Around Oregon Sports: Dunigan Leaves Ducks, Cunningham's Summer, Training Camp Questions For Blazers

Written by Travis Margoni | 14 September 2010

The Oregon Ducks men's basketball team is losing some height.  Center Michael Dunigan, who averaged 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game, has signed a three-year professional contract with an Israeli team, Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem. Dunigan, a 6-foot-10, 255-pound four-star recruit who shot 55% from the field, was entering his third season with the Ducks.

Bad news for the Ducks, and bad news for college basketball -- this may well become a trend. And really, why not head to Europe to take in the culture and the pay for a few years?  These are competitive leagues with great coaches. Dunigan's departure is an especially bad sign for the Ducks program, though, because this is the fifth player to leave the team since Oregon hired new head coach Dana Altman -- fifth.

OSU Beavers basketball seems to continue on the up and up.  Sophomore point guard Jared Cunningham lives on the up and up, as you can see from this new mixtape of his summer play at this year's San Francisco Pro-Am.  Cunningham might be the most exciting basketball player in the state not playing for the Portland Trail Blazers.  Let's hope he sticks around for all four years.  Europe's not going anywhere.

Questions surround those Blazers, though, and Beyond the Beat will address many of them in our Training Camp Countdown series between now and Sept. 27.  Dave at Blazers Edge outlines his expectations for Brandon Roy this season, and priority number 1 is obvious: stay healthy.  "Whatever it takes--drop weight, don't practice, depend on teammates more -- Brandon has to do it."

Greg Oden, Greg Oden, Greg Oden.  Wasn't the big man considering a return against the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs?  His knee is progressing, but he's not going to be participating in full basketball activities at the start of Blazers training camp.  Did something change in that knee, or merely in the team's approach to his rehab and the information shared with media?

Rumor has it that ESPN's College Gameday will be on hand for the OSU-Boise State game in Idaho on Sept. 25, and the game is scheduled for ABC on the West Coast.  But the Beavers can't look past Louisville, even if the Cardinals haven't scored in the first quarter yet this season.  That might be one key to winning in Corvallis this Saturday. 

The Oregon Ducks face in-state rival opponent Portland State this weekend, and new PSU coach Nigel Burton has his team on the right track.  The Vikings are coming off a nice win over UC Davis, 41-33, but the game at Autzen should make for a third consecutive blowout for the Ducks.  The different philosophies in scheduling between the Beavers and the Ducks couldn't be more glaring -- the Beavers go big early, facing two top-ten opponents in their first three games, while the Ducks look to get their wheels rolling with three unranked non-conference opponents before beginning Pac-10 play against Arizona State Sept. 25. 

Finally, a piece of trivia thanks to Dwight Jaynes: who was the worst GM in Portland Beavers history? Jerry "Crumbs" Krause.  Yes, that Jerry Krause.

photo: daylife