Michael Dunn Wants to Keep Growing at Shippensburg University

Michael Dunn is going to play NCAA Division II basketball at Shippensburg University.

WASHINGTON, Pa.-- Senior Michael Dunn made a name for himself while playing on Trinity Hiller’s boys basketball team from 2017-21 scoring a total of 934 points in his career.

In Dunn's final high school basketball game on March 6, he scored 25 points in a 67-55 loss to Mars in the quarterfinal round of the WPIAL 5A boys basketball playoffs. After the loss, he still had not decided on which college to attend, and he wondered if he was going to continue his basketball career somewhere.

On Sunday April 10, Dunn committed to Shippensburg University to play basketball. During his recruitment process, he was also interested in playing for Saint Vincent College, Army, Point Park, Ave Maria, Washington & Jefferson, Waynesburg and LaRoche. However, because of the daily interaction Dunn had with Shippensburg’s head basketball coach Chris Fite, it made Dunn more comfortable choosing Shippensburg as his home for the next four years.

“Coach [Chris] Fite was telling me how great I can be, we hit it off from the beginning,” Dunn said, who plans on majoring in Business/Sport Management. “Shippensburg was just a great fit overall with a chance to go play from the start and win. When, I stepped on campus, it felt like home.”

Michael’s father, Joe, used to be Trinity’s boys head basketball coach as he started the position there in 2001, but he resigned in 2012. Joe also used to be the head coach of Mount Pleasant and Seton La Salle’s boys basketball teams as his record in his 26 years as a head coach is 324-286 (.531). Thanks to Joe, Michael got interested in basketball and has been playing ever since.

“When my dad was the coach at Trinity, I was always in the gym and had a ball in my hand,” Dunn said, who plays point guard and shooting guard. “My passion for the game started then when I was super young, and I just wanted to be like my dad and his players. Even today, he is always writing up workouts for me and taking me to the gym. He always has my back.”

When Michael entered high school, he wanted to play at the varsity level, and he got his first opportunity to do so in his freshman year. After his first game, he realized he needed to put in a lot of work to play at a high level.

“My first varsity game was as a freshman during a blowout. I was a lot smaller back then, and I realized how good you have to be to play at the varsity level,” he said. “That game showed me I had to put a lot of time outside of practice to become the player I want to be.”

One of the people that Michael works out the most with is his sister Mary Dunn, who currently plays women’s basketball at the University of Pittsburgh. He gives her credit for the player that he has become.

“It is fun working out with her,” he said. “Sometimes she will make a bunch of shots in a row, or do nice post moves on me, and I’ll just be like, ‘Wow!’. She knows I will always beat her one on one, though. I have been rebounding for her since I was young. We would always go to the gym, and we would push each other to do the best we could do. She has definitely helped me develop my skill set to where it is now.”

Mary has enjoyed watching Michael develops as a player, and she even credits him for helping her become that player she has become.

“Michael has grown as a player tremendously,” Mary said. Over this last year, he can jump much higher, and he is much stronger. His basketball IQ and overall game is unreal.”

“He makes sure I’m always putting in extra work, and even though he is younger than me, I really look up to him because of his motivation and work ethic.”

Mary has gone to Michael’s high school basketball games over the years, and she has enjoyed watching him play. Perhaps, she will go to some of his college games as well.

“My favorite basketball memory of him was his junior year at Chartiers Valley,” she said. “It was the first time I really saw him go off as he scored 24 points in the game. I was just astonished on how good he was.”

As Michael scored 459 career points and averaged 24.2 points per game in his senior campaign, he credits the COVID-19 pandemic for giving him more time to improve his game.

“This pandemic has definitely changed my mindset to never take anything for granted,” he said. “I didn’t know if my senior season was going to get shutdown, so if I had the opportunity to play, I was going to take advantage. The pandemic gave me some more time to put extra work and I enjoyed it.”

During Michael’s high school basketball career, Trinity’s boys basketball team had a record of 51-39 (.567). After Trinity made a deep playoff run in his freshman year, the team did not make the playoffs in his sophomore and junior year. With the help of Michael, Trinity made it to the WPIAL playoffs this past year beating Kiski Area in the first round and Highlands in the second round. It was good for Trinity to have a little postseason run as students in the school enjoyed watching Michael helping the team to wins.

“Michael is a leader on and off the court.” Austin Wells said, who is a senior at Trinity High School. “He is very fun to watch as his skills are tremendous. He can drop 3-pointers all day, and he will not hesitate to pull up when given the chance.”

With Dunn being the star player at Trinity, he is well-known. However, his personality, and work ethic in his classroom are characteristics that made him stand out around his peers, and that could help him succeed in the future.

“I think Michael is very likable because of his upbeat personality. He never fails to bring a smile to your face,” Wells said. “Michael is a very dedicated student that strives in the classroom. He has a great attitude toward school, and he is very involved with the learning. He will often raise his hand and help others out when they are confused.”

Michael will graduate from Trinity on June 4 as he is trying to enjoy the last couple months of high school. Even though he will miss wearing a Hillers uniform, the fact that his basketball career will continue makes him happy.

“Wearing a basketball jersey means everything to me. No matter what is going on, basketball has always been there for me,” Dunn said. “I will miss all the relationships I created at Trinity. It’s such a great culture as a school with such great people. I will miss all the familiar faces and families. However, I am excited to meet a bunch of new people at Shippensburg and develop my skills to be the best basketball player that I can be. Hopefully, I can win some PSAC titles as well.”