Who saw this one coming? Anyone who says they did was named Michael Jordan or Mike Dunlap. That's because very few people could have ever seen the hiring of Dunlap coming -- a guy who was not named among the finals for the Charlotte Bobcats head coaching position. Yet instead of going with Brian Shaw or Quin Snyder, as expected, the Bobcats threw a curveball to everyone and went with the surprise candidate that has left everyone scratching their heads.
Congrats to #stjbb Asst. Coach Mike Dunlap on the head coaching position with Charlotte! First #NCAA asst to become a #NBA head coach!
— STJ_Basketball(@STJ_Basketball) June 19, 2012
That message from St. John's official Twitter feed, where Dunlap was an assistant college coach, says it all. The school can trumpet it for their program, but there's no denying the surprise involved for all. From college assistant to NBA head coach? Yes, the Bobcats did just that.
Snyder and Shaw were called the final two candidates in line after Jerry Sloan withdrew his name from consideration. Perhaps Snyder and Shaw were all for show and the team only wanted Sloan. But all of this is ridiculous to even consider. If Michael Jordan and the other decision makers for the Bobcats didn't want the other finalists at all, then why even go through with it? It's an exercise in futility and a ridiculous notion.
Dunlap might be a fine person and coach, but the poor guy is going to a team without any impact talent to speak of at any single position. The team waffles on whether or not they want their draft pick and now they've done the same with their head coaching hire. The Bobcats aren't going anywhere in the next few years and Dunlap's first go-around as NBA head coach will be another victim in the end.