Bringing a top ten recruiting class to Providence isn’t the easiest task in the world, but that’s exactly what Ed Cooley did with his four signees from the class of 2012.
Concerns Abound For Providence’s Elite 2012 Recruiting Class
Ed Cooley did the nearly unthinkable when he brought a top ten recruiting class to Providence. Now injuries and eligibility concerns are threatening to ruin the class before they ever take the floor together.
Unfortunately it looks like that class will be lacking its crown jewel when the Friars take the floor for the first time this November.
Kris Dunn, who is rated by Scout.com as the No. 1 point guard in the class of 2012, will undergo shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. That surgery will keep him sidelined for 4-6 months, and calls into question whether or not Cooley might consider redshirting the star freshman.
“I have a torn labrum,” Dunn told the TheDay.com. “I’ve got a fracture in my bone. It happened during the NFA game during the ECC tournament (on March 1). I got fouled hard and I kind of dislocated it a little bit and it popped back in real quickly.
“I went to a couple trainers and physical therapists and they said it was just bruised. So I just kept playing on it and I thought it would go away if I just iced it, and it didn’t.”
While the news predictably caused a panic amongst the Friar faithful, Cooley remained even-keeled when asked about the situation on Tuesday.
“He is going to have an MRI at the end of the week and we’ll have more difinitive answers by the end of the week,” Cooley said. “It’s nothing to be alarmed about. We’ll get through it.”
To make matters worse, news also broke on Tuesday that Dunn’s classmate and fellow point guard Ian Baker has suffered a torn ACL and will likely miss the entire 2012-13 season.
There are also concerns over the eligibility of shooting guard Ricardo Ledo, the second highest-rated member of the recruiting class. Ledo spent his high school years bouncing around from prep school to prep school, which has led to a number of questions about his academic status.
“I still feel good about where we’re at with Ricky,” Cooley said. “He still has to finish up a couple of things because of the fact that he was at a few different schools. But I think we should be alright.”
Despite Cooley’s calming words, the fact that there are major concerns surrounding 3/4 of a top ten recruiting class this close to the start of the fall semester has to be weighing heavily on the minds of many folks in Rhode Island.
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