A Growth Spurt And “Attacking” The Process: The Rise Of Virginia Basketball Commit Ryan Dunn

The recruitment of class of 2022 wing prospect Ryan Dunn is something Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.) head boys varsity basketball coach John Buck had never experienced before.

“I’ve never seen someone take off on that type of recruiting trajectory in 15 years of coaching this program,” Buck said, referring to the 6’7”, 180-pound Dunn, who graduated from Long Island Lutheran this past spring and has verbally committed to the University of Virginia. “He outpaced any one year growth as far as recruiting. His senior year was a strange one for us. We’re independent, so we play in tournaments, showcases, non-league type of stuff. During the pandemic, those things were limited. We wound up going 3-0 during his senior year. Ryan was unanimously voted as captain. He practiced hard his senior year. He got better in that time, but I think his leadership skills grew.”

Dunn headed into May of 2021 without a scholarship offer. On May 6, Stony Brook became the first school to offer the then Long Island Lutheran senior, who has now begun a postgraduate year at Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. Dunn’s recruitment picked up steam in June, the first time in over a year that college coaches could watch prospects in person because of the pandemic. Coaches from Hofstra, Quinnipiac, Cleveland St., St. Joseph’s, U-Mass, Towson and St. Bonaventure were impressed, offering Dunn scholarships.

In July, while competing with the New York Jayhawks on the Under Armour AAU circuit and once again able to be seen in person by college coaches, Dunn saw high-major scholarships roll in. Minnesota, Boston College, Marquette, Texas A&M, California, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Virginia, Clemson, and TCU offered that month. Georgetown and Maryland followed suit in August.

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