Player Corner: Dane Dunlap
CORAL GABLES – Dane Dunlap sat down with HurricaneSports.com to detail the upcoming season.
Q: You are the veteran this season, now heading into your fourth year at Miami. What does it mean to you to be a leader? How do you view your role from a leadership standpoint and what are you hoping to teach the newcomers?
A: It is pretty interesting being the oldest guy on the team because I have been the youngest this whole time. But I feel like I have learned a lot since I have been here and getting to show the young guys the ropes is a cool thing to do. So yeah, I am excited for the new season and having the opportunity to see everyone grow and improve as we learn together as a team. I think it will be a good season.
Q: Last season, you reached NCAAs for the first time in your career. What was that experience like?
A: That was amazing. I wasn’t here seven years ago, when we last made it. And obviously we struggled for the first couple of years I was here. But that was really cool to see all of our hard work pay off at once. And hopefully this year we can reach new heights.
Q: What are the team’s goals heading into this season?
A: We haven’t officially talked about it as a team, but I know personally, my goals would be to be a top-20 team this year. I am sure some of the other guys would agree with me. Definitely, of course, make NCAAs again, hopefully make the Sweet 16 and just compete at our very best, are other goals.
Q: Now in your third season playing for head coach Aljosa Piric and assistant coach Petar Danolic. How has your experience with them been and what have they taught you over the first two seasons.
A: It has been really good. It has been a good journey with them so far. They have taught me a lot and I definitely improved, as a person, as a player, under their coaching. So, there is a lot to learn from them. Especially now that we have [nearly] a full team of guys that they have recruited. That is a new dynamic that we are not too used to. So, really, we have a good team culture that we have going that [Piric] has been trying to establish for a while. So, I think that is a good thing we have going this year.
Q: What are you and the team hoping to get out of the six fall tournaments this season in order to prepare you guys for the spring?
A: We definitely have a lot of new guys on the team, so the fall tournaments will serve getting them used to competing. Most of us have played this summer, but not too much, so getting some extra competition under our belts is always important. And then getting ready for the spring matches, really. It is not as important as the spring, but it is just about preparing ourselves.
