Mike Dunleavy Sr. to Tulane: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

Mike Dunleavy Sr., who has spent parts of 17 seasons as an NBA head coach, was announced as the next men's basketball coach at Tulane University on Monday.  

“We could not be more excited to welcome Mike Dunleavy to the Green Wave family,” Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen said in a statement. “His reputation as a great evaluator of talent, master of strategy and teacher of the game define him today as one of the top basketball minds in the country at any level. His commitment to Tulane athletics is a game-changer for our program.”

Dunleavy, 62, last coached the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2009-10 season. He has compiled a 613-716 record overall, which has featured stints with the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers, along with the Clippers.

"I am delighted to have the opportunity to coach the Green Wave and excited to help develop the student-athletes at Tulane into champions," said Dunleavy.

Finding a through line from Dunleavy to Tulane—or even college basketball—is difficult. Dunleavy is a native New Yorker. He played his college ball at South Carolina from 1972-76 and never returned to the amateur game. An 11-year NBA playing career was followed by a lengthy coaching career at the pro level, where he worked both on the bench and in player personnel.

Outside scouting collegiate players to draft, Dunleavy has had no ties to college basketball in 40 years. 

There is also no obvious draw to Dunleavy for Tulane. At age 62, Dunleavy cannot be seen as a long-term cornerstone of the program. Perhaps he's seen as a temporary stepping stone in the process of a national ascent (see: Larry Brown, SMU), but it's unclear if Dunleavy has the cache to make that happen.

His tenure in Los Angeles was rife with calls for his dismissal. During the latter part of his tenure, Dunleavy was known as a below-average coach—if not one of the very worst in the NBA. The likes of Bill Simmons spent years creating column fodder by making light of Dunleavy's coaching decisions.

For the younger generation, whom Dunleavy will be targeting, that is the reputation he will contend with. None of the players he'll be recruiting were alive when he took the Lakers to a NBA Finals berth in 1990-91. Nearly all of them were babies during his promising Portland run, which featured a pair of conference finals berths.

With more than six full years out of coaching, it's understandable Dunleavy has the itch. The fit here just appears to be more awkward than anything.

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