CBSSports.com Eye on College Basketball - Oct. 22, 2014
Mike Dunlap, a 1980 graduate of LMU, finished his sixth season at the helm of the Lions in 2019-20. After leading the Lions to a better season than the one before in each of his first four years, Dunlap earned himself a contract extension on Aug. 7, 2017.
The 2018-19 season was historic for Dunlap in a number of ways. Not only did he rewrite the program record book with the best start to a season at 8-0 and best one-loss record to open a year at 11-1, but the Lions returned to the postseason for just the third time since 1990. The year included claiming the 2018 Jamaica Classic title with wins over Georgetown and Ohio, receiving votes in the Nov. 19, 2018 AP Poll, mentoring a 1,000 point scorer and First Team All-WCC performer in James Batemon, and making it into the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational. LMU's win total doubled from the previous season to 22, the program's third-highest mark all-time. Dunlap won his 400th career NCAA game with a 76-64 win over Portland on Jan. 5. The Lions finished the year with a 12-4 home record and was .500 in conference play for the first time since 2012, helping LMU enter the WCC Championships as the five seed.
Dunlap's first season with the Lions was about setting a foundation for years to come. And his second season, he considered it "year one" with this new foundation. The Lions peak down the stretch, winning three of their last four, including a pair of overtime victories of top-half programs San Francisco and Pepperdine. They finished 14-17 overall, 6-12 in the WCC, and earned a win in the WCC tournament.
They have done it again in 2016-17, entering the 2017 WCC Championships winning their last three games of the regular season and four of their last five. It is the best finish to a season for the Lions since winning 10 straight in 1990-91. They improved their overall win total and WCC win total for the third straight year at 15-15 overall and 8-10 in the WCC.
"The first-year was about establishing the foundations of this program," said Dunlap. "We have made some great strides in establishing a culture necessary to build a successful program. Year two was our first with this foundation and we built on some good things as the season progressed. In 2015-16, it was about what we did as a program more than the outcome itself. And this third season was about getting better, which we have done."
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"Mike Dunlap absolutely elevates every player and team he comes into contact with. He is our guy. He will take you from good to great. Name any top-level, elite coach in the game - the only difference between Mike and them is their address. There is no higher level of coaching ability than his. There is absolutely no one better."
George Karl - NBA Coach of The Year
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Dunlap, who is 37-55 in three seasons at LMU, enters his 18th season as a head coach at the collegiate level with a 365-160 record (.697).
Part of the new foundation were capital improvements. The Lions renovated the men's basketball locker room area, including new film operations with a brand new video display system. LMU also expanded the athletic training rooms, adding nearly 1,200-square-feet while converting the old training room into a wet-room - complete with hydrotherapy stations. This past summer, the University also allocated use of the Burns Back Court within the Burns Recreation Center as the official practice home of LMU basketball. In addition, the Lions will play in Gersten Pavilion with a brand-new, state-of-the-art video LED system by Daktronics in 2015-16. Included in the new system is a center-hung scoreboard.
Known for his player development and on-the-floor coaching, Dunlap was most recently the head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats for the 2012-2013 season, becoming the first coach in NBA history to win three times as many games as the year before. He also spent time with the Denver Nuggets, recently served as a top assistant at Arizona, Oregon, and St. John's, and won a pair of NCAA Division II National Championships at Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colo. He began coaching right after graduating from LMU and he brings that experience back home.
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"I have known Mike Dunlap since I was a student-athlete at Chapman University, and over the past 25 years he has developed into one of the game's most-respected teachers."
Steve Lavin - St. Johns Head Coach
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"His reputation is founded on being an outstanding player development coach and a game strategist of the highest level," said Husak. "I would think that any player we currently have in our program or is committed to LMU would want to have the opportunity to develop and play under Mike Dunlap's tutelage. His former players and coaches who have worked with him have provided me with anecdotes and feedback that their experience playing for and working with Mike was rewarding and transforming."
Before arriving in Charlotte, Dunlap spent six years as an assistant coach in the professional and college ranks. Prior to his work as an assistant, he spent nine seasons as the head coach at Metro State, leading his teams to the national titles in 2000 and 2002 while earning NABC Division II Coach of the Year honors in both of those seasons. Coach Dunlap, whose teams went to the NCAA Tournament in each of his nine seasons, posted an overall record of 248-50 (.832), winning five Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles.
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"Coach Dunlap came and built upon what my father had already done in my life. He ushered a lot of us into adulthood with his values of hard work and commitment and honesty. The things he preached to us back then, he still abides by those principles."
Patrick Mutombo - Former player at Metro State, NBA Asst.
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In 2006, Coach Dunlap left Metro State to become an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets under George Karl. In two seasons with the Nuggets, he helped the team to a 95-69 record that included a 50-win season in 2007-08, the team's first in 23 years.
"No coach or coaching staff can expect their players to develop without hard work in the gym," said Dunlap. "Whether that is in the gym to watch and recruit a player, or being on the floor with the players. Being in the gym with the players is my favorite part. That is where development happens. It is a time-related endeavor."
Dunlap then spent the 2008-09 season as associate head coach at the University of Arizona under legendary coach Lute Olson and the 2009-10 season as associate head coach on Ernie Kent's staff at the University of Oregon before joining Steve Lavin at St. John's in 2010. During the 2011-12 season, he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the team and served as acting head coach in all but four games while Lavin recovered from surgery to treat prostate cancer.
"Mike's recruiting network, both nationally and internationally, is extensive. He understands the type of basketball player we need to be successful in the WCC," said Husak. "He also appreciates what the academic challenges are at LMU as well as the expectation for recruiting athletes of high character and integrity. The reason that he understands is because he is an alum, who was a former player and coach for the Lions. It is great to have an alum leading the Lions. Mike Dunlap's arrival as our head coach indeed signals that he is the right person to lead our program for years to come."
Dunlap's previous head coaching experience also includes three seasons with the Adelaide 36ers in Australia's National Basketball League and five seasons at California Lutheran University. From 1994-97, he led the 36ers to a 59-33 record (.641) and three straight appearances in the NBL Final Four, including advancing to the Grand Final game in 1995.
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"He is one of the outstanding minds in the game. His strengths are in organization and on-the-floor coaching."
Lute Olson - Legendary former Coach of University of Arizona
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Before going to Australia, Dunlap was head coach at Division III California Lutheran from 1989-94, where his teams posted an 80-54 record (.597) and won three straight Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles from 1992-94, while also advancing to the Sweet 16 in 1992 and 1994.
"The life blood of any program is recruiting, and I feel I can go into New York, California, Australia, all over the world and have a chance to recruit players," said Dunlap. "My background not only allows me to recruit but to compete against the best coaches in the world, from the NBA to college. I have been fortunate to be a part of every level of basketball in the US and that background is going to help."
His college coaching experience also includes five seasons with the Lions (1980-85), one season at the University of Iowa (1985-86) and three seasons at the University of Southern California (1986-89).
Dunlap has had several articles published nationally, including: "Shooting: The Simple Approach" (1990), "The Free Throw" (1990), "Let Your Feet Do the Talking" (1989), "Motion Offense" (1987) and "Basic Framework for Achieving Academic Eligibility for Your Players" (1987).
A native of Fairbanks, Alaska, Dunlap earned an associate of arts degree in science from Pierce College in 1978, before attaining a bachelor's degree in English from Loyola Marymount University in 1980.
Dunlap and his wife have three children. An avid runner, Dunlap has a 100-mile race to his credit.
The Dunlap File
| Coaching Experience |
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| 1980-85 |
LMU, Assistant Coach |
| 1985-86 |
University of Iowa, Graduate Assistant |
| 1986-89 |
Southern California, Assistant Coach |
| 1989-94 |
California Lutheran, Head Coach |
| 1994-97 |
Adelaide 36ers, Head Coach |
| 1997-06 |
Metropolitan State College of Denver, Head Coach |
| 2006-08 |
Denver Nuggets, Assistant Coach |
| 2008-09 |
University of Arizona, Associate Head Coach |
| 2009-10 |
University of Oregon, Associate Head Coach |
| 2010-12 |
St. John's University, Assistant Coach |
| 2012-13 |
Charlotte Bobcats, Head Coach |
| 2014-2020 |
LMU, Head Coach |
| Playing Experience |
|
| 1976-78 |
Pierce College |
| 1979-80 |
LMU |
| Personal |
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| Education: |
Pierce College (1978), A.A. in Science |
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Loyola Marymount (1980), B.A. in English |
| Date of Birth: |
May 27, 1957 in Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Family: |
Wife - Mollie Busterud Dunlap. Children: Holt, Spencer and Ellie |
