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Virginia’s Ryan Dunn was selected No. 28 in the NBA Draft by Phoenix: Jerry Ratcliffe

Posted on by Vaseline

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo: Bright side of the sun

Virginia’s Ryan Dunn on Wednesday night became the 10th Cavalier selected in the NBA Draft since 2012, when he was selected in the first round (28th overall) by the Phoenix Suns.

Phoenix traded down (from No. 23 with Denver) to draft the 6-foot-4 defensive specialist. Dunn, who played just two seasons at UVA, was the only Cavalier in the past quarter-century with 50 blocks and 40 steals in a single season.

“Dunn is the best defender in the draft overall,” ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas said.

NBA observers have compared Dunn to former Phoenix wing Mikal Bridges (recently traded to the Knicks) and Portland wing Matisse Thybulle, in terms of his defensive skills. Last season for Virginia, Dunn averaged 8.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.3 blocked shots and 1.3 steals, making the ACC’s All-Defensive team.

He is an elite rim protector and a special defender who can disrupt opposing offenses, especially with a stunning closing speed. Dunn credited Virginia coach Tony Bennett with helping him excel as a defensive player, who was a lockdown performer and could guard multiple positions.

“I’m excited, great program,” Dunn said of visiting the Suns. “They want to win a championship and they have great players to do that, so I’m going to try to get out there and get to work.”

Offensively, Dunn has work to do at the NBA level, but he has excelled at catching lobs, cutting to the basket and screening, all valuable assets considering he will be surrounded by several shooters on the Suns roster. The main criticism is that he was a limited shooter in Virginia and missed a mid-range game.

Dunn joins the following UVA players drafted in the Bennett era: Mike Scott (2012), Joe Harris (2014), Justin Anderson (2015), Malcolm Brogdon (2016), Devon Hall (2018), De’ Andre Hunter (2019), Ty Jerome (2019), Kyle Guy (2019) and Trey Murphy (2021). Hunter, Anderson, Jerome and Murphy were all first-round picks.

Other Wahoos drafted before Bennett in the first round were: Barry Parkhill (1973), Wally Walker (1976), Jeff Lamp (1981), Ralph Sampson (1983), Olden Polynice (1987), Bryant Stith (1992) and Cory Alexander (1995).