Bronx’s Dingle feels right at home in B’klyn

DENVER — Monte Morris showed no lingering effects of his right shoulder injury, scoring 20 points and dishing out eight assists in Iowa State’s 94-81 win over Iona in a Midwest Region game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Georges Niang’s 28 points led the No. 3 seed Cyclones (22-11), who saw all five of their starters score in double figures. They will play Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday. BRONX NATIVE Daniel Dingle was still a toddler when his much-older brother Dana started for John Calipari’s Final Four squad at UMass in 1996.

Twenty years later, the kid brother — who jokes that people ask him all the time if Dana is actually his dad — will appear in the NCAA Tournament within the city limits when No. 10 seed Temple (21-11) takes on No. 7 Iowa (21-10) on Friday at Barclays Center.

“It feels good, just getting the opportunity to play in front of friends and family and the opportunity to be here with my teammates and show them the whole New York atmosphere,” said Daniel Dingle, a redshirt-junior and a starter in Fran Dunphy’s three-guard offense for the Owls. “I might not get a chance to play here again, as far as March Madness, so I’ve just got to cherish this moment.”

Both brothers starred at St. Raymond HS in the Bronx, albeit decades apart. Dana was a forward alongside Marcus Camby on Calipari’s 1996 Final Four squad at the Meadowlands, although UMass’ tournament wins that year were later vacated over NCAA violations, and Calipari left to coach the Nets.

Dana Dingle, who played for a couple of years overseas afterward, also has worked as a stockbroker and now runs the New York Lightning AAU team.

“We have a strong relationship. He’s really helped me with this game,” Daniel Dingle said. “Back when my momma had me, he was still playing at UMass. He was up there 1992 to ’96. He really put the ball in my hands… He told me stories about that (Final Four) and how that year they were considered No. 1 at the time and they had that slogan ‘refuse to lose’ and I think Coach Calipari carries that now at Kentucky.”

Daniel Dingle has overcome a great deal to work his way back into Dunphy’s starting lineup this year, including barely playing as a freshman and being granted a medical redshirt as a sophomore after suffering a torn meniscus early in the season.

“The injuries and the ups and down I’ve been through are keeping me humbled and keeping me grounded all the time,” Dingle said. “I actually thought if I didn’t get that year back, maybe going somewhere else and sitting out a year. I was so frustrated. ”

Dingle, who is averaging 4.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 22 minutes per game over 32 appearances (13 starts), said he will have “about 30” people at Barclays on Friday afternoon.

“Our father kind of makes it known that he’s the father,” Daniel Dingle joked. “Some people who don’t know basketball aren’t aware that (Dana) is my brother. They say ‘how’s your father doing? You know, your father was a great player.’ And I’m like ‘yeah, I know my father played ball but I don’t know exactly where my father played ball.’ They’re like ‘your father played at UMass!’ And I’m like ‘my brother played at UMass.

“Sometimes that puts pressure on me to do well. He had a decent career at UMass — a great career where he went to the Final Four and they were ranked No. 1. They were rock stars in college, as far what I heard. And I’ve seen film of them playing against Kentucky and Jamal Mashburn. I’ve seen him play. He doesn’t know I’ve watched tape. But I know a lot of people want me to get where he's been.”