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The Charlotte Bobcats have hired St. John’s University assistant coach Mike Dunlap to be their new head coach, according to a statement released by the University Tuesday.

Dunlap, who has 14 years of head coaching experience at the NCAA Division II and III levels, appears to have edged out Charlotte’s three known finalists, Pacers assistant Brian Shaw, Lakers assistant Quin Snyder, and former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. The franchise has called a news conference for Wednesday, where Dunlap is expected to be officially announced by the hire.

The 55-year-old Dunlap has spent the last two seasons as an assistant under Steve Lavin in Queens, and filled in as the head man last year while Lavin recuperated from cancer treatment. He also was the top assistant for interim coach Russ Pennell at Arizona in 2008-09, as both men helped take the reins when legendary Wildcats boss Lute Olson abruptly retired due to health issues.

As a head coach, he led Division II Metro State to nine NCAA Tournaments and two National Championships during a nine-year stint in Denver from 1997-2006, and was the head man at Division III Cal Lutheran from 1989-94. Dunlap has also been an assistant at Oregon, Iowa, USC, and alma mater Loyola Marymount in his career, spent three years coaching a professional team in Australia, and was an assistant with the Denver Nuggets under George Karl in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

The Bobcats have the No. 2 overall pick in June 28’s NBA Draft, and are coming off a 7-59 season that gave them the worst winning percentage (.106) in NBA history. They will enter the 2012-13 campaign on a 23-game losing streak, a streak that is tied for the third-longest in NBA history and has them three losses shy of the record 26-game futility mark set by Cleveland in 2010-11.

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