"Upon his hiring at St. John's, Dunlap was praised by a litany of marquee coaches as a basketball genius:
• "Within the coaching circle, he is looked upon as one of the next Coach Ks or Roy Williams or Calhouns. I don't know a better teacher or mentor than Mike. He is a walking encyclopedia of basketball knowledge," said coaching great George Raveling.
• "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," said Karl.
• "He is one of the outstanding minds in the game," said retired Arizona coach Lute Olson."