Virginia guard Ryan Dunn is the clear early favorite for ACC Defensive Player of the Year

Virginia sophomore Ryan Dunn said before the season that his goal was to be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

He’s on his way.

The 6’8” swiss army knife sophomore leads the ACC in points per possession on defense, allowing opponents 0.439 points per possession, according to data from Synergy Sports – 18 points on 41 possessions across the first seven games of the 2023-2024 season.

Here’s the stat that will get your eyes to widen: opponents are shooting 4-of-33 against Dunn this season, 12.1 percent.

That figure also leads the ACC and is 10th nationally.

You might be interested to know who ranks 1 and 2 in that data subset – former UVA players Jabri Abdur-Rahim (2-of-30 FG, 6.7%, at Georgia) and Kadin Shedrick (2-of-27, 7.4%, at Texas).

Dunn also leads the ACC in defensive rating (69.9; Reece Beekman is second, at 81.7), defensive box plus/minus (11.0; Beekman is second, at 8.8), steal percentage (6.8; Beekman is second, at 6.1) and block percentage (12.5; Pitt’s Federiko Federiko is second, at 11.9).

The counting numbers have Dunn tied for first in the ACC with Beekman with 2.9 steals per game, tied for first with Naheem McLeod of Syracuse with 2.9 blocks per game, and ninth in defensive rebounds with 5.1 per game.

Beekman is the reigning, defending ACC Defensive Player of the Year, but Dunn would be the clear favorite at this early stage, a month into the season.