Hands holding their shorts with fatigue, Tajuan Porter, Drew Wiley, Garrett Sim and Michael Dunigan gathered around Oregon associated head coach Mike Dunlap on Thursday, winded but listening to the new hire who has been in town for barely a week.
His voice was hushed, and the players nodded with understanding. Then he told them to go talk with head coach Ernie Kent, who stood on the sideline.
When the players got around Kent he asked all four: “What did you learn today?”
It could be a common refrain for the young Ducks after an 8-23 season – and Dunlap hasn’t been timid to teach them in the week he has been in town, leading to Kent’s common refrain after practice.
“Screening gets you open,” point guard Garrett Sim said, after the players ran through layup drills, back-cutting their opponents and working on screening for 30 minutes as media watched.
Dunlap has been getting acclimated as well, with Eugene, with his players and with the new coaching staff he’ll be a part of.
As for the players, who he scouted as an Arizona assistant last year, he sees a raw, athletic group who are looking for guidance.
“What’s glaring is they want to be coached,” said Dunlap, whose broad experience, from abroad to the NBA, drew Kent’s eye. “I think the biggest improvement is time. They were my scout and I thought they were athletic and could play fast but they need to learn how to play slow.”
And so, taking a cue from the new guy, the Ducks have been taking it slow.
As Kent watched from the sidelines, Dunlap worked with assistants Kenny Payne and Yasir Rosemond on the court, his voice the loudest and clearest with instructions.
“How many steps did Garrett take when he back-cutted?” he said. “Two. Very good.”
Later, as he led a two-on-two screening drill, he let them know setting screens is selfish, because screeners always get open. The lesson then? Set better screens.
“Make screening an art,” he told the four in a measured tone. “It’s an amazing contradiction. I screen so I can get open. Welcome to life.”
A believer in reinforcing discipline and the basics, Dunlap dissected the drills. He first met with players Friday, and held a similar workout on Tuesday rife with details and teaching moments. He also comes in with a background of discipline, and however small of a gesture, had losers of several drills do five push-ups after each lost drill.
Kent bristled when asked about how the coaches’ roles, and possibly his, would change with Dunlap in the fold. His message was much like it was during the season: Give it time.
“He’s only been here a week,” Kent said, pointing at Dunlap, whose tucked-in white T-shirt and navy workout pants looked like he hadn’t had time to be issued Oregon gear. “We’re going to sit down and look at every game tape and look at every drill we do … and have a real good feel of putting on a real clinic ourselves of what we do and why we do it.”
Dunlap also sees his new job as a blank slate, and called it the “best job in the Pac-10.” It’s not the situation he’s ever stepped in, either, he said, reflecting on the Cal Lutheran job he took to three NCAA Tournaments after inheriting it when the program was transitioning from Division II to non-scholarship Division III, and had losing seasons in 17 of the previous 20 years.
He steps into a situation that is perfect, as he called it, for a basketball coach. Compensated better than any other Oregon assistant with a two-year contract worth $400,000 annually, and a $300,000 bonus, he won’t have to deal with the extra-curricular responsibilities in the community like Kent does, leaving him to focus on the players.
“The majority of my time is spent on the hardwood and when it’s not I’m mingling with the players off campus, or on, in terms of trying to create relationships.”
Dunlap had a shot to take the helm of Arizona basketball in October but turned it down because it would only be for the one season. He called the “disappointing” situation a chance to stay in the Pac-10 while still being a hot coaching commodity, a lesson his players can learn from.
“If you’re patient, you’ll get your shot at it,” he said.
It won’t be the last thing they learn from him.
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