UCF’s hunt for a new men’s basketball coach is moving quickly with several names emerging to fill the opening. One name though has clearly emerged as the top name on the list as the team waits for a decision.
Former Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins has seemingly pulled to the forefront of the conversation when it comes to the spot left vacant after Donnie Jones was let go.
Former Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins is in the mix at Central Florida, sources told ESPN.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) March 22, 2016
Hearing that Johnny Dawkins will be hired as the next coach of UCF basketball. Official announcement expected in next 24-48 hours.
— CommunitySportReport (@CSROrlando) March 22, 2016
UPDATE:
Johnny Dawkins has taken the Central Florida job, sources told ESPN.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) March 23, 2016
The interest does indeed seem to go deeper. The Knights have already conducted a few interview, but everything seems on hold until Dawkins makes his decision.
Community Sports Report reports the Knights have interviewed St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt, but Dawkins is still the favorite candidate to this point. And could be named within the next few days.
We can confirm that UCF also interviewed St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt , but "the job is Dawkins', granted he wants it," says source.
— CommunitySportReport (@CSROrlando) March 22, 2016
Dawkins went 156-115 in eight seasons at Stanford, leading the Cardinal to the 2014 NCAA Tournament. That was his only trip there in four years.
Dawkins played four years at Duke in the early 1980s under coach Mike Krzyzewski. He was let go from Stanford after the Cardinal went 15-15.
He is certainly a very capable and sought-after coach. But he struggled to return Stanford to the NCAA Tournament on a yearly basis. It is unclear what he could do at a mid-major conference school like UCF. He certainly has some bona fides about him.
Dawkins has been serving as an analyst for CBS and Turner studio and halftime shows during the NCAA Tournament.
There are several other candidates for the job too.
Mark Schmidt of St. Bonaventure has coached nine seasons for the Bonnies, including leading them to the 2012 NCAA Tournament, led by Orlando Magic forward Andrew Nicholson. He has a 146-132 record with the Bonnie and led them to the Atlantic 10 regular season title.
The other candidate that has surfaced several times is Notre Dame assistant Martin Ingelsby. Ingelsby played with UCF athletic director Danny White at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are currently preparing for the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. He may not be available to interview until after the Irish are eliminated (or win the whole thing).
In any case, it seems UCF is moving closer and closer to naming a new basketball coach and turning the page to a new chapter in the program’s history.
The AAC is not mid-major. It’s a multiple bid conference (4 this year and a Natty 2 years ago). Mid-majors are 1 bid conferences. There’s a significant difference.
That is a fair definitional problem. I would consider a mid-major to be any non-BCS conference that receives multiple bids. American is probably one of the better mid-major conferences in this definition.
[…] had interviewed at least one other candidate for the head job according to reports, but had clearly focused their attention on Dawkins after he was let go at Stanford earlier this […]