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Learn about new Suns F Ryan Dunn, ‘a tireless worker,’ from Virginia assistant Orlando Vandross

© Hannah Pajewski-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns traded back six spots in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft Wednesday and still got the player they wanted in Virginia forward Ryan Dunn at No. 28 overall.

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In his sophomore 2023-24 season, the 6-foot-6, 21-year-old Dunn led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with 2.3 blocks per game and also averaged 1.3 steals to go along with 8.1 points on 54.8%/20%/53.2% shooting splits, 6.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists, starting all 34 games for the Cavaliers and receiving ACC All-Defensive Team honors.

“What the Suns’ fans will be able to see early with Ryan is his passion and his energy, his defensive prowess and the multiple efforts that he’s going to give,” Virginia assistant coach Orlando Vandross told Burn City Sports. “He’s an energy guy. That’s what I think they’ll see initially.”

In this exclusive interview, Vandross gave an inside look on what Dunn will bring to the Valley and his journey to the league.

Dunn’s journey to becoming an NBA Draft prospect

Dunn was originally a three-star recruit coming out of high school at the Perkiomen School (PA) and was the lowest rated of the four players in Virginia’s 2022 recruiting class by 247 Sports. He played at three separate high schools on his journey to playing for UVA.

“When I initially saw him, he was a long, dangly kid, but he was athletic,” Vandross said. “He played with a lot of passion, a lot of energy. And in the recruiting process, I got to meet him and his family, and I just thought he’d be a great fit for UVA.”

As Matt Newton, the managing editor of Sports Illustrated‘s Cavaliers Now site, discussed on an upcoming episode of the Burn City Suns Talk Podcast, Dunn wanted to be at Virginia so badly that he was originally willing to join the team when there were no open scholarships, meaning he would have began his collegiate career as a walk-on. Eventually, a late scholarship opened up and was awarded to him.

Dunn only logged 13 minutes per game across 31 contests his freshman season, averaging 2.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. Despite Dunn’s class ranking and low minutes his freshman year, Virginia always saw his potential.

“As he was developing here at UVA, the one thing that was clear is that he loves the game,” Vandross said. “He’s a tireless worker. He stays in the gym, he competes every day. And he was able to play early as a first-year guy, (but) play not as much minutes that he would like, that was more of a veteran team at the time.”

To Vandross’ point, Suns general manager and president of basketball operations James Jones used these exact words, “tireless worker,” in describing Dunn earlier this week.

“I think it goes without saying if you ask his coaches, his opponents, the kid’s a tireless worker,” Jones said.

Virginia lost four of its top five scorers after Dunn’s freshman season, allowing his minutes per game average to more than double to 27.6 in the 2023-24 season.

“(Dunn’s) second year, this past season, he was asked to do so much in a prominent role, to defend multiple positions, get out in transition, play above the rim, and I thought he did everything he could to help his program to win games,” Vandross said.

Dunn’s defense

After averaging an impressive 3.6 stocks (steals + blocks) this past season, Dunn was considered arguably the top defender in the 2024 draft class.

When talking with the Suns, Jones said that Dunn “was adamant (on) his desire to become an elite defender honestly, first and foremost. That’s something that I think we could really benefit from.”

He later added: “The goal for us is to have an elite, lockdown defender, or at least someone that can take the challenge every day and make it extremely difficult on the opponent’s best scorer.”

Vandross has been at Virginia for 10 seasons and observed several top defenders at the school, which is regarded to be among the best defenses in the country year in and year out under coach Tony Bennett.

“(Dunn) would be in the argument for one of the better defenders that played under coach Bennett and in this program,” Vandross said. “The one thing that he does is, because of his length, he can shut down space. I think a lot of times, people don’t realize how long he is until they see him up close. But I know in the NBA, (there are) a lot of guys similar to his size and his length, but his effort, multiple efforts and energy that he plays with, will stand out immediately (and) that will give him a chance to be a good defender.”

Dunn finished second in the 2023-24 ACC Defensive Player of the Year voting, losing out to his teammate Reece Beekman (had 43 votes to Dunn’s 19), who signed a two-way deal with the Golden State Warriors as an undrafted free agent Thursday.

Some highly-touted defenders have come out of Virginia in recent years, most notably including De’Andre Hunter (No. 4 overall pick in 2019) and Trey Murphy III (No. 17 overall pick in 2021).

How does Dunn stack up to these players and other great defenders who have been in Virginia’s system?

“He’s in the conversation,” Vandross said. “I think eventually he’s going to establish himself with more experience, and obviously he’s still growing. He’s really young, and he’s going to improve his body physically. So I think those are the things that I know that he has the ability to do. I just think that he has a chance to impact the team with his defensive prowess.

“I think he can be a really good defender when it’s all said and done. That has to be his calling card to impact the Suns.”

Can Dunn become a better shooter?

Dunn’s offensive game, however, is a different story. He only shot 20% from 3 (7-for-35 on the year) and 53.2% from the free-throw line last season. This 3-point shooting percentage was 11.3% below what he shot as a freshman and comes after he shot 44% from 3-point range for Long Island Lutheran High School in his 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

With that said, Jones said that if Dunn improves quickly as a shooter, Phoenix might have “found a gem.”

“He’s improving and what he was asked to do a Virginia was defend, and he relied on his athleticism,” Jones said. “The shooting isn’t where he wanted it to be or where we think it will be in a few years. But he’s an impactful player and great players find a way to impact the game, not just with the offensive box score. I’m confident with our staff, with (new coach Mike Budenholzer), our coaches, that he’ll be primed to improve as a shooter.”

His offensive skillset might be limited, but his finishing ability certainly has promise. Per Hoops Math, Dunn took 62.5% of his shots at the rim in the 2023-24 season, converting 68.5% of them, while showcasing his freak athleticism and transition scoring on several of the looks. He also grabbed 2.2 offensive rebounds per game last season.

Being around Dunn, Vandross knows his work ethic and will to improve and that doesn’t change when it comes to his shooting struggles.

“The one thing that I’ll tell you is that he is a worker, and I think he’s going to do everything in his power to address the shooting and work at it,” Vandross said. “I think with the development plan that they have in place for him and the people around him, with the Suns, I think he can improve.

“In incremental stages, you’re going to see signs of improvement because of his willingness to work at it.”

What to know about Dunn as a person

Vandross did not have any specific stories to tell about Dunn, but wanted to share an interesting tidbit.

“The one thing I could tell you is he’s such a team guy,” Vandross said. “Obviously going to miss him as a player and things of that nature, but he was probably our best recruiter on our staff. He was phenomenal helping with the recruiting visits and things of that nature. That’s one thing I’m going to miss about him.”

Vandross described how he sees this translating over to Dunn’s career in Phoenix.

“He’s definitely a people person,” Vandross said. “I think he’s going to try to embrace the community there in Phoenix and try to make a difference outside of basketball. (He’ll) want to make sure that he’s doing something to help and bring someone else along and help them in their life.”

The draft process, fit in Phoenix and Dunn’s ceiling in the NBA

Dunn officially declared for the 2024 NBA Draft on April 16, a little under a month after the No. 7 Cavaliers (23-11 overall) lost to No. 10 Colorado State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

He then went on to the NBA Draft Combine, where some of his measurements were among the best of the 78 participants. Dunn was 17th overall and fifth among forwards with a 7-foot-1.5 wingspan. He also recorded a 38.5-inch vertical leap, which tied for 14th among participants and fifth for forwards.

Vandross described what his conversations were like with Dunn during the pre-draft process.

“It wasn’t a lot of basketball talk,” Vandross said. “I was able to go out to the combine. I know he didn’t play, but he tested and did things of that nature. And I was just there to support him. He was excited to compete. He has a team of coaches and his agent and everyone around him, supporting him.

“I was just there to support him and let him know that, ‘Hey, listen, UVA will always be behind you.’ It wasn’t like extensive basketball talks. It was more, ‘We’re here to support you, try to help you, move you forward in this journey.'”

Dunn worked out for Phoenix last Thursday. In a video posted by the Suns’ X account, Jones is seen telling Dunn: “I told you, post-workout, we’re going to make it happen.”

So, despite trading back six spots, Phoenix got the player it coveted, as well as the No. 56 pick and the Denver Nuggets’ 2026 and 2031 second round-selections. The Suns would eventually package this No. 56 pick to move up to 40 and select Marquette big man Oso Ighodaro. 

In the Valley, Dunn most notably joins three stars in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. From the Suns’ perspective, a young, 6-foot-6 wing with a massive wingspan who can defend 1-5, is exactly someone you want to compliment these caliber of players.

Being around these three stars, who are all among the best offensive players in the league, is a little bit of a stark contrast to Virginia, where only two players averaged double-figures and no one really shined on the offensive end. In the 2023-24 season, the Cavaliers ranked 345th (out of 351 teams) in the nation in scoring offense at 62.9 points per game, but third in the country in scoring defense, only allowing 59.7 points per game.

What does Vandross think of the fit from what he saw of Dunn in college?

“When you have three high-level players, he’s gonna benefit from whatever they create for him, because he’ll be able to slash, cut and also make multiple efforts on the glass, things of that nature,” Vandross said. “I think it’s gonna be a fit, and he’s going to learn how to be a pro from those guys on an everyday basis.”

Vandross said that Dunn has a “high ceiling” as an NBA player and circled back to his work ethic for his reasoning.

“I think he has a high ceiling because of his athletic ability and his willingness to work, and I think he’s going to get better, again with the right people around him,” Vandross said. “I believe the Suns are the right organization for him, and they believe in him. I think they’re going to get a guy that’s hungry. Ryan’s going to give them everything he’s got to really make sure that this works well for everybody.”

Suns share draft phone call with Virginia’s Ryan Dunn

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

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