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Assigned Reading: The source of Butler guard Kellen Dunham’s improvement

dunham

With the graduation of Rotnei Clarke and the season-ending injury suffered by Roosevelt Jones before the season even began, the Butler Bulldogs found themselves with some serious adjustments to make in their first season as a member of the Big East. One player asked to step up under first-year head coach Brandon Miller has been sophomore guard Kellen Dunham, and he’s been up to the task thus far.

Dunham’s averaging 18.2 points per game for the Bulldogs, who are 7-2 on the season with a game against Purdue next on the schedule. Dunham worked hard during the offseason and he continues to do so, and he’s reaped the rewards thanks to his use of a rigorous late-night shooting routine.

It is a calculated routine — every cut, every screen, every shot designed to simulate looks he’ll soon see in a game. First, 3-pointers from around the arc. Then, jumpers from the elbow of the free throw line. Right side. Left side. Shot-fakes and jumpers. Right hand. Left hand. Curls off screens, catch-and-shoot. Then, curls off screens, catch, shot-fake, shoot.

Dunham, joined on this night by freshman teammate Steven Bennett, flies through the repetitions like it’s the last minute of a tie game. The sweat drips off his frame while his gaze alternates between the floor and the rim, one repetition after another after another. This is his toil, the labor he’s grown to love.


The full profile on Dunham, written by Zack Keefer of the Indianapolis Star, is an interesting read and it can be found here.

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