He wants to expand on breakout season
By Mike Wells
Posted: October 2, 2008
Indiana Pacers swingman Mike Dunleavy played and looked like a free man last season.
He no longer had to deal with the constant criticism that marked his first 41/2 seasons with Golden State. A clear mental state and an offense geared around his skills allowed Dunleavy to average a career-high 19.1 points and quiet those who saw him as a spot-up shooter and draft bust.
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So what's next for the former No. 3 overall pick?
"If I can get better in my sixth year in the league, I can get better in my seventh," he said. ". . . I had a lot of pent-up aggression (last season) and frustration and I never really expected it to take that long, that many years, to figure things out. I think I can play in a lot of systems, but I think it helped completely getting away from that mess (in Golden State)."
Dunleavy's offensive breakthrough -- he averaged five more points than his previous best season and shot a career-high 42 percent on 3-pointers -- didn't surprise Pacers coach Jim O'Brien, who said he structured some of the offense to take advantage of Dunleavy's all-around ability.
Full article here:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 8/SPORTS04
