2017 Juco Combo Guard Malik Dunbar commits to AU

[Charhair 345]

 

Edited April 16, 2017 by ellitor

[thaitopher 807]

Is this guy gonna play a key role in getting us to the NCAA tournament? Is he any good?

[aufan57 922]

Good article

Quote

The Florida JUCO Shootout took place this past weekend at the College of Central Florida as well as Santa Fe College.  All 20 of the Florida JUCO’s played 2 games over the weekend.  Malik Dunbar (6’6, Wing, 2017) of College of Central Florida proved his is not only one of the best available players in FL, but also in the country.  He averaged 29.5 points and 10.5 over the 2 games in front of numerous coaches while also helping his team win both games.  

Dunbar is a very strong, athletic wing that plays with motor.  He gets to the rim off the dribble and does a nice job of finishing over and through contact.  He is a tough competitor that plays extremely hard.  He can guard multiple positions with his strength and quickness.  He has always been known as a great athlete but he has improved his perimeters skills and outside shooting.  In the 2015-16 season, he averaged 10.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists while shooting 40.3% from the field and 26.5% from 3. Thru 16 games this season, he is averaging 16.2 points, 7 rebounds, 2.4 assists while shooting 49.4% from the field an 32.1% from 3.      

JucoRecruiting.com talked with Malik about his current interests, his plans for any visits and what he is looking for in a program.  Dunbar said the schools that contact him and are recruiting him the most include Portland, Portland State, South Carolina State, UNC Greensboro, South Florida, Jacksonville State, East Tennessee State, Iowa State, Mississippi State, and Wichita State. When asked about visits to any of these schools, Dunbar said “I don’t have any visits set up at the time, but a lot of schools are working on dates for me to come in for unofficial and official visits.”

When asked about what he is looking for in a program, he said “I’m looking for a family like program who is looking to win and getting their players to the next level as a priority.”  Dunbar also mentioned that location is does matter to him by saying “I would definitely like to be somewhat close to home, I have my own family to take care of and I have to help out as much as I can.”

Dunbar is one of the best available wings in the country because of his size, athleticism, and scoring ability.  Expect Dunbar’s recruitment to increase rapidly as the season continues on.  You can see Malik and the rest of the Central Florida Patriots on Dec 31st against Hillsborough CC. 

http://www.jucorecruiting.com/news_article/show/734690-malik-dunbar-s-recruitment-continues-to-heat-up-after-strong-performance-

[ellitor 33,085]

5 minutes ago, thaitopher said:

Is this guy gonna play a key role in getting us to the NCAA tournament? Is he any good?

Maybe to both.

FWIW Skip Jansen who is a respected AU fan & big follower of AAU & juco ball, says the Florida juco competition is as good as it gets at the juco level.

Edited April 16, 2017 by ellitor

[Charhair 345]

21 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Maybe to both.

FWIW Skip Jansen who is a respected AU fan & big follower of AAU & juco ball, says the Florida juco competition is as good as it gets at the juco level.

It is. A friend of mine is head coach of one of the teams in Dunbar's region. I keep in touch with him mainly for basketball talk but he and many of the teams around him having been sending a good amount of talent to big name schools. 

not unusual to see 3-5 or so teams out of that region in the top 10 nationally. (ETA: they ended the season with only one at #3 and 4 ranked)

I hadn't heard of Dunbar before our interest in him but I know my buddy's team had 2 kids with SEC offers on his team last I talked to him and a couple others receiving decent offers as well. 

Good coaching and talent in that region for sure. 

Edited April 16, 2017 by Charhair

[au302 2,669]

Sounds like this guy is a tough player who plays his heart out. That right there can be huge for this team

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

Sounds like the type of combo guard Pearl loves 

[ellitor 33,085]

 

 

[AURandy56 148]

Is getting this guy any indication that Mustafa Herron is indeed leaving AU? 

[ellitor 33,085]

Just now, AURandy56 said:

Is getting this guy any indication that Mustafa Herron is indeed leaving AU? 

No. That was debunked here. The staff always planned to get a combo guard in this class if they could. He brings much needed toughness which was badly missing last season.

[AU64 10,122]

Looks like a solid kid....always wonder how a guy with his build, etc ends up at a JC...also note a good knee brace...had he been hurt at some point in HS or JUCO?

Can be nice addition if he will play some D...

[ellitor 33,085]

44 minutes ago, AU64 said:

had he been hurt at some point in HS or JUCO?

Nothing really known about him yet other than he committed to AU & appears to be tough.

[AURandy56 148]

2 hours ago, ellitor said:

No. That was debunked here. The staff always planned to get a combo guard in this class if they could. He brings much needed toughness which was badly missing last season.

Good. Thank you for the response. I'm very glad Herron is staying. 

[AU64 10,122]

2 hours ago, ellitor said:

Nothing really known about him yet other than he committed to AU & appears to be tough.

that's how I saw it....and not afraid to take it to the hole....hoping for a bigger version of Denson perhaps? 

[Charhair 345]

22 minutes ago, AU64 said:

that's how I saw it....and not afraid to take it to the hole....hoping for a bigger version of Denson perhaps? 

I liked his ability to get to the rim but that's always one of the tougher things to judge in terms of how it'll translate to college, imo. But he did beat some teams that had some impressive big men playing for them this past season. 

from his ability to slash and score, (seemingly) decent shot, crazy athletic and tough, I would compare him to Dunnans. I know a lot of Auburn fans won't really like to hear that but they have a similar skill set and like Dunnans, he'll be able to play multiple positions without giving up much size/speed/athleticism.

That's assuming his defense is good, which I wouldn't doubt. Even if it's not, if he gets motivated to become a good defender then he'll be able to with his athleticism. 

Edited April 16, 2017 by Charhair

[AU64 10,122]

7 minutes ago, Charhair said:

I liked his ability to get to the rim but that's always one of the tougher things to judge in terms of how it'll translate to college, imo. But he did beat some teams that had some impressive big men playing for them this past season. 

from his ability to slash and score, (seemingly) decent shot, crazy athletic and tough, I would compare him to Dunnans. I know a lot of Auburn fans won't really like to hear that but they have a similar skill set and like Dunnans, he'll be able to play multiple positions without giving up much size/speed/athleticism.

That's assuming his defense is good, which I wouldn't doubt. Even if it's not, if he gets motivated to become a good defender then he'll be able to with his athleticism. 

I first though of Dunans but hated how out of control he was so many times.    D had the desire and speed....hoping this guy has the eye for the hoop but makes better decisions.  

I found some older videos when he was in HS....again wondering why he was in Juco ....maybe academics but one site called him the best kept secret in South Carolina.    i  note he played on the same team as PJ Dozier....not a great team and as a forward he might not have attracted much notice.

[Charhair 345]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

I first though of Dunans but hated how out of control he was so many times.    D had the desire and speed....hoping this guy has the eye for the hoop but makes better decisions.  

I found some older videos when he was in HS....again wondering why he was in Juco ....maybe academics but one site called him the best kept secret in South Carolina.    i  note he played on the same team as PJ Dozier....not a great team and as a forward he might not have attracted much notice.

A lot of times it's academics or being overlooked in high school, undersized in high school. 

i think Dunnans problem was he tried to take over the games at the wrong times, a lot. When he did so against Uk, it was great but it didn't always turn out that way. Better decision making, I agree. 

[Tigger1985 806]

Like his hustle and defense

[PUB78 1,358]

Looks like a good addition. Still need a PF or Center.

[mustache eagle 2,397]

I'd take another "Dunnans" type player (on-court) in a freaking heartbeat.  Way to many positive intangibles, energy and multiple skill sets not the be considered an asset.

[ausburn 159]

Made an awesome 3 pointer at the end of the tape.

[cole256 17,043]

Sounds like exactly the type of guy we need, as stated before, need long guards you can fight through screens and if we do switch it's still not that much of a mismatch. Also we're longer and more active in passing lanes and we can play a more effective zone at times as well. Plus a guy that can finish on breaks and don't have to rely on shooting a bunch of jump shots. This is what Purifoy was supposed to be in my mind, then we made him a 4 and turned him into a 3 point shooter.....

[cole256 17,043]

On 4/16/2017 at 9:03 AM, AU64 said:

Looks like a solid kid....always wonder how a guy with his build, etc ends up at a JC...also note a good knee brace...had he been hurt at some point in HS or JUCO?

Can be nice addition if he will play some D...

Grades usually

[AU64 10,122]

46 minutes ago, cole256 said:

Sounds like exactly the type of guy we need, as stated before, need long guards you can fight through screens and if we do switch it's still not that much of a mismatch. Also we're longer and more active in passing lanes and we can play a more effective zone at times as well. Plus a guy that can finish on breaks and don't have to rely on shooting a bunch of jump shots. This is what Purifoy was supposed to be in my mind, then we made him a 4 and turned him into a 3 point shooter.....

Not sure we turned him (DP) into a 3 point shooter....  Seems to be his preference though I would have to look back at some old video....but since he's been at AU he's not generally been an aggressive "drive to the basket" type player.   This guy on the other hand seems to have a nose for the basket though looks like he can hit the 3 from time to time.

Edited April 18, 2017 by AU64

[cole256 17,043]

The point of playing him at 4 was supposed to stretch, meaning the defense, as a first year player you're telling him he has to shoot at LEAST a moderate amount of 3's for defenses to even have a scouting report to respect him as an outside shooter