VGCC’s Dunn earns national basketball honors

Vance-Granville Community College basketball player Raymond Dunn has been named National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Player of the Week (for games played through Jan. 10). Dunn (pictured above) is the first player in the conference (Region X, Division II) to receive such an honor this season, and the first Vanguard ever named Player of the Week.

The NJCAA noted that Dunn, a 6’4″ – 190 lb. forward from Henderson who was also a standout for Norlina Christian School, recently recorded three impressive double-double performances. On Jan. 4, he scored 20 points with 26 rebounds along with five assists and four blocks in an 89-80 loss to Davidson County CC. Two days later, he scored a career-high 52 points on 20-of-22 shooting from the floor and also pulled down 30 rebounds in a 112-71 win at home over the defending conference champion, Lenoir CC. Then on Jan. 9, he contributed 35 points and 16 rebounds, along with five blocks, in a 112-93 VGCC win over Sandhills CC. Also in that game, Ric Yarbrough of Franklinton finished with 41 points and 11 rebounds for the Vanguards.

Dunn scored 107 points, pulled down 72 rebounds and also recorded 11 blocks, eight assists and six steals over the three games. For the week, he shot 70 percent from the field (42-of-60), 64.3 percent from three-point range (9-of-14) and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line (14-of-18).

Through Jan. 9, VGCC had compiled a record of 6-8 (4-3 in conference). The Vanguards are also 4-0 when scoring 100 or more points.

The Vanguards host Patrick Henry CC on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m., Rockingham CC on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. and Guilford Tech on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. All home games, which are free and open to the public, will be played at Aycock Recreation Complex in Henderson. For more information, visit VGCC’s web site .