Temple’s Damian Dunn has become a staple on North Broad. Will he return and add to his legacy?

Friday’s American Athletic Conference quarterfinal matchup against Cincinnati (20-11, 11-7) could be the last time redshirt-sophomore guard Damian Dunn wears a Temple jersey.

Aaron McKie’s first-ever Temple commit has two years of eligibility remaining after playing only one game as a true freshman and being awarded an extra year of eligibility because of the 2020-21 COVID-19 season. However, Dunn was honored during Temple’s March 2 Senior Night ceremony and has been non-committal about returning, leaving his future with the Owls in question.

“I don’t know,” Dunn said. “I’ve got to keep looking at things in perspective, know what I want to prioritize and, after the year is over, definitely got to sit down and have a table talk with my close ones about it. So it’s definitely still in the works.”c

During 71 games played at Temple, Dunn joined Temple’s 1,000-point club and helped the Owls earn a top-five seed in the AAC Tournament in back-to-back years.

Dunn was a second-team All-AAC selection last season and made third team this year, becoming the only Owl to receive all-conference honors in both years. In 2020-21, Dunn was also selected to the conference’s all-freshman team.

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McKie found Dunn unintentionally. During a 2018 recruiting trip to Indianapolis, McKie, who was entering his last year as an assistant under Fran Dunphy, traveled to watch a player for Stackhouse Elite, the AAU program run by former NBA All-Star and current Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse. Dunn and Stackhouse are both from Kinston, N.C., and attended Kinston High School before transferring out of state for their senior seasons. Stackhouse transferred to Oak Hill in Mouth of Wilson, Va., and Dunn transferred to Meadowcreek High School in Norcross, Ga.

While in Georgia, he joined Stackhouse Elite, which was located in nearby Atlanta and played on the Adidas circuit.

“I said, ‘Let me just take a look at him later on in the day,’” McKie said. “I said, ‘This kid is not bad.’ So, I reached out to his dad. …We were just chit-chatting and we had some mutual friends, and that’s just how the relationship started. Just started to communicate with those guys.

“Dame was easy, he was just easy to talk to. He’s really simple, he’s not like most recruits where you’ve got to pull teeth. Ask a question and he gives you a well thought out answer, and he’ll ask me some questions. Just conversations and just building a relationship, and here we are. He’s here and [I’ve] established a relationship not only with him, but with his family as well. So all of those things are important. When you recruit kids like that, they make your life a whole lot easier.”

Dunn chose Temple over schools closer to home like Georgia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth. Dunn has been one of the leaders of Temple’s team for the past two seasons, especially this year as a fourth-year player.

With point guard Jeremiah Williams transferring to Iowa State at the end of last season, Dunn was forced to step into a more vocal role, as well as mentoring young players like sophomores Zach Hicks, Hysier Miller, Nick Jourdain and Jahlil White.

The Owls have looked to Dunn to weather storms and make a few game-winning shots along the way. This year, Dunn was challenged with accepting a bench role for a few games while McKie experimented with a defensive-minded starting five that featured the four sophomores and grad transfer center Kur Jongkuch, a role he embraced with no trouble.

“I’ve been here four years under Coach McKie,” Dunn said. “I trust his word, trust everything he’s said, everything he stands for. I told him when he asked me, ‘I’ll ride with whatever you feel is most important for us to start games, whether that is with or without me.’”

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Temple also dealt with Khalif Battle’s late-season departure and two benchings during the season. However, Dunn continued to lead Temple both in the locker room and on the floor, keeping his team composed while averaging 20.5 points in games that Battle either benched or away from the team.

While Dunn’s status for next season is unknown, he has been McKie’s go-to player and a pillar for Temple’s program for the past three seasons. Exercising one or both of his remaining years of eligibility on Broad Street would give Dunn a chance to lead Temple back to the NCAA Tournament and cement his name into the Ring of Honor.

“He’s meant a lot to me,” McKie said. “He’s meant a lot to the program. He’s everything that you would want in a player, in a son. He’s a great teammate, he’s very coachable, he’s a wonderful kid.”