The worst fear for Brady Dunlap has come true and the St. John’s basketball sophomore’s season is over as he will undergo surgery on Thursday to repair a tear in his abdomen.
Rick Pitino made the news public on Friday.
Dunlap had dealt with a hip injury earlier in the season that was later revealed as the abdomen tear. Surgery would have been likely at some point in his career if he did not undergo it soon.
St. John’s exhausted every option to try and avoid surgery for the California native, even sending him to see a specialist in Toronto, but the rehab treatment was not going as planned and left only one option for Dunlap.
“I’ve tried everything I possibly can,” he said. “I just kind of got dealt a pretty bad hand with the thumb and right after that [the abdomen injury] kind of happens.”
The 6-foot-7 forward already underwent one surgery this season after he tore the UCL in his left hand in late December and was ruled out for approximately five weeks. That injury has completely healed, and he would be ready to take the court now if not for his abdomen tear.
“It’s my dream to play on a Top-15 team. It’s kind of why I came [to St. John’s] in the first place…I’m looking at all my best friends having the best time of their lives, but at the same time I’m learning a lot.”
Dunlap and St. John’s will apply for a medical redshirt that will grant him a fifth year of eligibility in college. It is likely that it will be approved since he will be right at the 30-percent threshold of games played this season that an athlete must remain under if wanting a medical redshirt.
“I just got to look at it as a positive for my personal perspective…college [basketball] is such an old game now, so I just have to try to take it as a positive for myself and cheer my guys on.”
Dunlap expects to be working out a month after the surgery but not return to full basketball activities for at least three months. He will remain with the team as he recovers and continue to cheer from the bench – with his signature celebration ‘The Mop’ becoming more popular – as St. John’s continues its historic run this season.
“I’m just trying to provide energy,” Dunlap said of his celebration dance moves that have taken over the team. “Be an All-American water boy for the rest of the year, keep our guys hydrated, and bring some energy off the bench.”
The future is always cloudy for players in college basketball during this chaotic era of the transfer portal and Brady Dunlap says he wants to remain with St. John’s next season but knows that Rick Pitino will have a say in that decision.
St. John’s does not have a commitment from any high school players and will lose at least three players from its current roster due to eligibility restraints.