Providence — The narrative had been consistent, eerily so, to the point that even the most ardent optimist might have pondered peeking around the corner. Kris Dunn's return to Providence kept rewriting itself, better with each rendition. The kid comes back to school, makes Sports Illustrated, has draftniks drooling, leads the Friars into the top 10, reminds the nation Providence is about more than Federal Hill, all while forging a din inside the Dunk with echoes not heard there in years.

But then basketball seasons, like all seasons, are daily allegories orbiting the same theme: falling down and getting up again.

And Saturday afternoon, PC coach Ed Cooley, maybe 20 minutes removed from his team's 72-60 loss to No. 3 Villanova, sounded as though his prize point guard needed a pep talk. Or a vacation.

"I think he's trying to do a little too much sometimes," Cooley said, after Dunn's 4-for-15 day shooting with six turnovers. "I think he's putting a lot of pressure on himself. I think there are so many external pressures that he's dealing with as an individual. Everything that's coming at him, it could be coming at him at 1,000 miles per hour right now.

"Hopefully," Cooley said, "I can do a better job to ease some of his stress, some of his thoughts. When you put yourself in his shoes, it's coming at him. In the future, that's what he'll be paid to do. But right now we need him to be a college student and a college player. Right now, I think he's putting too much pressure on himself. I don't know if he's playing for the joy of it instead of the pressure of it."

It would unfathomable that Dunn could emerge from this season without pressure. Think about it: Every possession is his responsibility. The hopes and dreams of a fan base rest on him. There are thoughts of next year, the NBA, and, glory hallelujah, the paychecks. There's the idea of being The Man here, complete with all the daunting responsibilities, interviews and details. This would be too much for somebody twice his age with the requisite wisdom.

Dunn, to his credit, must be good at poker. He wasn't necessarily agreeing or disagreeing with anything his coach was saying after Saturday's game.

"I'm trying to do the best I can, see what the defense is giving me, getting people the ball," Dunn said. "It's not very easy."

On external pressures: "I feel great. I've got my family and friends supporting me. My shot's not going in right now, but I've got to live with it."

On the bumps, bruises and attrition of a season: "Comes with the territory."

Dunn, like all competitors, won't dissect the moment when he's in the middle of it. But here's hoping his eyes and ears worked Saturday, aware of what he's wrought. The Dunk was electric. People looking for tickets outside. A sellout of 12,883 inside, blowing the roof off the place when the No. 11 Friars cut the deficit to five late in the game.

And then after, Dunn was courtside signing autographs and posing for pictures while his family and friends waited for him. He signed everything. He posed for every photo. A half-hour after one of his worst games. This is a special time in the PC program, mostly because of Dunn. And it sure seems the PC fans, still thanking him Saturday for coming back, understand they are lucky to be in this place at this time and are smart enough to know they ought to enjoy it.

Besides, think about Dunn's road not taken: He could have opted for the draft last year. Maybe he'd be in the NBA right now. Or maybe the D-League, enjoying the fine cuisine in Grand Rapids or Sioux City. Instead, he's got internal and external pressures, sure. But it really ought to amount to joyful stress.

"We want to get him to try and relax a little more. Try to get him to focus on the simple things, like don't turn the ball over," Cooley said. "Let the game come to him versus him trying to force everything, especially in the lane. Keep it simple. Concentrate more on us than the opponent. There are some things we can do to help him. He needs our help. We've been on his shoulders for a long time."

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.

Twitter: @BCgenius