Stanford chooses Johnny Dawkins to replace Trent Johnson as men's basketball coach
By JANIE McCAULEY | Associated Press | Apr 26, 08 3:40 PM CDT in
Sports
Johnny Dawkins, a longtime assistant coach at Duke, has been hired as Stanford's new men's basketball coach.
Dawkins replaces Pac-10 Coach of the Year Trent Johnson, who left for LSU earlier this month, two people close to the situation said Saturday. Both people requested anonymity because Stanford had not made an official announcement, which could come as soon as Monday.
The 44-year-old Dawkins was an All-American at Duke and has been on the coaching staff there since the 1997-98 season.
Stanford reached the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001, losing to Texas. The Cardinal face the departures of twin 7-foot sophomores Brook and Robin Lopez, who both declared themselves eligible for the NBA draft.
Dawkins has no prior head coaching experience. He most recently was the Blue Devils' top assistant under Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, responsible for player development and other duties.
Dawkins' departure breaks apart the longest continuous serving coaching staff in the Atlantic Coast Conference, a tight-knit group of former Blue Devils players under Krzyzewski.
Dawkins, who did not return an e-mail from The Associated Press seeking comment, finished his playing career at Duke as the school's career scoring leader with 2,556 points _ a mark that was broken in 2006 by J.J. Redick. In his 11 seasons as Coach K's right-hand man, he helped guide the Blue Devils to six ACC regular-season titles, seven conference tournament crowns and the storied program's third and most recent national championship in 2001.
Dawkins was the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 1986 NBA draft by San Antonio, and played nine NBA seasons with the Spurs, 76ers and Pistons.
When Johnson left Stanford, it was somewhat of a surprise despite the fact he was waiting for a contract extension. He met with LSU officials at the Final Four in San Antonio and a deal came together quickly.
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AP Sports Writer Joedy McCreary in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this story.
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