Providence sophomore point guard Kris Dunn is planning to pass up a strong chance to become a lottery pick this year to return to school, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranks him as the 13th best prospect for this year, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com pegs him 19th.
The 21-year-old would be well-advised to seek to improve his shot selection and cut down on turnovers, but with versatility, quickness and slashing ability, he’s already a strong prospect, as Ford’s scouting report indicates. He surged to the forefront for the Friars this season after missing all but four games in 2013/14 because of surgery on his right shoulder, averaging 15.6 points, 7.5 assists and 2.7 steals in 34.0 minutes per game. Those numbers in assists and steals were the best for anyone in the Big East, and his assists per game were third in the nation.
Still, the 6’4″ Dunn probably won’t end up any more highly rated among next year’s prospects, Givony tweets, pointing to the shoulder injury, which also limited him in 2012/13, as reason why Dunn’s apparent decision carries risk. Dunn was No. 20 on the Recruiting Services Consensus Index coming out of high school in 2012, so while his stock has improved somewhat over the course of his time at Providence, it appears scouts feel more or less the same about his potential.