Citizen Staff Writer
The Bounce
ANTHONY GIMINO
agimino@tucsoncitizen.com
Former Arizona associate head basketball coach Mike Dunlap, who left Tucson on Tuesday, was hired by Oregon on Wednesday.
Dunlap will serve in the same role for the Ducks as he did at Arizona last season – associate head coach.
Dunlap, who made $375,000 in his one season with the Wildcats, will receive a pay bump at Oregon. He will earn $400,000 in each of the next two seasons, plus incentives, and will receive a $300,000 signing bonus, according to the Eugene Register-Guard.
Dunlap, 51, could have been UA’s interim head coach last season, but declined the opportunity following Lute Olson’s retirement in late October. Dunlap has said he wanted to be the full-time head coach, not the interim.
He remained associate head coach when UA elevated Russ Pennell to interim.
Pennell gave Dunlap almost unprecedented responsibilities for an assistant coach – such as leading the huddles during timeouts and freely making substitutions.
Dunlap, known as an excellent strategist, also installed a 1-1-3 zone defense and worked hard behind the scenes in one-on-one instruction with the Wildcats.
“With all the one-on-ones, they felt they were getting absolute attention,” Dunlap said last month.
Oregon was 8-23 last season, finishing last in the Pac-10 with a 2-16 mark. The Ducks return the bulk of a young team.
“I was satisfied, after doing much research into the matter, that Mike Dunlap will help our basketball team be competitive in the Pac-10 once again,” Oregon athletic director Pat Kilkenny said in a news release.