Dirk Dunbar

Dirk Dunbar (born 28 October 1953) is an American former basketball player and coach. He was one of the first foreign players to play in Iceland where he led the Úrvalsdeild karla in scoring and won the Icelandic Cup in 1978.

Dirk Dunbar
Personal information
Born (1953-10-28) October 28, 1953
NationalityAmerican
Listed height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Career information
College
PositionGuard
Number12
Career history
As player:
1977–1979ÍS
As coach:
1977–1978ÍS (women's)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

College career

Dunbar played basketball for Central Michigan University[1] and was the Mid-American Conference third leading scorer as a freshman.[2] He was plagued by injuries during his stay at Central Michigan, missing all but 11 games of his sophomore season due to two knee surgeries. He red shirted his junior year before deciding to transfer to Eckerd College in January 1976.[3] At Eckerd, he set the schools single game and season scoring records.[4][5]

Club career

Dunbar signed with ÍS of the top-tier Icelandic basketball league in July 1977.[6] His first games came during the Reykjavík Basketball Tournament where he broke the nations single game scoring record on October 8, by scoring 58 points against Fram, breaking Þórir Magnússon's previous record of 57 points.[7][8] Shortly after, Dunbar sprained his ankle badly on practice and missed the rest of the tournament.[9] He returned to the court a month later, scoring 20 points in ÍS 99–73 victory against Ármann in the top-tier 1. deild karla.[10] ÍS finished the season tied with Valur for the 3–4th place with a 10–4 record.[11] Dunbar led the league in scoring, with 459 points in 13 games,[12] and free throw percent with 92.9%, both league records.[13]

On 30 March, Dunbar lead ÍS to the Icelandic Cup, beating Valur 87–83 in the Cup finals.[14]

Dunbar resigned with ÍS for the 1978–1979 season.[15] On 1 October 1978, he broke his own scoring record by scoring 61 points in an overtime loss against Ármann in the Reykjavík Basketball Tournament.[16]

On 30 October, Dunbar suffered injury on his left knee in a game against ÍR[17] and went back to Michigan for surgery.[18] He returned in time for ÍS games against FC Barcelona in the FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup.[19] In January 1979, Dunbar left ÍS to undergo a season ending surgery on his troublesome knee.[20]

After recovering from his injuries, Dunbar signed with Darmstadt in Germany in 1980.[21][22][23]

Coaching career

Dunbar coached ÍS women's team for the 1977–1978 season, leading them to victory in the nations all three major competitions, the Icelandic championship,[24] the Icelandic Cup,[25] and the Reykjavík Basketball Tournament.[24]

References
  1. "Mestan áhuga á að skrifa". Dagblaðið (in Icelandic). 13 September 1977. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  2. "1972–73 Mid-American Conference Player Stats". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  3. Ron Kirkwood (19 January 1976). "Dunbar transfers to Florida college". Central Michigan Life. p. 31.
  4. "Men's Basketball Individual Single Game Records". eckerdtritons.com. Eckerd Tritons. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  5. "Men's Basketball Single Season Records". eckerdtritons.com. Eckerd Tritons. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  6. "Kemur meira til að læra íslensku, en að spila körfubolta". Þjóðviljinn (in Icelandic). 19 July 1977. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  7. "Dunbar skoraði 58 stig gegn Fram". Vísir (in Icelandic). 10 October 1977. p. 16. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  8. "Dunbar óstöðvandi". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 11 October 1977. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  9. "Það var hryllileg tilhugsun". Vísir (in Icelandic). 27 November 1977. p. 4. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  10. "ÍS var ekki í vandræðum með Ármann". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 18 November 1977. p. 30. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  11. "KR-ingar réðu ekki við stórleik Dirk Dunbars". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 21 March 1978. p. 12. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  12. "Dirk Dunbar stigahæstur". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 21 March 1978. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  13. "Árangur Dunbars betri en áður hefur náðst". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 21 March 1978. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  14. "Hockenos leikmaður mótsins". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 4 April 1978. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  15. "Öll liðin með erlenda leikmenn". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 16 August 1978. p. 15. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  16. Gylfi Kristjánsson (2 October 1978). "Tvær framlengingar, er KR og Ármann unnu Fram og ÍS". Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 15. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  17. "Ekki brotinn en meiddur á hné". Dagblaðið (in Icelandic). 30 October 1978. p. 16. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  18. Gylfi Kristjánsson (1 November 1978). "Dunbar á sjúkrahús í Michigan!". Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 12. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  19. Gylfi Kristjánsson (16 November 1978). "Dunbar er tilbúinn og klár í slaginn!". Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 15. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  20. "Stúdentar með nýjan mann". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 26 January 1979. p. 30. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  21. "Dunbar leikur listir sínar gegn Valsmönnum". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 10 September 1980. p. 15. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  22. "Dunbar leikur með Stúdentum". Vísir (in Icelandic). 11 September 1980. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  23. "Snillingurinn Dunbar aftur á Íslandi". Dagblaðið (in Icelandic). 13 September 1980. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  24. "Glæsilegur árangur ÍS". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 18 April 1978. p. 22. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  25. "ÍS sigraði KR létt í úrslitunum". Þjóðviljinn (in Icelandic). 4 April 1978. p. 12. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
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