Kris Dunn's fashion statement makes New London proud
New York — Kris Dunn made a fashion statement at the NBA Draft.
He paid tribute to New London by having pieces of his high school uniform stitched into the inside of his JC Penney dark suit jacket. One side had "Whalers" and the other his number "3," both in green and gold.
"They did something special for me," Dunn said minutes after Minnesota selected him fifth in the NBA Draft held at the Barclays Center. "I told them I wanted to represent New London in a special way. They carved some of my jersey from New London High School, and they put it in this suit, so I thought that was pretty special."
Dunn's connection with New London remains as strong as ever.
On the day before the NBA Draft, Dunn talked about what New London means to him and the people that contributed to his personal growth and rise to stardom.
"They've always supported me," Dunn said on Wednesday. "I have a lot of great friends there, and family. Any time I go there, they look at me as a celebrity and also look at me as a hometown hero. But they treat me like a regular person. And that's the special part about it.
"When I go home, there's not people asking me for pictures and autographs because they already know me. They know the real me, and that's what's so special about it. I know a lot of kids out there that are looking up to me and I know a lot of kids that's in my situation when I was younger.
"Right now, I'm just trying to motivate the kids and try to help them out and try to do better for them."
Dunn was born in New London before moving to Virginia with his mother and then returned to the area as a 10-year-old. His family lives in Montville now.
New London will always hold a special place in his heart.
"He's loyal," said John Dunn, Kris' brother. "If you show love, he's going to show love back."
Dunn is following a path laid out for him by his family, friends, coaches and community leaders. He mentioned a few by name — godfather Juan Roman, family friend Jack Cochran, high school coach Craig Parker.
He called Cochran "a great mentor."
"That's my Dad's best friend," Dunn said of Cochran. "He should be a hometown hero for what he did for New London football. One year, he put 13 kids in college That's almost unheard of coming from New London."
"Coach Roman ... he's always been around and always been helping me out. My high school coach, Chop, he allowed me to be me, on and off the court, and allowed me to play with the swag, that anger and that mentality. He helped me a lot.
"All my teammates that I played with throughout the years, all the friends that I made. The actual school, New London High School, helped me.
"I could go on and on and on about who helped me from New London. To sum it up, the whole community."
Parker and his wife, Missy, along with several of Dunn's friends and former teammates attended the draft.
News and notes
Dunn gave a shout out to JC Penney during his post-selection interview. "Yeah, actually I do (shop there), and actually a lot of my friends do, too." ... During draft day, Dunn hung out with his family and also had lunch with NBA commissioner Adam Silver ... Dunn already knows the first thing that he wants to purchase with his financial windfall. "I'm going to buy my brother (John) a nice little house, not a mansion," Dunn said. "Nothing too crazy. I feel like he deserves it. He sacrificed a lot for me growing up. He has a daughter (18-month old Aubree), my niece. Just trying to make sure my brother is okay and he's living comfortably." ... Andre Drummond of Middletown is the last player from the state of Connecticut to be selected in the NBA lottery. After spending a year at UConn, Drummond was selected ninth in 2012. He also went to St. Thomas More and played AAU ball with Dunn.
g.keefe@theday.com
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