, Cooley’s top recruiting target blew up faster than anyone in the country (see: Abu, Mitchell, Gabriel), but unlike any of the stars that followed him, Dunn stuck with Cooley when he could have gone virtually anywhere.

Dunn also stuck with New London. After leading New London High School (CT) to an undefeated state championship, he was named the state’s player of the year. He looked set to join AAU teammate, and the top center in the country, Drummond at Wilbraham & Monson but Dunn returned for his senior season and broke New London’s all-time scoring mark. At season’s end he was a McDonald’s All American and played in the Jordan Brand Classic alongside Ledo.

Providence’s dream backcourt never played a game together again.

Ledo’s eligibility had always been in question, and Ledomania peaked in the summer of 2012 when a fan took a picture of the back of his head as news of him being on campus for the beginning of classes sparked a social media firestorm. Does this mean Ricky is eligible? 

A few weeks later Ledo was deemed a partial qualifier, able to practice but not play with the Friars as a freshman. By February he was quoted in the Providence Journal explaining how he was assessing his professional options. About a month later he announced he was entering his name into the NBA Draft without ever playing a game at PC.

And with that, four years of “Will he/won’t he?” (Come to PC? Be eligible? Stay after sitting?) were through.

Ledo was drafted in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft, played in just 11 games as rookie, did not make a field goal for the Mavericks in year two before being waived and signed by the struggling Knicks, who parted ways with him before this season.

For the the third straight year Ledo is headed to the D League, a place Dunn has vowed to avoid when his time comes.

Dunn will take to the court this season a star in Providence. A star who has persevered through a pair of shoulder surgeries that left more than a few wondering if the Dunn/Ledo recruiting class would bust.

Quite the contrary, Dunn is now playing for a legacy. He’s the rarest of players, not only in Providence, but nationally. CBS’s and NBC’s Preseason Player of the Year could have made the leap to the NBA in the spring and would have likely been a top 15 pick, yet he recognized his shortcomings on the floor and the importance of a degree off of it.

Dunn took a chance on Cooley and Providence four years ago, a leap that Donovan Mitchell, Wenyen Gabriel, Abdul Malik Abu or Kaleb Joseph didn’t in more recent summers. And that’s what makes Ledo less the villain that many in Providence have turned him into, and more like other young players whose dream has looked immediately in front of them elsewhere.

I had to do it. He had to do it. How often do we hear these phrases when it comes to making the leap to the NBA, or committing to a traditional basketball power? You have to go to Louisville over Providence when they come calling. You have to go if you’re going to be a first round pick.

Kris Dunn did neither.

And this is what makes Dunn so rare. Perspective and trust are anomalies in today’s game, as rare as the best player in college basketball wearing the black and white. Dunn trusted in Cooley and it’s paid off.

Twitter: @Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

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2015-16 “15 in 40″ season preview articles:

15. Finding the Range from Deep: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/08/19/15-in-40-finding-the-range-from-deep/

14. Where Are They Now? http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/11/15-in-40-where-are-they-now/

13. Rodney Bullock’s Day Approaching: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/12/rodney-bullocks-day-approaching/

12. Learning More About the Freshmen: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/18/learning-more-about-the-freshmen/

11. Season Preview: Jalen Lindsey: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/20/season-preview-jalen-lindsey/

10. Season Preview: Ben Bentil: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/23/season-preview-ben-bentil/

9: Not Dunn Yet: Video on Kris Dunn’s Career: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/25/new-video-not-dunn-yet/

8. Season Preview: The Backcourt: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/27/season-preview-the-backcourt/

7. Season Preview: The Frontcourt: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/09/30/season-preview-the-frontcourt/

6. Big East Media Day Podcast: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/10/15/provcast-be-media-day/

5. 2015-16 Video Trailer: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/10/16/video-2015-16-trailer/

4. New England Prep Preview: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/10/19/new-england-prep-preview/

3. Putting Ed Cooley in Perspective: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/10/26/putting-ed-cooley-in-perspective/ 

2. Big East and PC Predictions: http://friarbasketball.com/2015/10/28/pc-season-predictions/ http://friarbasketball.com/2015/10/29/big-east-predictions/

 

 

 

 

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