Shooter Will Dunn Commits To Summit League School

Will Dunn, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard from Edina, is considered one of the best shooters in the state of Minnesota, committed to IUPFW (Indiana University Purdue Fort Wayne) Tuesday evening. The Benilde St. Margaret’s senior-to-be had receive recruiting looks from several top programs, but decided to commit to the Summit League school after recently visiting the campus. Patch.com caught up with Dunn to learn the latest on his decision and expectations for his senior season.

Dunn averaged 9.8 points per game as a junior, leading Benilde to a 23-5 record. He scored in double figures 13 times, including a season-best 19 points in an 86-68 win over Totino-Grace. Unfortunately, they came up one game short of their second straight state tournament appearance as the No. 1 seed was upset by Waconia 62-60 in the section title game.

Dunn averaged 6.2 points per game off the bench as a sophomore for the Red Knights, who finished 24-6. They lost in the state tournament quarterfinals to Grand Rapids 70-61.

Dunn shined this spring and summer as a member of the Minnesota Pump N Run 17-and-under AAU program. They advanced to the Elite Eight in the Best of the Summer in Anaheim at the end of July.

Patch.com caught up with Dunn to learn the latest on his decision and expectations for his senior season.

Edina Patch: What was the main reason you decided to make the decision today?

Will Dunn: I had been talking to the coaches the last couple of weeks after my visit. I just felt that it was the best situation for me and I am really excited about it.

Edina Patch: Did you toy with the idea of waiting to see if there might be some more interest and offers by playing out the season or did just want to have everything done?

Will Dunn: I kind of wanted to get it all finished with recruiting and finish up before the season, so I could just clear my head with all that stuff and not worry about my future because that stuff is set right now and just focus on the upcoming season  and do what we have to do.

Edina Patch: Do you feel like there is a weight off your shoulder all ready even though you just made the decision?

Will Dunn: Yes. It is really nice not to have it up in the air anymore. I know where I am going to be. I know what is going to happen, so I can just focus on now and winning games.

Edina Patch: You are the fourth player from the Minnesota Pump N Run AAU program (BSM teammate Sanjay Lumpkin committed to Northwestern, Rice Lake forward Wally Ellenson will go to Minnesota and Tartan’s Joel Awich is headed to Cal Poly)  to commit to a college in the past eleven days. Is that a coincidence that you have all made your college decisions so close to each other?

Will Dunn: I think that we have all been watching each other and seeing what each other is doing and we are like ‘They’re committing then it’s my turn to commit now.’ We have all been in touch and congratulating each other. I am happy for all my guys.

Edina Patch: What was the reaction of the IUPFW coaches when you called them today?

Will Dunn: They were actually out golfing. The head coach was out golfing and he was pretty pumped up, but he told me that he couldn’t really celebrate that much because he was golfing, but he was super excited. That was good to hear.

Edina Patch: What was the reaction from your friends and family?

Will Dunn: They were really happy for me. They gave me hugs. They got text messages, tweets and all that stuff. I am blessed with a good family and good friends. My AAU coach, Clarence Bethea, helped me a lot. I wouldn’t be anywhere without him.

Edina Patch: You visited IUPFW after returning from a busy AAU season. How was the visit?

Will Dunn: I went there last Friday to check out the campus. It was a real nice campus. I really like the coach. It seemed like a good situation.

Edina Patch: I watched one of your games in Las Vegas (for the adidas Super 64 tournament) and was sitting by the IUPFW coaches. Did you notice them at many of your games?

Will Dunn: They had been calling me a little bit, but I didn’t really notice them at all until I started talking to them and then I noticed them.

Edina Patch: Do you ever notice the coaches (who are often wearing t-shirts or polos with their school colors or logos) at your games?

Will Dunn: I mean when you see a Coach K or Calipari in the crowd, it is hard not to notice. But other than that, you try to zone them out.

Edina Patch: They were your first offer, right?

Will Dunn: I had been talking to some Ivy League schools, but they can’t really offer.

Edina Patch: Last year, you had an excellent season, but came up just short in the playoffs. I know that is a motivating factor that you guys have talked about as a team to get where you want to be, in the state tournament?

Will Dunn: For sure. Last year, we thought that we had a great regular season and we wanted to come into the sections and get to the state. We thought that it could have been our year to win state and it didn’t happen. We’ve got a lot of guys coming back. Our mentality this year is “All or Nothing.” We are going to go for the state championship and if we don’t get that, it is a failure.

Edina Patch: You will have a different look this year with big men Myles Barnes and Evan Battle graduating and Kyle Washington transferring to a prep school in Connecticut. Will your role change at all this year?

Will Dunn: My role will probably stay pretty much the same, but we have a couple of guys sliding into the big man role. Joe Gill is a much improved big man. He transferred in from Orono sophomore year. He has gotten a lot better. He is 6-foot-8 now. Breon Clear. He is a banger underneath. They will probably play along Sanjay (Lumpkin).

Edina Patch: What are your individual and team goals for the upcoming season?

Will Dunn: Team-wise is to win the state championship and individual, just go on and get better every single day and get ready for college.

Edina Patch: What types of things are you working on this summer to improve yourself as a player?

Will Dunn: I want to make my jump shot even more consistent. Explosiveness, ballhandling and getting lower in my defensive stance.

Edina Patch: You played in tournaments in Indianapolis, Chicago, Bloomington, Las Vegas and Anahaeim. How do you think that the summer went?

Will Dunn: It was fun last summer for AAU’s. It was great playing for Clarence (Bethea) and it was fun playing with my teammates for the last two years. We ended up going deep in L.A., so that was fun. It was good run.