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Ernie Kent will let flashy freshman point guard Trevor Dunbar play his game

Washington St Kent Basketball

Ernie Kent speaks during a news conference during his introduction as Washington State men’s basketball coach, in Pullman, Wash., on Wednesday, April 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Geoff Crimmins)

AP

Washington State incoming freshman point guard Trevor Dunbar is certainly flashy. The 5-foot-8 lefty is a mixtape producer’s dream because he combines tremendous quickness with tight ball-handling and a flair for highlight-reel plays.

Just check out his senior year high school mixtape, it’s fun to watch.

But while mixtapes can build up hype and make a player look cool for the cameras, it doesn’t always equate to success at the next level.

New Cougars head coach Ernie Kent seems to be pleased with his new point guard, however, and the veteran coach will let the San Francisco-area native do his thing in the PAC-12.

In a recent story from Slam, Dunbar said that Kent compared him to some of his former small guards at Oregon that went on to have very successful PAC-12 careers, Tyquan Porter and Aaron Brooks.

“Coach Kent loved my game, and he didn’t want me to change anything about it,” Dunbar said in the Slam article. “He’s had a lot of success with smaller guards, and on a long phone call that we had, he brought up [Tajuan] Porter and Aaron Brooks (both of whom Kent coached at Oregon). I’ve watched Brooks on the [Houston] Rockets. It gives me hope for that next level.”

Dunbar had impressive numbers in his senior season, but small guards can sometimes have a tough time acclimating to the college game. Kent does have a track record of making successful guards, so it will be fun to see if Dunbar can have a productive and efficient career at Washington State. And if Dunbar can make some fun highlights while doing it? Even better.

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