Virginia Basketball 2023-2024 Roster Preview: Ryan Dunn

After a promising freshman campaign, a massive sophomore leap is expected of Ryan Dunn. What will it take for him to deliver on those expectations?

Basketball season is upon us. As we march closer to another exciting Virginia men's basketball season, CavaliersNow is previewing UVA's roster player by player in preparation for the 2023-2024 season, which begins on Monday, November 6th against Tarleton State at John Paul Jones Arena.

Today, we analyze sophomore forward Ryan Dunn.

Click on the following links to read our player previews for the rest of the UVA men's basketball roster: Isaac McKneely | Taine Murray | Anthony Robinson | Leon Bond III | Dante Harris | Elijah Gertrude | Blake Buchanan | Jake Groves | Andrew Rohde | Jordan Minor | Reece Beekman

Anyone unfamiliar with the Virginia men's basketball team would take one look at Ryan Dunn's stats last season - 2.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.1 blocks per game and 31.3% three-point shooting - and express confusion as to how this is the player so many people are expecting to be a star in the making and a potential first round pick in the NBA Draft next year. Those who are familiar with UVA basketball and watched Dunn play last season would not share in that confusion. 

It showed itself in brief glimpses and flashes, as is likely for someone who played less than 13 minutes per game, but the raw athleticism of Ryan Dunn popped off the screen at many electrifying moments last season. He didn't score a lot, but the buckets he did score were almost always highlight reel material: thunderous putback or alley-oop dunks, strong finishes as the result of ferocious offensive rebounding, or even the occasional spot-up jumper from the perimeter that showed the potential for Dunn to develop into a more complete scorer. Watch some of his freshman season highlights in the video below:

Dunn has the ideal physical attributes to be a prototypical wing/forward; hence the buzz around him being a possible NBA Draft pick next June. Officially listed at 6'8", 216 pounds, he's likely a little taller than that and certainly plays bigger than those measurements. His wingspan is remarkable and his athleticism shows in both lateral agility and vertical leap. Dunn moves extremely well for a guy his size, allowing him to effectively run the floor in transition and guard any position on defense. 

But before we dive into Dunn's defensive abilities, which are excellent, let's stick with the offense for a moment because that's where the strides need to be made in order for Dunn to turn into a superstar. Last season, Dunn's scoring was produced almost exclusively by either setups from teammates (usually Reece Beekman) or his own offensive rebounding efforts, scoring a lot of putback layups and dunks. Beekman and Dunn connected on more than a few alley-oops and the Cavaliers are certainly hoping that their chemistry will continue to improve. Dunn didn't take a lot of jumpers last season, but showed just enough on the jump shots he did take to indicate that he could develop into a serviceable shooter, enough at least to make opposing defenders respect him on the perimeter. 

Dunn's shooting progress, both from beyond the arc and in the mid-range, will be important, but not nearly as consequential as the development of his ability to create his own shot, something he didn't do much at all last season. If he can show that he can attack off the dribble and find his "spots" - either by driving to the rim or creating space and hitting mid-range jumpers - then his offensive game could explode. Throwing down dunks off lobs or knocking down catch-and-shoot threes are good and will likely be how he gets most of his scoring opportunities, but if he wants to take a big leap this season, Dunn needs to be able to occasionally take matters into his own hands. 

With that said, the defensive end of the floor is where Ryan Dunn is going to "make his money", so to speak. Reece Beekman returns as the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and is a strong candidate to defend his title. But Virginia might have a couple of players capable of contending for that award, as Ryan Dunn certainly has that potential. If either Beekman or Dunn bring home the award, that would mark the third time in the Tony Bennett era that Virginia has had back-to-back ACC Defensive Players of the Year:

2014-2015: Darion Atkins
2015-2016: Malcolm Brogdon
2017-2018: Isaiah Wilkins
2018-2019: De'Andre Hunter
2022-2023: Reece Beekman
2023-2024: ???

We've already talked about Dunn's physical tools, attributes that allow him to legitimately guard 1-5 depending on matchups. One moment that comes to mind from last season was Virginia's win at Wake Forest. Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman were in serious foul trouble and so UVA put Ryan Dunn on Wake's shifty point guard Tyree Appleby and Dunn won that battle. Dunn's ability to defend smaller guards and bigger forwards and even centers gives him unique defensive versatility. His prowess as a rim protector will also be vital, especially considering the question marks the Cavaliers have in the front court. Depending on who Virginia decides to have on the floor alongside Dunn - Jordan Minor, Jake Groves, Blake Buchanan, etc. - his ability to rotate to the paint and erase shots at the rim will be pivotal. And of course, he'll need to grab his fair share of defensive rebounds. 

If Ryan Dunn meets his potential on the defensive end, we could see Virginia return to its rightful place as the best defense in college basketball. There's already two conference defensive players of the year on the roster in Reece Beekman and Jordan Minor. Dante Harris is supposedly an even better on-ball defender as Kihei Clark, and Leon Bond III and Elijah Gertrude have high defensive potential as well. But Dunn might be the key to it all as both a versatile lockdown defender and a smothering rim protector. 

Virginia is hoping to have new Big Three this season with Reece Beekman, Isaac McKneely, and Ryan Dunn each enjoying breakout seasons. But Dunn's "boom" potential is arguably the greatest of those three players. If Dunn indeed goes boom this season, Virginia could ride that wave all the way back to the Final Four. 

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