Dunigan latest to leave UO program;Basketball Oregon Men;As expected, the center reportedly signs a
Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard
Michael Dunigan's career at Oregon is apparently over, with the Hapoel Migdal team in Jerusalem posting on its website Saturday that the Israeli professional team has signed the two-year Duck and is listing him on its roster.
No details on the contract were available, but one report indicated that it would be a three-year deal.
A high school player from the United States signed with another Israeli team last year for an annual salary of $140,000.
Efforts to contact Dunigan and family members have been unsuccessful since the report surfaced more than a week ago that he was contemplating leaving the Ducks to play professionally.
Dunigan's departure leaves the Ducks with only nine scholarship players for the first season under new coach Dana Altman. There will also be only two Ducks taller than 6-feet-6 on the roster with the lossof the 6-10 Dunigan.
Four players previously transferred to other schools, and the lengthy hiring process to replace Ernie Kent left Altman with little timeand few options for recruiting more players. He did sign one incoming freshman and one junior-college transfer to the returning players.
Dunigan averaged 9.0 points last season and a team-high 4.8 rebounds, and he was fifth in the Pac-10 with 37 blocked shots. He also ledthe Ducks in shooting percentage at .544.
Dunigan was considered one of the top high school post players as a senior at Farragut Academy in Chicago. He was a McDonald's all-American and was named Gatorade's player of the year for the state of Illinois.
While the other two Chicago natives left Oregon after spring term and have selected new schools, Dunigan was in Eugene for most of the summer, attending classes and practicing with the team while it was preparing for a trip to Italy that was postponed until next year.
