WASHINGTON, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Mike Dunlap, a former assistant coach at St. John's University, has been named head coach of the NBA Charloote Bobcats on Wednesday.

Dunlap came to fill in the shoes of Paul Silas, under whose reign the Bobcats lost their final 23 games in a season going 7-59 and with a 10.6 win percentage, marking the worst team in NBA history.

"Mike Dunlap embodies the characteristics we were seeking in a coach," said Bobcats president of basketball operations Rod Higgins.

"He is renowned in basketball circles as a teacher, developer of talent, communicator and collaborator.

Dunlap has spent 32 years in coaching, mostly with college teams but three years with Australia's Adelaide 36ers.

His lone NBA experience was as the assistant coach to George Karl with the Denver Nuggets in 2006-2008.

The Bobcats will have the No. 2 selection in next week's NBA Draft, losing the top spot to the New Orleans Hornets in lottery last month.