Reflecting on his collegiate basketball career, CrownQuest Geoscience manager Wally Dunn fondly recalls playing for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Midland College (MC) Chaparrals. However, one moment stands out above all others - when the Chaparrals won the NJCAA Men's National Basketball Championship in 2007.
"I watched it all from the bench," Dunn recalled. "That was my first year at MC, and I was redshirted, but it’s a moment I will never forget. In fact, the entire two years I attended Midland College was an incredible experience, mainly because of the basketball coach Grant McCasland. He taught me to give my best effort regardless of how I may be feeling or other circumstances going on in my life. Even today, I apply those principles to just about everything I do in life."
A news release from Midland College states that sports, fitness and faith are integral to Dunn's professional career and were pillars of his amateur career. Dunn has a fond memory of eating Subway sandwiches while traveling with his tall teammates for away games.
"We would cram all of our stuff and ourselves into that little bus, and Coach McCasland was the driver," Dunn said. "Pre-game meals were Subway sandwiches, and then sometimes we would splurge after the games at Golden Corral. It was definitely different when I got to Texas Tech, and we had chartered buses and planes! The pre- and post-game meals were quite a bit more elaborate, also."
The release also notes that Dunn's wife Micah attended Texas Tech when he transferred to the school. The couple first met at T Bar M Christian Retreat in New Braunfels when Dunn was a senior at Midland Classical Academy (MCA)and she was a freshman at Texas Tech. Three years later, they wed at the same location and now have four children together.
According to the same release, Dunn has spent the past six years on the coaching staff of MCA’s junior varsity and varsity basketball squads.