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How Kris Dunn Changed the Game at Providence

Dunn year end

We may never be able to fully quantify it — at least not until the next few recruiting classes come rolling in — but Kris Dunn has impacted the national profile of Providence more than any player since the dawn of the Big East.

This season the Friars spent more time in the top 25 than they had since the 1970s. They’ve reached the 20 win mark for the third year in a row — also a first since the ’70s. With a win against St. John’s on Saturday they’ll most likely reach their third straight NCAA Tournament. A first since… you guessed, it the pre-Big East 1970s.

This is hardly all Dunn’s doing. Bryce Cotton was an absolute marvel during a senior season in which he led Providence to a Big East crown and a near upset of North Carolina in NCAA Tournament a week later. A case could be made that Cotton had a better final season than Dunn (although Dunn’s legacy is far from complete with March now upon us).

The Friars were fortunate that Kadeem Batts stuck with the program through a coaching change, that LaDontae Henton took a shot on Ed Cooley weeks after he took over at PC, and that Ben Bentil found his way to Smith Hill. None of this would be possible without them.

And of course, the Friars were equally fortunate that they discovered Cooley when the program was at its lowest point.

Yet, for all it has taken to get Providence back to perennial Tournament contender, Dunn’s return to school after being named both the Big East’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year (the first guard to do so in league history) vaulted Providence from a program with newfound respect to a name that was constantly in the national discussion for a majority of the 2015-16 season.

ESPN, CBS, NBC, and the NCAA all took turns visiting Dunn on campus and featuring him prominently. It became almost commonplace — shocking when considering where we were for the better part of the past 20 years.

Since a surprising run to the Elite 8 in 1997, the Friars slipped farther and farther off of the national radar with each passing year. Friar fans watched as Villanova became a national program and Boston College reeled off 20 win seasons in both the Big East and ACC under Al Skinner, all while Providence slipped into irrelevancy.

There’s work to be done still. Just this fall we learned that Providence’s top recruiting target apparently said he had a better relationship with Cooley than any other coach, but simply couldn’t turn down the opportunity to go to Kentucky or Duke.

The same thing happened a year earlier when Louisville came calling, and the year before that with NC State.

No one can blame a high school prospect for choosing Kentucky over Providence certainly, but that’s what makes Dunn so phenomenal — and such a rarity. He could have chosen Louisville or Connecticut, but unlike the prized recruits who came after him, Dunn took a chance on the coach he trusted most and he’s turned himself into a name as familiar to college basketball fans as anyone in the country.

He proved that high school All Americans can take a chance on Cooley and Providence and develop into one of the biggest stars in the game here.

Providence benefitted immensely from Kris Dunn’s pledge to attend Providence way back in 2011, and even more so by his decision to return last spring.

Did Cotton have a better senior season? Did Eric Murdock? We won’t know for sure for a few more weeks, but for the sake of this argument it really doesn’t matter.

He committed to Providence just months after Cooley took over the reigns at PC, and suddenly the narrative turned to how Cooley would get players at PC (the following classes in 2013 and 2014 included four top 100 prospects and three former top 100 recruits transferred in soon after Dunn committed).

The program’s profile has been on the rise ever since.

In a few months he’ll be the first lottery pick from Providence since 1997, but before then he’ll look to further cement his PC legacy this March.

Despite what comes over the next month, it is a legacy that is already solidified. From his recruitment to his final year in Providence, no player has enhanced the national profile of Providence College more in the Big East era.

Twitter: @Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

 

 

4 Comments

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  2. Derec Lamemdola

    March 3, 2016 at 9:43 pm

    Emall@derecfriarfan@yahoo.com
    Like:Emall@Friarbasketball
    By Kevin Farrahar

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  4. Robin Battig

    March 12, 2016 at 10:42 am

    Neither team led by more than four points in the first half but that changed right out of the gate in the second. Bentil, who was 1-of-4 with some wild attempt from the 3-point line in the first half, banged one in from the corner to open the second. Then he grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Ryan Fazekas for a score and 37-30 lead.

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