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| Team: Oregon, Sophomore |
| Physicals | Positions | Rankings | Misc |
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H: 6' 9"
W: 253 lbs
Bday: 07/02/1989
(20 Years Old)
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Current: PF/C
NBA: PF
Possible:
| Round: 2 Pick: 8 in 2011 Mock Draft
Rank 20 in NCAA Sophomores
Rank 87 in Top 100 Prospects
RSCI: 24
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High School: Farragut Academy
Hometown: Chicago, IL
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| Basic Per Game Statistics - Comprehensive Stats - Statistical Top 25s |
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| Top NBA Draft Prospects in the Pac-10 (Part One: #1-5)
September 12, 2009
Jonathan Givony
A rare back to the basket oriented big men, Michael Dunigan had an up and down freshman season that regardless put him firmly on the radar screens of NBA talent evaluators due to the obvious pro potential he clearly possesses.
Standing 6-10, with a massive frame, long arms, and decent athleticism, Dunigan passes the look test on first glance and then some. He’s a somewhat plodding, below the rim big man who is relatively mobile for his frame, but isn’t going to blow anyone away with his highlight reel tape.
A threat to establish deep post position at any time thanks to his terrific strength, Dunigan has extremely soft hands which allow him to catch virtually anything thrown his way. The overwhelming majority of his offense comes in this fashion, as he doesn’t possess a plethora of moves he can go to if he needs to create his own offense. Dunigan regardless gets to the free throw line at an excellent rate, although he only converts on 58% of his attempts once there. He seems to have nice touch around the rim (especially on his turnaround jumper and jump-hook), to complement his quick feet, so it may only be a matter of time until he improves substantially in these areas.
The rest of Dunigan’s offense needs plenty of work. Right now he’s a fairly poor passer, looking somewhat single-minded once he catches the ball and decides to go to work. He doesn’t run the floor all that well, often appearing to be the last one up the court, jogging at a leisurely pace. He also shows very little resembling a face-up game, looking fairly awkward when attempting to shoot jumpers outside of 8 feet (which is reflected in his poor free throw percentages) and also not possessing any real ball-handling skills either. At 6-10, NBA teams would probably like to see Dunigan be able to spend at least a little time at the power forward position, but right now his skill-set is much closer to that of a traditional center.
Defensively, Dunigan doesn’t do much to change that perception either. He looks fairly heavy trying to step out and move his feet on the perimeter, where his poor fundamentals really get exposed. He tends to over-commit and bite on pump-fakes fairly regularly, often leaving his teammates high and dry in the process. Dunigan is an extremely foul-prone player, which is one of the main reasons he played just a hair under 20 minutes per game on average last season. In the post, things aren’t a whole lot better, as he regularly gives up deep position and then gets burned by average college big men. He does have some tools on this end, though, showing the hands and timing to make some nice plays from time to time, especially in the form of an occasional block or steal, but his lack of experience really shows.
As a rebounder, Dunigan can’t be described as anything more than average at best, at least as far as production is concerned. The lethargic impression you get at times while watching him play seems to show up the most vividly in this area, as he just doesn’t crash the glass as well as a player with his size, bulk and length should at the college level, especially on the defensive end.
Despite the seemingly harsh criticism, Dunigan actually may have a very bright future ahead of him. The tools he brings to the table are undeniable, and many of the issues he faces are very much correctable, especially in terms of fundamentals, technique and effort. It will be interesting to see how Dunigan builds off the solid freshman campaign he put together, as that will teach us quite a bit more about his long-term NBA potential.
 [Read Full Article]
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