BSM Guard Commits to Summit League School

Will Dunn, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard from who is considered one of the best shooters in the state, committed to Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne last week. The Edina resident and senior-to-be received recruiting looks from several top programs, but decided to commit to the Summit League school after recently visiting the campus.

Dunn averaged 9.8 points per game as a junior, leading BSM 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 for the Red Knights, they came up one game short of their second straight state tournament appearance as the No. 1 seed was , 62-60, in the section title game.

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 recently caught up with Dunn to chat about his decision and his expectations for his senior season.

St. Louis Park Patch: What was the main reason you decided to make the decision?

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.

St. Louis Park 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 you just want to have everything done?

Dunn: I kind of wanted to get 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.

St. Louis Park Patch: Do you feel like there is a weight off your shoulders already even though you just made the decision?

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.

St. Louis Park Patch: You are the fourth player from the Minnesota Pump N Run AAU program to commit to a college in the past 11 days (BSM teammate Sanjay Lumpkin , Rice Lake forward Wally Ellenson will go to Minnesota and Tartan’s Joel Awich is headed to Cal Poly). Is that a coincidence that you have all made your college decisions so close to each other?

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.

St. Louis Park Patch: What was the reaction of the IPFW coaches when you called them?

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.

St. Louis Park Patch: What was the reaction from your friends and family?

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.

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

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.

St. Louis Park Patch: Do you ever notice the coaches (who are often wearing T-shirts or polos with their school colors and logos) at your games?

Dunn: I mean when you see a Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski of Duke) or (John) Calipari (of Kentucky) in the crowd, it is hard not to notice. But other than that, you try to zone them out.

St. Louis Park 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.