NCAA Basketball rewind: Most impactful coaching hires after 2016 season

By Joey Loose | Jul 16, 2021

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 07: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks on during the second half of the college basketball game against the Baylor Bears on January 07, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

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NCAA Basketball Johnny Dawkins UCF Knights (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

10. Johnny Dawkins (UCF)

UCF had only been a Division 1 program for a few decades, but the Knights from Central Florida were still looking for something to celebrate. The program had recently joined the AAC, having success in the A-Sun and Conference USA in years prior. The move was purely made for football reasons, and the team struggled in their first three seasons in their new league, necessitating the arrival of a new head coach.

Johnny Dawkins already had plenty of experience with collegiate basketball by the time the Knights scooped him up in 2016. He had starred at Duke in Mike Krzyzewski’s early days with the program before a nearly decade-long NBA career. Dawkins had returned to Duke on Coach K’s bench before getting his first head coaching job at Stanford, leading the Cardinal to a Sweet Sixteen and a pair of NIT titles before his firing.

UCF immediately made a step forward, doubling their win total in Dawkins’ first season. By his third year, the Knights were back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in fourteen years and actually picked up the program’s first-ever tournament win. They’ve stayed afloat in the AAC in each of Dawkins’ first five seasons and he has this team in solid shape to compete again in the future.

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