UCF athletic director Danny White asked the men’s basketball players what they were looking for in a coach before he endeavored to replace Donnie Jones. They said they wanted a disciplinarian, someone who would keep them on task.
Already, the Knights may be getting what they want as the team goes through the beginnings of offseason workouts.
According to Shannon Green of the Orlando Sentinel, for whatever reason, the Knights broke one of the rules for the offseason and so coach Dawkins called his team in at 5 a.m. for a morning run.
There would be consequences for the team’s actions. Already that lesson is being learned.
As White said though, this is what the team wanted in the end. They wanted this discipline and they wanted this accountability from their new coach. Already, Dawkins is making an impact.
“That was a new one for me [laughs],” Dawkins told the Orlando Sentinel. “But kids really do crave that and that’s something that even if a young person says ‘I don’t really want this, I don’t like this,’ they all want it and they all need it. So you have to understand the approach of how you give it to them. I’m sure the previous staff that was here was providing things of that nature as well. I like those guys, I know those guys and they’re great coaches. So it’s not about that, it’s just about sometimes change. That’s just the nature of life. But I’m excited about giving them what they’ve said they’re craving and I think there’s gonna be some adjustments with that. There’s going to be some change that isn’t easy to do. You have some habits that have been instilled that are going to have to change if you want the type of discipline that you guys are seeking.”
This is all a good sign for UCF. No one is really quite sure what to expect from this team and its new coach. The Knights will lose some talented and key players but get back sophomore guard B.J. Taylor. Add him in with versatile athletes like Adonys Henriquez and A.J. Davis and there might be more to work with. Not to mention another year for Tacko Fall.
Dawkins still has some maneuvering and evaluation to do. He repeated the team has a clean slate with him in many ways.
In the Q&A with Green, Dawkins said he is still looking for leaders to establish themselves for his team and figuring out what he has with his roster. Not to mention he is still piecing together his staff after hiring Kevin Norris and Jamil Jones this past week.
Early on his coaching tenure, Dawkins is already setting the base line for his program. Even if it means getting his team up at 5 a.m. to do it.
