NEWS

Head coach Gayle Fulks (left) and Charlise Dunn walking across Main Street to the chanting and cheering teammates and coaches waiting at Ben & Jerry's. (News of Davidson photo)

The morning after Charlise Dunn was drafted into the WNBA, her teammates and coaches surprised her with a celebration at Ben & Jerry's. Charlise and head coach Gayle Fulks were kind enough to sit down for a few questions after they finished their ice cream.

Charlise Dunn

NoD: What does this mean for you?

Charlise: It means so much. The whole experience has just been so surreal. It has been a dream of mine to be drafted into the WNBA, and I didn’t realize it was within reach until a few days ago. The last 24-hours have just been insane. It means so much, I’m so happy.

NoD: Can you describe the last 24-hours?

Charlise: Stressful, anxious, but exciting.

NoD: How did you know?

Charlise: I have an agent, and he’s been in contact and letting me know if teams are interested and what’s going on. I had known that Toronto was interested. They flew out and watched the game against George Washington a few months ago. So I knew they were interested but didn’t know how interested. When I didn’t hear anything for a while, I thought it had fizzled out and nothing was going to happen. Then at 4:00 p.m. the day before the draft, I got a call from my agent and he asked if I would be interested in getting ‘drafted and stashed.’ I said absolutely. That’s awesome that they are considering that.

But he couldn’t guarantee it. I knew it was 50/50. It was potentially me, but I knew there was someone else that they were looking at. I knew that if I was going to get called that it would be pick #36, but it was 50/50 if it was going to be my name or someone else’s name. That made it even more nerve-wracking.

NoD: Where were you? How did you hear it, see it?

Charlise: I was in my (on campus) apartment with some of the girls and we were all sitting on the couch. I told them that if it was going to happen, it was going to be pick #36. We were just waiting and the TV went to an ad, and we said "no way." Then we saw my name at the bottom of the screen and we just started jumping and screaming.

NoD: Did you reach out to family?

Charlise: My phone was immediately blowing up. I got on the phone with my dad. He was at the bank when my name got called, and I think he started cheering with the lady at the bank – which was funny. Then I called my mom. My brother was texting me, and my grandparents too. It was really exciting.

NoD: What are your next steps?

Charlise: For now, I’m staying in Davidson. I’ll be here for graduation, which I’m really excited about. Then I’m going home. I’ve signed with a WNBL team, and that will be announced in a few days.

So, I go home and get ready for the WNBL season. Then it’s wait and see. If I have a great year, hopefully Toronto will call me back and this time next year I’ll be at training camp.

NoD: So you could do both?

Charlise: Yes, with the deal that I have with Toronto – the ‘draft and stash’ means that they want me to go back home, develop a little more and when they think I’m ready they call me back. So, I just need to prove myself back home.

NoD: What does this community mean to you?

Charlise: So much. It even made this experience more special. My phone was flooded straight away with so many messages from so many people, from the school, from the community. It has just been so special. I literally wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have this community backing me. It is so special.

NoD: And as a reminder for our readers, you went someplace else for your first year in college, so you can make a comparison.

Charlise: Yes. And it proves how much community and team culture and the people you surround yourself with – just how important they are. Everyone has just brought me up, and it has been so huge to my growth, my growth on and off the court – as a player and person too.

NoD: What would you tell your 10-year-old self?

Charlise: Wow, ten years was when I really just started playing basketball. I guess I would say, "just keep believing."  I was always dreaming about the WNBA, and for a few years it felt like it wasn’t reachable. Just keep working and dreaming, and it really is within reach.

Davidson College Women’s Basketball Head Coach Gayle Fulks

NoD: What does Charlise’s selection mean to you?

Coach Fulks:  I know that this is a player who saw the whole process out. She chased a dream, put everything into it, and it's pretty cool to see it come true. And it is tremendous for our program. In the recruiting process we talk to kids about their ability to become doctors, lawyers, and professional basketball players. Now you can get to the WNBA coming out of Davidson College.

For us, it’s big time. For me personally, I’m just so happy for her.

NoD: She is your first WNBA draft pick?

Coach Fulks: Yes, my very first one. I knew when we recruited her that there was a possibility. I knew what type of talent she was, and it was up to her to overcome a lot of adversity.

NoD: There was at least one other player in the A-10 that people thought could be drafted, but wasn’t. What does that say about Charlise, and about your program?

Coach Fulks: It was a pretty intentional effort on our end to really develop her as a wing or a guard. I think at the next level she can be a common guard or a true wing. She can really shoot. She can post, but we never really used her as a post player. I think that showcased a different level of versatility that she has.  Additionally, the way we play defense, she has had to guard little guards and big players. Her defensive ability really shined through.

NoD: Charlise is a highlight of what can happen via transfer vs. coming directly to Davidson out of high school. What does that say for your program?

Coach Fulks: We did recruit her in high school, but she had interest in going to a different level. She tried that out, and at the end of the year and a half she said, "I want to go play, and I want to have an impact. I want to be able to do more things and expand my whole game."

We were pretty fortunate that Issy Morgan and Millie Prior, two of her former teammates, roommates, and friends, were on our team. I would say that she was somebody that we had our eye on for quite a long time, it wasn’t something random that just happened in the portal.

NoD: Any comments for the larger Davidson community that has supported you, supported her, and supported your team.

Coach Fulks: The way this entire community has wrapped their arms around her as an international student, far away from home. From the first day she got here, the community welcomed her. I felt the same thing when I got the job here. I felt so welcome.

This community is really unique and special.