Providence — Hosannas began raining on Kris Dunn not long after his 32 points, eight assists, six rebounds and five steals last Saturday night, mad props and bon mots from the nation's college basketball pundits, following Providence College's victory over Harvard:

ESPN's Jeff Goodman: "The super-early leader for National Player of the Year? PC's Kris Dunn."

CBS' Jon Rothstein: "If Kris Dunn played at Kentucky, people would be comparing him to John Wall. He's that good. Breathtaking performance."

And yet 32 points, eight assists, six rebounds and five steals hardly told the breadth of The Kris Dunn Effect: an intangible, almost ethereal awareness hovering over the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

It was as if a voice from a higher order had entered the subconscious of the crowd and told them: "This is an event tonight, not just a game, because No. 3 is here."

Maybe PC coach Ed Cooley knew the tentacles of successfully recruiting one of New London High's favorite sons. Dunn didn't get to be a McDonald's All American because he likes the fries. This is beyond basketball, sort of like the LeBron effect in Cleveland. No, Kris Dunn is not LeBron. But his presence in his city is very similar to LeBron's in Cleveland: You go to watch The Man.

True enough, you hardly need a basketball game as an excuse to visit Providence on a Saturday night. Any night, really. It's one of the great food cities in the country. Federal Hill is iconic, not to mention delicious. Even after the Harvard game, 9 o'clock on a Saturday, the regular crowd was shuffling out of the Dunk and Federal Hill was buzzing.

It's exactly what never happens in Hartford or Storrs, where we're running to our cars to hold off traffic phobias or lacking any real alternatives.

But now the Friars have a national name. A star. A local kid of sorts who had many brand-name collegiate options, but chose to play for Cooley because, in the words of Dunn's dad, John Seldon, "I didn't want a coach that was only going to teach him basketball. Kris needed a father figure. He needs a role model. Coach Cooley came from nothing. Coach Cooley is the only one who recruited Kris that discussed education."

It is for these reasons — locality, loyalty — that Dunn resonates with a hard-marking fan base that honors tradition, what with Jimmy Walker, Ernie D, Dave Gavitt, a Final Four banner and teams that captured the fancy of many New Englanders of the 60s and 70s. Now Kris Dunn, who came back for another year, whose ideals transcend the court, who was never a one-and-done pirate, is their guy.

And it's not like the Friars are a lock to make the NCAA tournament. The talent around Dunn may be promising, but hardly a threat to consistency. Yet between having a must-watch kid with the ball and a charismatic coach in Cooley, PC has a recipe for turning Saturday nights — and all game nights — into moments that suggest we're lucky to be here in this place at this time and ought to enjoy it.

The game against Harvard drew around 9,500 fans, a mostly full Dunk save snippets of the upper section behind one basket. There had to be two dozen dwellers (at least) from our corner of the world who are either season ticket holders or folks who wanted to parlay a wonderful dinner with a chance to see one of our guys on the grand stage.

There are a limited number of opportunities — one season — left to see The Kris Dunn Effect. The Friars play home Wednesday night against Illinois. They play BC, Villanova, Georgetown and Butler among others, through the winter. It's an hour from New London, an easy drive with pregame detours to Federal Hill and other eateries that will make our winter nights into perpetual look-forward-to moments.

The Kris Dunn Effect. Catch it soon before he's off to the NBA.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.

Twitter: @BCgenius