Dan Dunne, a former basketball player for Seton Hall University (1979-1983) and the Puerto Rican National Team is also a coach/scout for the G-League, Harlem Globetrotters and many more.
Dunne is also the Owner of Full Court International, a company he started in 1992 that primarily works on front court player development and coaching.
The 6'10" former center joined SportsJam with Doug Doyle to talk about his career and why giving back to the game of basketball and teaching others the effective front court techniques are so important to him.
"I can't run and jump like I used to do. But I teach others how to do it and do it properly. I was a teacher for 30 years in the Rochester, City NY school district, so I know how to teach. I can take the chocolate power and put it in the milk and mixed it together and make chocolate milk. I have the ability and I can relate to tall players. I've been there and done that. I can look at them eye to eye. I played against the best in the world at my time and I hung tough."
Dunne a full scholarship to attend college and play basketball at Seton Hall. He was 6 foot 10 inches when he graduated high school. Dunne completed college at Seton Hall with his double major in History and American studies. He went on to pursue his Masters degree that brought him to Western New York when he was offered the opportunity to teach, play and coach while attending Niagara University. “I fell in love with Western New York once I saw it,” he said. “It was amazing to see the horses, deer and wide open areas and just how friendly the people were here.’’
Dunne's success as a basketball player came at Long Island Lutheran High School from 1977-79. He was named Honorable Mention Pre-Season All American by Basketball Magazine in 1979. His team ranked number four in New York State in 1978. In 1979, team won New York State’s Alliance of Independent Schools Championship, and were New York State Federation semifinalists. In 2019, he was inducted into the Long Island Lutheran High School's Athletic Hall of Fame.
"That was a huge honor. When I got the call from the athletic director at Lutheran, I thought it was one of my buddies pulling my chain. It took a while to believe I was actually worthy to be named to the hall of fame because there were much better players than me and had better careers who had not been named to the hall. But they told me it wasn't just what they did on the court, but it also how they did in the classroom and how they conducted themselves afterwards. I was like wow. I was just being the man my father, my brother and my coaches taught me to how to be and I was flabbergasted."
Dunne played basketball in the late 70’s and early 80’s at Seton Hall University, one season under legendary Pirates coach P.J. Carlesimo.
Dunne’s basketball career led him to play five seasons professionally in Puerto Rico. His team won the Superior Basketball League Championship in 1978, and Dunne was named to their Olympic Team in 1980. His Puerto Rican Olympic squad did not participate in the Games because of the boycott at that time. That boycott was initiated by the United States and President Jimmy Carter to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Puerto Rico and other countries joined the boycott. The decision was very disappointing news for Dunne.
"My dream was to play in the Olympics. Being named to the 1980 Olympic team was huge. I remember the coach telling me in Spanish that I was going to Moscow. Then all the political things happened. Our Puerto Rican squad was the best talented-wise team at that time."
Dunne also played on professional season in Australia.
Despite all of Dunne’s years and experiences in coaching, the NBA Assistant Coaches program was a once in a lifetime experience for him. He describes the insight and skills received participating in this program as “intense.”
Dunne played against some of the best centers in Big East History and thinks former Syracuse center Roosevelt Bouie was the toughest to play against. He thinks Wilt Chamberlain is the best center ever. He has great respect for the careers of Patrick Ewing (NBA and Georgetown), Shaquille O'Neal (NBA and LSU), David Robinson (NBA and Navy) and Hakeem Olajuwon (NBA and University of Houston).
You can SEE the entire SportsJam interview with Dan Dunne here.
