Virginia’s Ryan Dunn declares for NBA Draft

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia’s Ryan Dunn, one of the top defensive players in the nation, said Tuesday that he plans to enter the NBA Draft and will not return to school.

Dunn, a potential first-round pick, confirmed to ESPN that he will turn pro.

“I had an amazing two years at UVA,” Dunn said. “I’m focused on the next step in my life now. I got really good feedback from the NBA and am ready for the next level. I’m all-in.”

Dunn announced his departure to Wahoo Nation on his Twitter account earlier in the day, writing:

“I want to thank you for welcoming me into Charlottesville with open arms from day one. You have made my time here at UVA special, there is no place like playing at JPJ. I want to thank Coach Bennett as well as the entire coaching staff for believing in me and taking a chance on me! To my teammates, suiting up with you guys has been something that I will cherish forever, you will always be my brothers.

“I want to thank God for placing me on this journey and giving me the strength and courage to continue forward. To my family, you have been by my side since day one on this journey and words cannot express my love and gratitude for your support.”

The 6-foot-8 Dunn, who has a 7-2 wingspan, is ranked No. 31 in ESPN’s projected draft. He averaged 8.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.3 blocked shots and 1.3 steals, while averaging 27 minutes of playing time per game his sophomore campaign.

Statistical guru Danny Neckel noted that Dunn was the only player last season with a block percentage of 10 percent or better and a steal percentage of 3 percent or better, and that the last two major-conference players to post those type of numbers were Willie Cauley-Stein and Nerlens Noel, both top-10 NBA Draft picks.

“Confidence-wise, it wasn’t always there for me just letting it go from beyond the arc,” Dunn said about his shooting, which didn’t develop as expected last season. He made only 7 of 35 attempts from the 3-point arc and was only a 53-percent free-throw shooter. He did most of his offensive damage on cuts to the basket, offensive rebounds and alley-oop dunks, some spectacular ones.

“I’m going to have a whole different mindset with (jump-shooting),” Dunn said. “A lot of my role was being a rebounder and making plays at the rim, I did that the best I could to try and help my team win.”

He is working with developmental coaches in California in pre-draft preparation, hoping to show more offensively in upcoming opportunities in the NBA Combine and team workouts.

The NBA Draft is scheduled June 26-27.

Dunn’s departure leaves Virginia with three available scholarships, and the Cavaliers are actively recruiting the transfer portal in hopes of landing a prospect who can replace Dunn.

One of those candidates is 6-8 sophomore forward Joshua Jefferson of St. Mary’s, who visited UVA last weekend. Jefferson also has visits scheduled with Iowa State and TCU (see related story on this site).

Another is 6-8 grad transfer Toby Okani, a forward from UIC (Illinois-Chicago) who has a 7-foot wingspan and massive hands. He is being pursued by UVA, UCLA, Arkansas, Clemson, Wisconsin and others (see related story on this site). Okani is set to visit Virginia this Thursday.