Throughout the last year, NBA Draft projections have included Ryan Dunn as a potential pick out of Virginia. With postseason NBA feedback now in hand, Dunn will get a chance to turn those projections into reality.
The sophomore officially declared for the NBA Draft on Tuesday with a message to UVA fans on social media. The deadline to enter the draft is April 27.
Dunn finished his two seasons at Virginia with 358 points, 326 rebounds, 110 blocked shots, 57 steals, and 35 assists. The blocks place him 10th all-time at UVA despite the short two-year career. Dunn piled up 77 blocks this season, good enough for No. 6 on the school single season list. At 2.26 blocks per game, he ranked No. 16 nationally.
For his sophomore season as a starter, Dunn averaged 8.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, and 1.3 steals while shooting 54.8% from the field. He made 61.8% of his 2-point attempts overall and 68.5% of his shots at the rim. He also hit just 20.0% of his 3-point attempts, though that came on just 35 attempts, and 53.2% of his free throws, which came on 77 attempts.
Behind the strength of those defensive counting stats, Dunn posted an 89.3 defensive rating to rank No. 8 nationally in that category. He also logged a 5.6 defensive box plus/minus to rank No. 7 nationally. Per social media stats guru Danny Neckel, Dunn was the only player in the country last season with a block percentage of 10% or better (10.4%) and a steal percentage of 3% or better (3.1%).
That makes Dunn’s case for NBA teams an interesting one. At 6’8” with 7’2” wing span, he blends explosive athleticism off the floor with quickness through space on the floor. That allows him to be a solid defender of multiple positions, which has grown in importance in the switch-heavy NBA, and a terrific help-side defender. He runs the floor and plays with a high motor too, both beneficial for the long seasons at the next level.
The biggest question marks are obviously the shooting splits. While defensive specialists can find a home on an NBA roster, defenders that can also space the floor as 3-point shooters are truly valuable. Dunn did shoot 44% from 3-point range in high school from the closer distance and per ESPN, Dunn said he would be spending the pre-draft process in California working on his shooting specifically.
The NBA Draft Combine is scheduled for May 13-19 in Chicago. Dunn declared himself as “all in” for the draft, but any college player that wishes to withdraw must do so before the NCAA deadline of May 29 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The NBA Draft is scheduled for June 26 and June 27.
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