NEW YORK – Kris Dunn’s Providence College career is rapidly coming to an end, which surely pleases the Big East’s head coaches.
Just ask Jay Wright.
“We’re very happy about that,” Villanova’s head coach said with a smile after the Wildcats defeated the Friars, 76-68, on Friday evening in a Big East Tournament semifinal at Madison Square Garden.
Dunn, a redshirt junior point guard and the projected No. 5 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft according to DraftExpress, endured a rough night against Villanova .He scored just nine points on 1-for-9 shooting to go along with six assists and three turnovers in 40 minutes. Dunn was not made available to the media.
That effort came one day after he had 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting and seven assists in a quarterfinal win over Butler in which sophomore forward Ben Bentil torched the Bulldogs for 38 points and eight rebounds.
“I’ve talked to a number of NBA friends that have just asked me,” Wright said. “I really believe this. I said, ‘If you want to get a player to run your team and build your team around at the point guard position, there’s nobody better. And if you want a character guy to represent your organization in terms of character and being a great teammate off the court, you can’t get a better guy.’
“We really believe that. All our players, team, we have great respect for him.
After somewhat surprisingly deciding against entering the NBA Draft last June, Dunn is a mortal lock to declare this spring. His scoring is up, his turnovers are down, and while his assists are down, too, averaging 6.4 per game is nothing to scoff at.
Had he not been saddled with shoulder issues early in his career, it stands to reason Dunn, the No. 1-rated high school point guard in the class of 2012, may already be a pro. With the injuries behind him, Friars head coach Ed Cooley is hoping to get one great March run out of Dunn, something Providence hasn’t had in a long time.
The Friars have not advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since the vaunted 1996-97 team, which featured God Shammgod and Austin Croshere, lost in overtime to Arizona in the Elite 8.
“I think just the awards he from the peers, our counterparts in our league goes to the respect I think they have for him in our program,” Cooley said of Dunn, who was named Big East Player of the Year on Wednesday, after being named Co-POY with Ryan Arcidiacono last season. “Hopefully, he can lead us somewhere we haven’t been in a long, long time.”
While Dunn will leave Providence early, a decision on Bentil’s future will be interesting to watch unfold. He is currently slotted as the No. 46 pick in 2017, but could opt to at least test the draft waters this spring.
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