With few options, Dunigan went pro;Basketball Oregon Men;An attorney for the ex-Duck center says he
Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard
Michael Dunigan "didn't want to leave" Oregon, said the Chicago-area attorney who represents the former UO basketball player, but foundit to be "a situation" in which he had no choice.
George Andrews said he couldn't elaborate on the specifics that led Dunigan to decide to leave college with two years of eligibility remaining and sign with a professional team in Israel.
"Michael certainly enjoyed being at Oregon and attending school there and playing basketball for Oregon," Andrews said in a telephone interview Friday. "But since the season ended, a lot has gone on out there. That's all I really want to say."
Andrews declined comment on the speculation that Dunigan chose to leave after the UO began an investigation into the eligibility of what the school now describes as "former players" on the past two teams.The attorney said Dunigan's decision was for "personal" reasons, andadded that player departures aren't unusual when a coaching change is made.
Oregon fired Ernie Kent after last season and, following an extended search, hired Dana Altman as the new coach.
Andrews said he has advised Dunigan not to grant interviews or talk to anyone about his departure. Dunigan is now in Israel, preparing for his professional debut later this month.
Dunigan left Eugene for Chicago about Aug. 20 after Oregon cancelled a planned trip to Italy. Andrews said Dunigan's mother contacted him in "late August" seeking representation, and said he hadn't known either of the Dunigans until then.
Andrews has previously represented professional athletes and taught sports law, and is well-known in the Chicago area.
"I've helped a lot of people over the years and that's all I'm doing, helping Michael," Andrews said.
While Oregon is still preparing the release of documents in response to a public records request on its investigation into the eligibility of former players, a UO spokesman said Friday that Altman and hisassistant coaches aren't named in the information sent to the Pac-10, which was forwarded to the NCAA.
That's a significant revelation because Oregon had previously saidthat its inquiry related only to former players and their eligibility, and that no current players were involved. Because Dunigan is one of those former players and had worked out with the current staff, upto mid-August, there could have been questions from recruits and their families about any link in the probe to Altman.
The statement from Dave Williford, the UO executive assistant athletic director for media relations, was made as an assurance that Oregon believes there's no involvement by the current staff in the matter.
The Register-Guard has filed a request for public records related to the investigation, and an Oregon official said the release of information could come "early next week." It isn't unusual for such a request, made Tuesday, to take that long to be answered because the names of students have to be removed because of federal laws that protectstudent privacy.
The information expected to be released by the UO, while not a final resolution, could offer an indication of how serious the matter isas it relates to possible NCAA violations.
Dunigan isn't the only former player not taking questions on the investigation. Of the four players who have transferred to other NCAA schools since last season, none could be reached for comment Friday, and at least two of them won't be available to the media, spokesmen at their respective schools said.
Josh Crittle, like Dunigan from Chicago, is now at the University of Central Florida, where a spokesman said that neither Crittle nor two other transfers sitting out this season are available for interviews on any topic.
A spokesman for Boston College, where Matt Humphrey has transferred, said the school will have no comment on Oregon's investigation, though "we are aware of the inquiry."
The spokesman added that Humphrey, another former UO player from Chicago, "will not be speaking about the matter."
There was no response Friday from either Boise State, which Drew Wiley is attending, or Marquette, the new school for Jamil Wilson.
