Kris Dunn Named AP 2nd Team All-American, Bentil Honorable Mention

PC News Release…

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It was announced on Tuesday, March 29 that Providence College junior guard Kris Dunn (New London, Conn.) was named Associated Press Second Team All-American.  Dunn joined Perry Ellis (Kansas), Georges Niang (Iowa State) Jakob Poeltl (Utah) and Ben Simmons (LSU) on the Second Team.  Dunn is the first Friar to earn Associated Press All-America accolades since Marshon Brooks ‘11 was named to the Third Team in 2011.  Dunn’s teammate, sophomore forward Ben Bentil (Wilmington, Del.), was named Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American.

Last week, Dunn was named NABC Division I First Team All-District 5.  Since the conclusion of the regular season, Dunn has been named First Team All-BIG EAST, BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and BIG EAST Player of the Year. Other honors he has earned are NABC Second Team All-American, USBWA Second Team All-American, Sports Illustrated Second Team All-American, Sporting News Second Team All-American, CBS Sports.com Second Team All-American, ESPN.com Third Team All-American, USA Today Third Team All-American and USWBA District 1 Player of the Year.

Dunn, who is a two-time BIG EAST Player of the Year and two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, joined Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing `85 as the only players in the history of the league to earn Player of the Year twice and Defensive Player of the Year twice. Dunn also is just the sixth player in the 37-year history of the BIG EAST to be named Player of the Year two times. Dunn is the only guard in the history of the league to earn Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.

Dunn, who was the 2015-16 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year, led the Friars to a 24-11 mark and a 10-8 record in BIG EAST play.  The team earned its third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid this season.  The Friars posted a 1-1 mark in the NCAA’s where it defeated Southern California (70-69) before losing to No. 1 seed North Carolina (85-66). In addition to leading the league in steals and ranking fifth in the nation (2.5), Dunn ranked second in the BIG EAST in assists (6.2) and seventh in scoring (16.4). Dunn registered seven double-doubles and one triple-double. Dunn became the first Friar ever to register 1,000 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals. In 95 career games, Dunn recorded 1,214 points (12.8 ppg), 552 assists (5.8 apg), 486 rebounds (5.1 rpg) and 208 steals (2.2 spg).

Bentil, a 6-9 forward, had a breakout season for the Friars. He was named BIG EAST Most Improved Player and First Team All-BIG EAST after he led the BIG EAST in scoring (21.2) and finished fourth in the league in rebounding (7.7 rpg). Bentil scored 20 or more points in 21 of the team’s 35 games, including a season-high 42 points at Marquette. His 42-point effort versus Marquette is the most points ever scored by a Providence sophomore in a game. His 738 points scored for the season ranks as the sixth highest single-season total ever at Providence and most ever scored by a Friar sophomore.