mike dunleavy visits

SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Mike Dunleavy At Stanford This Weekend;
Will Visit UNC & Duke Next--(Oct. 4, 1998)

Mike Dunleavy (6'-7" Sr. SG/SF) was on campus at Stanford this weekend, hanging around Maples with the Collins brothers, Mad Dog and some of the other players. When he was last here in Los Angeles, we spoke with him and with brother Baker about Mike's recruiting, and as most people know by now, Mike is down to three schools: Stanford, Duke, and UNC. Mike liked all three coach's presentations during the home visits, and was pretty impressed, enough to take official visits at all three. Next week, he's scheduled to be on the east coast, and we're not sure whether he'll visit both Duke and UNC in the same weekend, but we do know he's going to be at one or the other.

This summer we also had a long chat with Mike's dad, Portland Trailblazer's coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. , and he was pretty frank about the factors that will influence his son's decision: 1) Academics; 2) Academics; 3) Winning Team; 4) Academics; 5) Location.

Now, we know what we think coach Dunleavy meant by "location", but it's sort of open to interpretation, and actually, we'd like to think that if academics are that important, Stanford might have the lead in the Dunleavy Derby. It's on the west coast, near an NBA City (but then so is UNC, and Duke is not far away from one either), it's got great academics (hey UNC and Duke are no slouches either), and Stanford is knocking on the door to win the NCAA possibly this year or next (but how many banners do Duke and UNC have hanging? A few more than Stanford, we'd say).

And here's some additional insight: Coach Mike Montgomery stayed for dinner with the family; coach K came before dinner, and didn't stay; and we're not sure whether coach Gutheridge stayed for dinner or not. We have no idea what Mrs. Dunleavy's cooking is like, so that might or might not be a good thing :-0). You know, some people find solace or are troubled by these little details.

Right now, we'd say it's way too close to call, but if we hear about Mike Dunleavy verballing, we'll be sure to keep you informed.