ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE

BEN DUNN, 21, Australia

Vitals: Finished ninth on the WQS in ’06. WCT rookie in 2007.

Behind the Numbers:Surfed in four WCT events as a wildcard in ’06. He had two wins in the nine heats he surfed. His best result was a 17th place in J-Bay.

Heading into 2007:Ben surfs very well: smooth, polished, and very technically sound, with a decent amount of flair. His father is a renowned coach, so he’s got the art of war thing down, too, but the rub on Ben is that he’s too much of a robot. There’s certainly enough in his surfing to take him higher, but the painfully shy kid needs to bust out of his shell if he’s going to scare people. He’ll likely replace some of the deadwood on the ’CT and make the cut, but, if he has to, he’ll qualify through the WQS with blinders on.

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