Missouri coach Gary Pinkel remembered the late Mike Dunbar during Monday’s half-hour session with the media.
Dunbar, who
died Friday in Washington state after a two-year battle with cancer, served as Pinkel’s offensive coordinator from 1992-96 at Toledo.
“Mike was a great guy, a great family man and a great coach,” Pinkel said. “He had an impact on a lot of people. I love him and am going to miss him.”
During a coaching career that spanned five different decades, Dunbar, who was Pinkel’s assistant head coach the final three seasons with the Rockets, went 29-15 after taking the reins at Northern Iowa, where he averaged more than seven wins per season from 1997-2000.
“I found that out early Saturday that that happened,” Pinkel said. “He died of mesothelioma. It’s a disease that can’t be cured. My daughter-in-law’s father has the same thing.”
Pinkel also talked about his mentor, former Washington and Kent State coach Don James, who
was hospitalized Sept. 2 in Seattle.
“Coach James is out of the hospital,” Pinkel said. “He called me today and I got a chance to talk to him a little bit. They’re doing to make some decisions on what they’re going to do.”
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