Published Sep 26, 2019
Malik Dunbar signs with pro team in Germany
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Nathan King  •  AuburnSports
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Malik Dunbar is getting another shot.

The former Auburn wing has signed with QTSV Quakenbrück — represented in the German professional basketball league ProB as the Artland Dragons — the team announced Thursday.

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The Dragons played in BBL, Germany's highest-level league, from 2003-15. In 2015, the team moved to fold due to budgetary constraints before deciding to relegate itself down to ProB, the country's third-tier pro basketball organization.

Since last season, however, the team has played in ProA, the second-tier league below the Dragons' original designation.

"We are convinced that he will fit in well with our system on the one hand, and with us and the city of Quakenbrück on the other," Dragons head coach Florian Hartenstein said in a release. "... Malik is extremely friendly and outgoing — the first impression is really good. Also the other guys liked him very much.

"But I would like to appeal again to our patience. We can't expect him to perform any miracles in the first two weeks. After this phase, however, he can, and should be, one of our top performers."

Dunbar signed with the NBA's Golden State Warriors on June 26. He played with the team during the summer league but did not make an NBA roster as the summer concluded.

After transferring from the College of Central Florida in 2017, Dunbar played two seasons at Auburn, starting 16 total games over the past two years. For his Auburn career, the South Carolina native averaged 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting just over 34 percent from 3-point range.

However, Dunbar is best known by Auburn fans for his highlight-reel dunks and blocks as one of the more athletic players in the SEC.

As a senior leader during Auburn's Final Four season — the team's best NCAA Tournament run ever — Dunbar embraced the responsibility of an off-the-floor role model. His happy-go-lucky attitude and jubilant presence in Auburn's locker room was just as important as any Auburn player's on-court contributions, according to his teammates and coaches.

"Without Malik, we're not here," assistant coach Steven Pearl said at the Final Four in Minneapolis.

With Dunbar's signing, Auburn boasts five professional players from last year's Final Four squad: Chuma Okeke, who was a first-round pick by the Orlando Magic in the draft; Jared Harper, who signed with the Phoenix Suns on a two-way contract; Bryce Brown, who signed with the Boston Celtics on an Exhibit 10 contract; Horace Spencer, who signed with Argentina pro team Atenas Cordoba; and Dunbar.

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