Johnny Dawkins
Johnny Dawkins (born September 28, 1963)
Current position: Head men’s basketball coach
Current team: UCF Knights
Current conference: Big 12 Conference
Stanford record: 156-115 (.576)
UCF record: 131-87 (.601)
Overall record: 287-202 (.587)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (2014, 2019)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 1 (2014)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 0
- NIT Championships: 2 (2012, 2015)
- NIT Appearances: 4 (2012, 2015, 2017, 2023)
- CBI Appearances: 1 (2009)
- Big 12 Regular Season Champion: 0
- Big 12 Tournament Champion: 0
Career Accomplishments:
- Naismith Player of the Year: 1 (1986)
- AP All-American: 2 (1985, 1986)
- National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2023)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
2016-present | UCF |
2008-2016 | Stanford |
1999-2008 | Duke (assoc. HC) |
1998-1999 | Duke (asst) |
Johnny Dawkins Facts
- Johnny Earl Dawkins, Jr.
- Born September 28, 1963
- Hometown: Washington, DC
- Alma Mater: Duke University (BS, 1986)
- Played for, then spent ten seasons as an assistant to legendary head coach at Duke
- Was a star player at Duke under head coach Mike Krzyzewski, twice earning All-ACC and AP All-American First Team honors
- Named Naismith POY in 1986; the Blue Devils finished as National Runner-Up that season, losing the title to Louisville
- Dawkins’ number #24 was retired and he was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary basketball team in 2003
- Drafted 10th overall in the 1986 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs, kicking off a nine-year professional career
- Played three seasons with the Spurs, five with the Philadelphia 76ers and then one final season with the Detroit Pistons
- Head coaches he played for include Bob Weiss, Larry Brown, Jim Lynam, Doug Moe, Fred Carter and Don Chaney
- Returned to Duke in 1996 after leaving the NBA, working as an intern and broadcaster before joining the coaching staff in 1998
- Spent one year as an assistant for Coach K before becoming associate head coach, a position he held for nine seasons
- During his twelve years with the program, Duke went to twelve NCAA Tournaments, three Final Fours and won the NCAA National Championship in 2001
- Left Duke in 2008 to become the head coach at Stanford, his first head coaching opportunity
- Won 156 games in eight seasons, winning two NIT titles (2012, 2015) and earning a trip to the 2014 Sweet Sixteen
- Fired in March 2016 following a 15-15 (8-10) season; went to the postseason five times in eight years
- Hired about a week later to become the head coach at UCF in Orlando
- Led the Knights to 24 wins in his first season, culminating in a trip to the NIT Semifinals at Madison Square Garden
- Two years later, earned an at-large bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament and got the program’s first ever NCAAT victory
- Along with his wife, Tracy, has four children
Johnny Dawkins Coaching Tree
- Jimmy Drew (Lincoln MO)
- Joe Kuligoski (Panola College)
- Mark Madsen (California, Utah Valley)
- Dwight Perry (Wofford)
- Mike Schrage (Elon)