BREAKING NEWS- A source close to the situation has confirmed that Mike Dunlap will become Steve Lavin’s second hire for the St. John’s Basketball staff.

Earlier in the week JohnnyJungle.com broke the news that Tony Chiles would be named Lavin’s first hire as assistant coach for the St. John’s basketball team. Chiles, who is known to have strong recruiting ties in New York topped with a ton of coaching experience, made him an exceptional choice as a first hire.

The media has played up the AAU recruiting scene in New York to be mafia-esque needing an inside man to get the job done. No matter what connections a coach may have, if you’re not winning ball games then you’re not going to be able to acquire talent. This is why an X and O tactician is needed on the staff and Mike Dunlap is certainly a master at that.

Who is Mike Dunlap?

Most recently you might recall Dunlap being in the news in the wake of Lute Olsen’s retirement. Dunlap who was the most seasoned assistant on the staff was offered the position as interim head coach but turned it down citing,

“I said, ‘If you give me or anybody else the interim label, you’re going to lose four recruits that are high-end.’ That’s not a good way to deal with things, and I believe in doing things right.”

In the end his integrity stance didn’t earn him the job; however, he did command a ton of respect from all of his players and peers. As Arizona gained some more headlines by hiring radio analyst Russ Pennell as the interim coach, Dunlap began developing different schemes which helped lead the Wildcats to a Sweet 16 run being one of the most hands on assistant.

• Spent a season as an assistant coach at Oregon under Ernie Kent.

• Spent a season as an assistant coach at Arizona, and shared head coaching duties with Russ Pennell when Lute Olsen retired.

• Spent two years as an assistant coach for the NBA’s Denver Nuggets.

• Spent nine years at NCAA Division II Metro State (Colo.), winning national championships in 1999-2000 and 2001-02 (Record at Metro State, 248-50).

• Spent three years as professional coach in Australia, leading the Adelaide 36ers to National Basketball League semifinals in 1995 and 1996.

• Spent five years as the coach at Cal Lutheran, leading his 1992, 1993 and 1994 teams to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) titles and appearances in the NCAA Division III National Championship.

• Served as an assistant coach at Southern California under George Raveling, as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa and spent five years at Loyola Marymount University.

Justin Burrell told the NY Daily News at the Steve Lavin press conference, “I loved everything he had to say. I understood what he said. I really hope everything goes through,” Burrell said, “but my main thing is I just don’t want him to focus too much on the future. I definitely want him to help us out this year.”

No worries, Justin, Mike Dunlap is the perfect fit for St. John’s. He is going to make an immediate impact on the current roster, aiding Coach Lavin in any and every tactical decision on the court. Another great hire for Steve Lavin and St. John’s Basketball.

Keep reading JohnnyJungle.com for all the latest breaking news on St. John’s Basketball.

***Dunlap has yet to sign with St. John’s. The information I received was a bit pre-mature however it still looks promising that Dunlap will take the job after some dust settles. 4/10/10

There are certainly plenty of “recruiters” in the New York area that are at Steve Lavin’s disposal for joining the St. John’s Basketball staff however more importantly is Lavin’s ability to find a veteran coach who can assist him with the X’s and O’s on a daily basis. Given Lavin’s background for his coaching not being up to par with his recruiting certainly raises concern on who’s holding a clipboard along side of him on the bench. Sources close to the situation have told JohnnyJungle.com that Mike Dunlap was the hottest name in Indianapolis this weekend being rumored to be heading to Queens to join Lavin’s “Dream Team” of coaches.

Some of you might be saying who is Mike Dunlap? Some of you might be thinking of car tires. Well let me tell you a little bit about this basketball journeyman.

Most recently you might recall Dunlap being in the news in the wake of Lute Olsen’s retirement. Dunlap who was the most seasoned assistant on the staff was offered the position as interim head coach but turned it down citing,

“I said, ‘If you give me or anybody else the interim label, you’re going to lose four recruits that are high-end.’ That’s not a good way to deal with things, and I believe in doing things right.”

In the end his integrity stance didn’t earn him the job however he did command a ton of respect from all of his players and peers. As Arizona gained some more headlines by hiring radio analyst Russ Pennell as the interim coach, Dunlap began developing different schemes which helped lead the Wildcats to a Sweet 16 run being one of the most hands on assistant.

As Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated described, “Pennell and Dunlap stood and paced the sideline. During timeouts, Pennell sat in a chair and dispensed his wisdom. Dunlap took a knee alongside and dispensed his. To someone who hadn’t seen the Wildcats play, it would have been nearly impossible to determine which was the head coach.”

With good reason because Dunlap was previously a head coach at Division II school Metro State (Colorado) where he led them to 9 consecutive NCAA appearances which resulted in two national titles in 2000 and again in 2002. In his 9 season there he compiled a 248-50 record.

Dunlap also has NBA coaching experience as he was a member of George Karl’s staff in Denver for two seasons. He received that job after he spent some time in Australia coaching the Adelaide 36ers.

Other Experience:

• Head coach at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif., compiling an 80-54 record over five seasons. He led CLU to three conference championships and was named Kodak District Coach of the Year in 1994.
• Assistant coach at the University of Southern California under George Raveling, the University of Iowa and Loyola Marymount University – his alma mater.

He’s the clipboard man that Lavin needs on staff. Don’t believe me? Check out some of his practice notes from his time at Metro State. He’s very detail oriented and commands a ton of discipline from his players leading by example.

“I’m a 16- to 18-hour worker,” he said. “All I want to do is work myself to exhaustion and get to the pillow.” -Mike Dunlap

As any developments unfold in the staffing situation they will be reported here first. Be sure to get all your news and information on St. John’s Basketball here only on JohnnyJungle.com