Chad Ford Dunn Comment

[CT Rhody]

[PeterRamTime]

I could see that happening. Friars gotta find some balance.

[TruePoint]

I think anyone that follows the NBA was left scratching their head when he announced his intention to come back to Providence. It will be fun to watch him, though. Just not sure it's in his best interest.

[Rhody15]

Bad team? That might be a bit much. Yes, maybe the teams won't be as good as the past two years, but I don't see them being a "bad" team.

[bigappleram]

Agreed, they won't be bad just inconsistent due to youth.

[Blue Man]

As much as the Friars lost last year I still expect them to be a bubble team at least. Dunn is a top 10 pick, if not top 5. The cast around him is talented, just young. Cartwright and Lindsey can shoot. Bentil will have flashes all year.

[Gonebarongone]

This is pretty similar to the EC discussion in the other thread. There are a zillion reasons to come back to school. Maybe he just likes being a college kid. Imagine that. But, the benefit of coming back from a draft perspective is pretty slim. Especially when you consider that there is downside out there. Injury, ineffectiveness, weaknesses being exposed, etc.

[RF1]

This is pretty similar to the EC discussion in the other thread. There are a zillion reasons to come back to school. Maybe he just likes being a college kid. Imagine that. But, the benefit of coming back from a draft perspective is pretty slim. Especially when you consider that there is downside out there. Injury, ineffectiveness, weaknesses being exposed, etc.

Unlike Dunn at PC this year, URI should be better on paper in EC's senior year. If the team were to do well in the postseason that year garnering national attention, EC's stock would rise.

[PeterRamTime]

Better for us that he's back. Makes our game against PC a big deal again this year. Better for college basketball when guys elect to stay around.
Not sure how I'd handle it if we lost to PC this year....

[Gonebarongone]

This is pretty similar to the EC discussion in the other thread. There are a zillion reasons to come back to school. Maybe he just likes being a college kid. Imagine that. But, the benefit of coming back from a draft perspective is pretty slim. Especially when you consider that there is downside out there. Injury, ineffectiveness, weaknesses being exposed, etc.

Unlike Dunn at PC this year, URI should be better on paper in EC's senior year. If the team were to do well in the postseason that year garnering national attention, EC's stock would rise.

I just don't think that happens as much as you think. Is there an outcome where he pulls a Shabazz Napier/Kemba Walker and puts a good team on his back on a FF or title run? I guess. Short of that, there are a lot of smart guys in the NBA who take a look at the bigger body of work. By the end of his junior year, EC will have over 100 starts against good comp. Not sure what 30 more does, especially when you figure in there is downside. Everyone talks about Frank Kaminsky, but he only had one season as a starter when he decided to come back. Again, this is only about the draft in a vacuum. Lots of very good reasons to come back. A degree? An NCAA run? But, more downside than upside from a draft standpoint. In my mind.

[RF1]

If you are not basically virtually guaranteed to go in the first round, I would think coming back another year is the better option.

[hrstrat57]

It is nearly certain he has insurance against career ending injury correct?

What is wrong with wanting to experience NCAA hoops and a bit of college life another year......?

A kid who doesn't chase the first almighty dollar, nice I think.

[Ram1019]

As much as the Friars lost last year I still expect them to be a bubble team at least. Dunn is a top 10 pick, if not top 5. The cast around him is talented, just young. Cartwright and Lindsey can shoot. Bentil will have flashes all year.

Watch for Bullock this year too. Very athletic and talented. Along with Bentil and Cartwright they definitely won't be a "bad" team. Just not as good as last two seasons.

[rjsuperfly66]

Ford is not much of a college guy so I'm not surprised by his assessment.
PC is a team whose ceiling is probably ~Top 25/5 seed in tournament, and whose floor is probably NIT.
All the young kids tend to be perimeter players with good looking shots which fit well with Dunn, but they will need to rebound, defend, and hit those shots when the opportunity presents itself.
Tough to rely on consistent contributions from freshmen, but if things click quickly, I can see them having a dynamic season.
But odds are they are probably a little sluggish OOC and play better towards the end of the year and sneak into the tournament with a 9/10 seed, IMHO.

[bigappleram]

I think that 5 seed ceiling is a bit ambitious - but the rest sounds about right. Besides relying upon a lot of unproven or 1st year guys the biggest issue for PC this year will be if/when Dunn or Bentil get in foul trouble. Both are foul prone, and part of their success (and PCs) will rely upon them being very aggressive. There is no doubt that the dynamic play of Dunn will cover up a lot of warts, but if either of those two guys are on the bench for extended periods PC will struggle mightily.

[ATPTourFan]

It is nearly certain he has insurance against career ending injury correct?

Yes, Providence College set him up with a policy to cover himself from the unexpected this year.

[rjsuperfly66]

I think that 5 seed ceiling is a bit ambitious - but the rest sounds about right.

I agree about it being ambitious, but if things click right away, I could see them being just as good as last year if not a little better. I don't necessarily believe that to be true, but it wouldn't surprise me.
That, and a little bit of luck. The re-emphasis on hand-checks made Saturday's exhibition an eye sore. If they call it like they did in November and December of 2013, physical teams are going to struggle mightily and games are going to have very little flow. 45 foul calls, 47 free throws for PC & Stonehill, and that was with no end-of-game fouling. Could further challenge that depth.

[bressler3south]

Personally, I believe PC will have a difficult time cracking the NIT. There's one dynamic player, lots of inexperience and a bunch of question marks.
Has Bentil suddenly become Marvin Barnes, Ryan Gomes -- or even -- Rudy Williams?
Dunn's running mates?
Perimeter defense?
Interior defense?
Bench?
I dunno……
Then again, this discussion is more spirited than what's on the PC board!

[bigappleram]

Bress, agree with you that its more likely based on inexperience, lack of depth, and zero back up for Bentil that they move closer to the floor than the ceiling. That said, having the best player on the floor every night can cover up a lot. Still laugh though that some there compare it to Kemba's team that won the national championship, I guess they dont realize that not only did that UConn team have 3 guys 6'9 ish in their rotation they also had 4 future NBA players on that team, 3 of which were first round picks.

[SGreenwell]

I couldn't really think of a good, recent comparison for Dunn's team this year. Jamel Thomas in 1998-99? John Linehan was only a sophomore on that team, so Thomas didn't have much help, and he wasn't as good of a pro prospect as Dunn is. PC went 16-14 that year and lost in the opening rounds of the Big East tournament and NIT.

Lamar Odom was clearly the best player on the 1998-99 Rams, which made the NCAA tournament thanks to winning the A-10 tournament. However, he was clearly a better prospect than Dunn, and he had a more experienced team around him, with a very good starting five, and some OK bench options. (They went about eight-deep that year.)

(By the way, Odom's stats look like video game numbers now - he shot 53 percent from 2-point range that year, and averaged 17.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and almost a steal a game. If he had been cleared for the 1997-98 team, there's a chance his numbers would have been even sillier, since Mobley and Wheeler were obviously better running mates.)

[Rhody83]

It is nearly certain he has insurance against career ending injury correct?

Yes, Providence College set him up with a policy to cover himself from the unexpected this year.

Not sure if this changed to the colleges being able to buy insurance but I don't think so.
The NCAA started covering the top athletes in football and basketball many years ago. They get insurance for them that pays x million if the player is injured. Dunn would definitely be covered by this.

[bigappleram]

"If he had been cleared for the 1997-98 team, there's a chance his numbers would have been even sillier, since Mobley and Wheeler were obviously better running mates."

If he had been cleared there is a chance we would have cut down the nets that season. Scary good starting 5. Wheeler, Mobley, Odom, ARD, Luther.

[ATPTourFan]

It is nearly certain he has insurance against career ending injury correct?

Yes, Providence College set him up with a policy to cover himself from the unexpected this year.

Not sure if this changed to the colleges being able to buy insurance but I don't think so.
The NCAA started covering the top athletes in football and basketball many years ago. They get insurance for them that pays x million if the player is injured. Dunn would definitely be covered by this.

Kevin McNamara, in the first Projo podcast of the year, said PC set up Dunn with an insurance policy. Whether that means facilitating use of the NCAA's procedure for such things, I don't know.

[TruePoint]

I'm not sure what the rule was before, but it is common now for teams to get these insurance policies for players as an inducement for them to return.