Dunne Gets His Chance at St. Peter’s
by Ray Floriani
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – If you knew little or nothing about John Dunne, you learned something very quickly. Minutes prior to taking the podium and being introduced as the new St. Peter’s basketball coach last week, a small group entered the room. This group happened to work with and/or be coached by Dunne during his recent tenure as a Seton Hall assistant. Among the group were John Allen, who starred for the Hall from 2002-2005; Grant Billmeier, a Hall player heading ino his senior year; and Lori Perillo, the director of basketball operations for former Pirate mentor Louis Orr. The fact they came to see his introduction, his special moment, spoke volumes of Dunne’s influence and character.
It is generally accepted that St. Peter’s is not the easiest job to step into. Not even the easiest in the MAAC, a solid league where competition is keen and the concept of student/athlete is a priority. Still, Dunne is optimistic and sees this as a special opportunity. “Bob Leckie did a great job turning it around,” Dunne said. “(Winning) has been done here in the past and it has been done more recently.”
Since his high school days two decades ago at prep power Archbishop Molloy in Queens (NY), Dunne knew he wanted to be a Division I head coach. Dunne cited three particular reasons why St. Peter’s is a great place to start his head coaching career. For one, he has spent the better part of his coaching career at small catholic schools. “I love the intimacy,” Dunne said. Being from the greater New York area and working a number of years there, Dunne has naturally had a preference for the region. The final reason centered on his new administration. “To be happy you have to work for and with good people,” Dunne said. “We have them here at St. Peter’s.”
At age 36 he has extensive experience as an assistant. He not only served at Seton Hall as Orr’s assistant but was with him at Siena. Prior to that Dunne worked a year at Siena under Paul Hewitt and previously assisted at Manhattan. Undoubtedly he is familiar with and knows the MAAC. “The fact he worked for people like Paul Hewitt and Louis Orr weighed heavily in his favor,” said St. Peter’s Athletic Director Bill Stein. “Paul (Hewitt) and Louis (Orr) are two people I have known for years and for whom I have a great respect and admiration.”
Having grown up in the New York area, working in the MAAC and facing several of the member schools, as St. Peter’s, while at Seton Hall, Dunne realizes the generalities and specifics of recruiting. “There are a small group of schools that can pretty much select,” he said. “The Dukes and North Carolinas and a few other programs are in that position. The rest of us are all together and strive to put together a good team.” Regarding the specifics, Dunne is aware of the type player St. Peter’s attracts. For decades, even during the Don Kennedy glory days of the late Sixties, the Jesuit school has made a basketball living on the “diamonds in the rough” – the underrecruited player. They are the type that do not gain as much attention during their prep days but emerge as viable contributors a few years down the road. The ones the bigger programs misjudge. As Dunne quickly notes, “Kiki (Keydren) Clark was not recruited by a number of schools right in the MAAC.”
Dunne takes over a program in very good condition though Stein lightly notes, “we lost one pretty good player (Clark).” The new mentor at St. Peter’s has his sights set high. “We plan to be in the top half of the MAAC and compete for the conference title,” he said. “We want to be in post season play on a regular basis.” Before deciding a style of play, Dunne will meet with his players, hire a coaching staff and take a look at his personnel. The Orr influence will be there as Dunne promised, “We will compete every night especially on the defensive end. Rebounding will be a priority as teams that rebound well put themselves in good position (to win).”
His former Seton Hall players in attendance spoke with certainty that he’ll be successful at his new school. “I learned a lot from him,” Billmeier said of Dunne. “He’s a great X and O man. He scouted and prepared our game plans against Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia (all Seton Hall wins) this year. He’s a great person and when you work as hard as he does you will be successful.”
“Coach Dunne will do great,” Allen said. “We hated his scouting sessions,” he added with a laugh before noting how tough they were but how beneficial they proved to ben for the team. “They were the most detailed scouting reports you ever saw or sat through. But once you took the floor you saw how well you were prepared. Coach Dunne will have his (St. Peter’s) teams very well prepared and he won’t sit back and have his assistants do all the work.”
Dunne spent the last six and a half years of his coaching life with Louis Orr. The lessons he learned were invaluable and will be a major part of his philosophy at St. Peter’s. “First and foremost,” Dunne said, “Louis Orr is a very good basketball coach but he genuinely cares about his players. It has always been about his players’ well being.” In the Seton Hall system the assistants were given ample opportunity for input on decisions. “That included allowing assistants to break down film, prepare a scouting report and suggest a game plan of upcoming opponents. Naturally, Orr would have final say and make needed adjustments, but the assistants received great hands-on experience which should serve them well as head coaches. His (Orr) style allowed myself and all of the assistants an opportunity to grow,” Dunne said.
Now, following a dozen years of preparation John Dunne takes over his own program. A dream becomes reality. St. Peter’s mades a great hire and is in very capable hands.
- Among the finalists were head coaches Chuck McBreen of Ramapo College, Jose Rebimbas of William Paterson and Kevin Boyle of prep power St. Patrick’s in Elizabeth (NJ). St. Peter’s assistants John Cofino and Steve Finamore were also interviewed. “We felt John (Dunne) had the most experience of all the candidates,” Stein said.
- Lori Perillo remembers Dunne from the Siena days. “He (Dunne) actually interviewed me when I was going for the position of academic counselor at Siena,” she said. Perillo joined Orr’s program at Siena and then followed him to the Hall in the capacity of director of basketball operations. In Orr and Dunne she sees similarities. “Both care about the players,” she said, “and both are very good coaches. They were great to work with.”
- John Coffino and Steve Finemore, assistants to Bob Leckie this past season, both attended the press conference. Dunne is in the process of hiring a staff and Coffino recently withdrew his name from consideration while Finemore is hoping to stay on and work as an assistant on the new staff.
