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Pitt BB Recruiting

Jeff Capel and Pitt In Pursuit of Rising 3-Star 2022 Shooting Guard Ryan Dunn

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The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 hindered the development of high school athletes and prevented them from fully displaying their skills in front of college coaches.

That hasn’t been the case this summer as football players have taken part in prospect camps and basketball recruits have been shown off their skills at various AAU tournaments across the country.

One player that has fully taken advantage of the change that’s drastically improved his recruiting profile is Class of 2022 three-star shooting guard Ryan Dunn from Pennberg, Pennsylvania. After seeing his recruitment get off to a relatively slow start, Dunn has been piling up offers from major programs, including from Jeff Capel and Pitt back on July 11. Currently, Dunn holds offers from Boston College, California, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Marquette, Georgetown, UMass, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, TCU, Texas A&M, St. Joseph’s, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Pittsburgh Sports Now caught up with this rising star to find out what his summer has been like and to get his thoughts on Pitt, who very much would like to add him to their Class of 2022.

Courtesy Ryan Dunn

“This summer has been really big for me,” Dunn told PSN. “Coming into last summer, I didn’t really have all the stuff that I have now and I really just made it a point to lock in and really start working out. My coach really wanted me to play this summer in The Circuit, which was the first time for me and it turned out to be really fun.

“Playing against some of the top talent in the country and me developing and being recognized as one of the top players as allowed me to get on the radar of a lot of top programs. Despite all of this recognition, nothing has changed for me as I intend to keep working and will remain humble. My parents have really helped me to stay grounded. I always remember where I was before I started getting all of this attention and will never forget where I came from. Not long ago, I was somebody that nobody knew who I was so for me, it’s important not to change and to always remain humble because it can go away very quickly.”

The 6-foot-7 Dunn has an all-around game both offensively and defensively, but where does he think he has improved the most from a year ago at this time?

“I think my confidence has improved the most,” he said. “I still think I can work to be a little more aggressive but for me, it’s been about me getting to the rim, making more shots, my passing has gotten a lot better. Every game, as my shots have been dropping, I was just feeling a lot better and became very confident feeling that everything was going to fall.

“I feel my biggest strength is my shooting. I’ve always been able to shoot since I was young because that’s something me and my dad have really worked on. I’ve really worked to be able to shoot the ball from all three levels and can shoot it at a very high rate. One thing that I’m working on is my game with my back to the basket because with my growing, being able to make shots with my back to the rim will be big.”

The Pitt coaching staff has recognized Dunn’s development and very at many of his AAU game this summer which has allowed the two sides to develop a solid relationship.

“I really am impressed with what I’m hearing from Pitt,” said Dunn. “Coach Capel has told me a lot of stuff, including that I’m a great player. He says that he sees a lot of Justin Champagnie in me. He believes that I can come in and play right away because of my versatility and with me being long, that I can really help in Pitt’s offense and defensive scheme. Coach Capel just seems like a great guy on and off the floor. He’s very down to earth and does a good job of keeping up with people and just seems like a very nice person.”

With the school year fast approaching, Dunn told PSN that he plans on talking with his parents about cutting down his list of offers and developing a plan of schools he wants to make official or unofficial visits to.

Sandy Schall, Coldwell Banker
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Dennis Wagner
2 years ago

Like the past 2 years Capel is recruiting the second-tier top players teasing Pitt fans and impressing the AD with offers to the top notch talent. My guess as in the previous years all of these high- level players will sign with other programs as they did in the past and Pitt will be scrambling to fill a roster built on Mid-Amer., players and transfers.

Joe Bunda
Joe Bunda
2 years ago

Capel makes a splash with offers acting like there is hope top level players will play at Pitt. How many has he actually landed (that would be none) and how much longer will Pitt administration and fans put up with this smoke and mirrors nonsense (not much longer after Pitt wins like 2 games in the ACC this season).

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