University of Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman and his staff’s love of basketball is equaled by Barry Dunning’s love of the game which intrigues the ESPN 4-star junior prospect.
“Those guys really love basketball,” Dunning said. “I can tell they really love basketball. They breathe, sweat, sleep basketball. Eat basketball. That’s all they do. I’m the type of person I love basketball, too. That’s what really hooked me on, they just really love basketball.”
Dunning, 6-6, 185 pounds, of Mobile (Ala.) McGill-Toolen Catholic is also rated ESPN’s No. 9 small forward nationally and the No. 32 overall prospect in the nation for the 2022 class and the No. 1 player in Alabama.
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Arkansas’ director of basketball operations Anthony Ruta keeps him informed about the program while giving off a strong family atmosphere feel.
“I love Coach Musselman and his staff,” Dunning said. “They send me a lot of stuff about the program and what they’re all about,” Dunning said. “How they work, the campus. I really love Arkansas. It’s really family-based. Just a group of people that have a set goal and work hard for it. That right there really got me.”
Arkansas, Auburn, Alabama, Memphis. LSU and Ole Miss are some of his 10 scholarship offers. Dunning was able to watch the Hogs during a recent practice on Facebook Live.
“They’re really energetic, fast-paced,” Dunning said. “Anybody on the floor can score. Most of the players are position-less Someone from the 4 can play the 3 or the 2. The 1 or 2 can play the 3 or the 4. They just like to get on fast breaks and run to open the offense which I like.”
Dunning averaged 15.7 points,10 rebounds, 1.9 block shots and 1.4 steals a game as a sophomore. He was the only sophomore named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s first, second and third Class 7A All-State teams while being selected to the first unit.
He hopes to play at the highest level after college while pursing his goal of being orthopedic doctor.
Musselman and all of his assistants have NBA experience while director of student-athlete development Earl Boykins played in the league for 13 years.
“That’s been a dream of mine to play in the NBA and going to school and becoming a doctor,” Dunning said. “Us guys coming into college we all have dreams and ambitions to make it to the league.They’re just trying to give us the knowledge and information.”
Dunning is taking his time with the recruiting process but notes he does like the Razorbacks.
“Right now, all I can say is I just really love Arkansas,” Dunning said. “I really enjoy Arkansas. I really don’t have a top five or top three right now. I’m still a kid also, so I still want to enjoy my years and take my time.”
As a young kid, Dunning said he grew up curious why injuries occurred and that led to his desire to go into medicine.
“I was wondering why this person got hurt,” Dunning said. “Why he made that move and now his foot is hurting. I remembered I jammed my finger, and I was like why by doing this little thing it jammed by finger all of sudden. I guess as a little kid I wanted to know and school is a passion for me.”
Playing in the NBA and becoming a doctor seems like daunting task, but Dunning is confident he can pull it off.
“We have offseason and I’ll just go during the offseason,” he said. “Study and go to school. All I’ll be doing is basketball, so I could do school at the same time.”