Jordan Dingle is throwing his name into the NBA arena. Here’s what that means for Penn basketball

Dingle was second in the nation in scoring this past season at the University of Pennsylvania. Now, he prepares to see how high that raised his stock on NBA Draft night.

Jordan Dingle was the second-leading scorer in the nation this past season. He's using his standout year to test if he could land an NBA contract in the upcoming draft.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer

by Nicky Belgrad

Published April 25, 2023, 1:06 p.m. ET

Jordan Dingle is ready to realize his hoop dreams.

Seizing on what may be his best opportunity to prove he’s a capable pro talent, earlier this month, Dingle announced that he is declaring for the NBA Draft.

“It’s something that all athletes dream of, playing with the guys they watched growing up and idolized,” said Dingle. “For me, it’s really important to just fall in love with the process and not get too ahead of myself about the end goal.”

Penn coach Steve Donahue shares a similar sentiment and feels now is as good a time as ever to test the professional waters.

“I think it’s great that he’s giving this process a chance — to get in front pro coaches and scouts and get some feedback at worse,” said Donahue. “I do think that they are similar goals that we both want ... I also talk to him constantly about what we have to do, here’s what you have to do, for us to take this next big step in our program.”

In the meantime, Dingle says he’s examining his weaknesses and refining his game as much as he can.

“Based on feedback that I’ve gotten, they want to see more playmaking, passing, and creating shots for teammates,” said Dingle. “I’m also working on extending my three-point range and my conditioning.”

So what does that mean for Penn’s program moving forward?

The uncertain future of a team’s star player is ample cause for concern, but Donahue is confident in other players like guard Clark Slajchert, forward Nick Spinoso, forward Max Martz, and others who are eagerly awaiting greater playing roles.

In terms of game planning, Donahue stressed the defensive fundamentals, as well as his desire to work and pass for catch-and-shoot three-pointers on offense.

“Our defensive rebounding needs to be up to par… Our on-ball defense needs to get better,” said coach Donahue. “Collectively, if we keep people in front, we’re not in rotation, so they aren’t getting offensive rebounds.”

If this would happen to be his final season, Dingle, who was the second-leading scorer in the NCAA (23.4 points per game) on his way to earning both the Big 5 and Ivy League Player of the Year, found his college career come to a close (twice) against Princeton. The first in overtime of the regular season following a 77-69 loss inside Jadwin Gymnasium and then again a week later the Tigers would eliminate Penn again in the first round of the Ivy League tournament on its way to a run that ended in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

“I think that was a game that could’ve gone either way,” reflected junior guard Jordan Dingle on the loss in the Ivy tournament. “The one thing you can control is just coming in and giving your best effort…I think that we gave a great effort, and we worked really hard preparing for the game.”

The regular season loss snapped an eight-game win streak for the Quakers. It was Penn’s longest win streak since 2007.

It’s something Donahue hasn’t forgotten.

“It’s a little bit of frustration at the point, leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” he said. “Since January 21, we lost to one team on one court, and it was twice to Princeton. We’re happy with a lot of things that we did, but we’re certainly not satisfied with the way it ended.”