PBA Preview: Dun, dun, dunnnnnn! (Michael Dunigan, Barangay Ginebra)

Michael Dunigan has been here before and now he’s back. But then again, Michael Dunigan has been everywhere.

miked — Pictures of Michael Dunigan dunking go *way* back.

Michael Dunigan started out his basketball path playing for Farragut Academy in Illinois which for diehard fans NBA fans should know of as the high school that sent out Kevin Garnett to the NBA. Dunigan was one of the top high school Centers in the Nation and was a part of the popular McDonald’s All American game that has produced NBA All-Star after All-Star.

That domination in high school never did quite translate into college with the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks were miserable in his first year finishing with 8 wins and 23 losses, while Dunigan, who was easily the tallest player on the team and only legitimate center couldn’t rebound more than 5 boards per game. His second year was slightly but not much better as the Ducks ended with a 16-16 record. Dunigan was one of the more better offensive players on the team, but the Ducks were very guard orientated so a center like Dunigan was left in the background a bit.
Dunigan then bounced around Europe, Austrailia, and Asia before finally ending up with arguably the most popular team in the PBA, Barangay Ginebra.

His twitter account is prepared for the stardom already setting the cover photo to be all out Gin Kings.
Dunigan is familiar with the basketball scene in the Philippines already however, having played for Air21 Express in 2013 Commisioner’s Cup.

mikedunigan100 — Photo Courtesy of Spin.PH

He was one of the only four players who stayed with their team throughout the conference and was tabbed as one of the candidates for Best Import of the Conference. Dunigan and the Air21 Express lost in the 1st round of the playoff round to eventual champions, the Alaska Aces and Best Import of the Conference, Robert Dozier.

Dunigan is a bruiser inside and he has seemed to have garnered a lot of experience since leaving Oregon. When he entered the NBA Draft in 2011, scouts were quite impressed by his defensive intensity and his rebounding even though he would eventually go undrafted.
His rebounding percentage among international competition has been impressive leveling around 19% and he’s showed that he can be the go-to guy on the teams that he’s been.

The talent is not a question. Dunigan will be one of the most talented and seasoned imports in this conference even at a young ago of 25. What is up in the air is how Ginebra will utilize him. Ginebra went through some coaching changes during the Philippine cup break and now they are reportedly a run-and-gun team under coach Ato Agustin. Ginebra is a team that already has two of the top inside players in the league (Marcus Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar) and has signed an import that has been an inside banger his entire career.
I am both skeptical an intrigued as to how fast this team will actually go while still maintaining to maximize the teams potential.

The only game I watched thus far of Ginebra was when Talk & Text dismantled them in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Cup and it sure didn’t look pretty. The talent was there for Ginebra, but it just seemed to be all over the place. Let’s hope that Michael Dunigan and the newly appointed Agustin can change all of that and get it all together.

Here is a picture of @TeamDunDun and his dog, King Blu, just because.