Big 12 Basketball: Ranking all 14 head coaches in 2023 after realignment

By Joey Loose | Apr 6, 2023

Mar 29, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Baylor Bears assistant coach Jerome Tang (left) with head coach Scott Drew against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the Elite Eight of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

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Central Florida head coach Johnny Dawkins Ncaa Basketball Oregon Ucf In The Nit Ucf At Oregon /

14. Johnny Dawkins – UCF

After growing up in Washington DC, Dawkins played his college ball down at Duke in the early 80’s in the opening segment of Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching career. A talented point guard, Dawkins was Naismith Player of the Year in 1986 became a first-round draft pick, and spent nearly a decade in the NBA. He’d get into coaching a few years later with a decade on Coach K’s Duke bench before starting his head coaching career at Stanford in 2008.

Dawkins took the Cardinal to a Sweet Sixteen and a pair of NIT titles before arriving at UCF way back in 2016. His finest work with the Knights was early in his tenure, as he led the program to the second round of the NCAA Tournament back in 2019. Led by Tacko Fall, his team came inches away from upsetting top-seeded Duke. Since then, UCF hasn’t had a season above .500 in the AAC and has been average at best, finishing 19-15 with an NIT berth last season.

Having fifteen seasons of D1 head coaching season is impressive, but he’s only sniffed the NCAA Tournament during those two aforementioned trips. Dawkins has been mediocre for much of his career and it’s hard to imagine that UCF will instantly become a basketball power in a much more difficult league. The last three or four seasons have been vastly uninteresting for the Knights; will their fortunes change in the years to come?

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