Virginia Basketball: Ryan Dunn Joins Stacked 2022 Class of Commits
The four-star small forward is Virginia's fourth commitment of the class so far
On Saturday, September 18, 6’6 small forward Ryan Dunn announced his commitment to the University of Virgina.
Dunn, 247Sports’s 108-ranked recruit (95th composite), joins three other future Hoos in the class of 2022: Leon Bond (43), Isaac Traudt (46), and Isaac McKneely (52). Dunn was apparently in contact with McKneely and Bond throughout his recruiting process (for what it’s worth, McKneely hopped on Dunn’s Instagram commitment announcement live stream to comment “Hoos yessir”).
In an interview with 247Sports’s Virginia insider Jacquie Franciulli, the New York native outlined how the team envisions his fit on the roster.
"Just showing me why they are interested in me and what they see in me; saying that I can be a big factor for them," he said. "They said I kind of play like De’Andre Hunter, a lot of their big guards.. a little bit Trey Murphy."
He also spoke with 247Sports’s Eric Bossi about why Virginia made his list of schools to take visits to, mentioning his NBA goals and potential as a late bloomer.
Virginia: “They saw me as a late bloomer which I see myself as. Coach Bennett is a great guy and he’s also a Christian which my family is big on so that could be a good thing for me. They’ve had a lot of guys that are late bloomers go to the league so they could maybe help develop me to get there which is my dream.”
What Dunn brings to the table
Video footage of Ryan Dunn’s game is woefully scarce. As a self-described late bloomer, Dunn had little opportunity to get his games on tape, so what is publicly available is restricted to just a smattering of highlight tapes.
That being said, in the very limited video footage we have of Dunn, there are definite flashes of that “big guard” archetype he mentioned in his interview with Franciulli. I see a lot of Trey Murphy-esque traits in Dunn’s game.
In this video from his AAU team, the NY Jayhawks, the fluidity and smoothness of Dunn’s game really stands out. There aren’t any eye-poppingly athletic moments, but Dunn looks under control and does a great job using the athleticism he does have to finish through and around defenders.
There’s also this video from earlier in the summer, which is filmed a little bit obnoxiously but does showcase some flashier athleticism from Dunn.
Then there’s the three-point shooting ability, which seems to have become an absolute necessity for Virginia recruits going forward as the team shifts their focus to new-age positionless basketball.
Dunn’s shot looks very good if the team’s vision is for him to be a spot-up off-ball jump shooter. He squares to the basket well and (again, from a limited sample size of tape) appears to have a very consistent shooting motion, two things that bode well for his future shooting percentages.
We’re nitpicking here, but if Dunn does eventually want to become a movement shooter, his jumpshot is going to need a wider base — the way he currently sets his feet and brings his knees together when he elevates makes it near-impossible to shoot on the move.
That being said, all signs are that Dunn will be a plus jump shooter: the form generally looks solid, he has a high release point, and he shoots the ball with confidence.
His defensive upside is also very high. In this clip from his summer AAU season, Dunn cuts off an opposing ball-handler’s drive with his length and foot speed, eventually coming up with a block for his efforts.
Knowing how well Virginia develops its players on the defensive end, it’s reasonable to expect Dunn to be an above-average defender against twos, threes, and fours by the time he starts to earn significant playing time.
How Dunn affects Virginia’s future outlook
While we’re on the subject of playing time, it’s probably a good time to wrap up discussion of Dunn’s skillset with a few thoughts on how he will actually fit on the team.
In their first season, Leon Bond and Ryan Dunn will probably be competing with each other for minutes. They both play a similar role defensively, and while I think they will be compatible in the future, Tony might prefer to ease then in, especially if their offensive games seem a little rough around the edges.
I think Bond will probably have a head start in the competition for minutes, but once they get in the gym and actually start playing, Dunn will have a fair shot at playing time.
However, if Virginia starts moving towards a more modern positional outlook in the coming seasons (ball-handlers, wings, and bigs as opposed to PG/SG/SF/PF/C), it could open up some room for immediate playing time. Besides Bond and Dunn, the only wing I’m confident will be on the 2022-23 roster is Igor Milicic. And someone will have to play those minutes.
In 2023-24, if things go as planned, the starting lineup should be: two ball-handlers (one of them being Isaac McKneely), Leon Bond and Ryan Dunn as the interchangeable lanky wings, and Isaac Traudt as the small-ball 5.