Johnny Dawkins, UCF
Johnny Dawkins is introduced as UCF men's basketball coach alongside athletic director Danny White and UCF president Dr. John C. Hitt. Photo by Tim Briggs.

A new era of UCF Basketball has begun.

There has been a lot of change in leadership and player movement since last season ended.

It all started when UCF fired former coach Donnie Jones after three underwhelming losing seasons in the American Athletic Conference and hired well-known and highly regarded coach Johnny Dawkins to lead this basketball program out of mediocrity.

Dawkins is more than qualified for this task and has an impressive resume. He spent the last eight seasons as the head coach at Stanford and prior to that was the assistant coach at his alma mater, Duke, for 10 seasons under legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski.

In college, while playing at Duke from 1982-1986, he was a two-time All-American and the national player of the year as a senior in 1986. Dawkins also has the experience as a professional basketball player, spending nine seasons in the NBA playing for three different teams (Spurs, Sixers, Pistons).

Having coaching experience at the college level and playing experience collegiately and professionally could translate to success both on and off the court. Only time will tell.

It is not going to be an easy task for Dawkins to rebuild this Knights basketball team quickly. But he may be the guy to do so and is looking forward to the task.

He has already started to make his mark on his new team with some mixed results so far, but it is more positive than negative.

There is always going to be change when a new coach comes in. Two players have transferred away from the program, one was on the verge of transferring but decided to stay.

Four players have transferred into the UCF program, and two players committed. A lot has happened in a short period of time. There is a lot of change.

The two former Knights that transferred away from the school are sophomore shooting guard Adonys Henriquez, who went to Saint Louis University in Missouri, and junior center Justin McBride.

Henriquez announced he would transfer on his Instagram account last month, which was very surprising since he is a local native to the Orlando area playing his high school ball at Orlando Christian Prep. He came in as a 4-star recruit, according to ESPN.com, and delivered making the all-freshman team in the conference two years ago. The 6-foot-6 guard was one of the Knights’ best shooters and players on the squad, which will definitely leave a big void on the team with big shoes to fill in his absence.

Henriquez averaged 10.1 points per game, second most on the team behind A.J. Davis, and shot a 50.5 percent effective field goal percentage. His 35.8 percent 3-point field goal percentage was the second best on the team, behind Daiquan Walker who graduated.

Another key player for the Knights, junior center Justin McBride, was granted a release to transfer from the program to pursue other opportunities, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

He had an up and down career at UCF where he showed promise when healthy. McBride played in 28 of the team’s 30 games last season, averaging 6.5 ppg and 3.9 rebounds. But his weight was an issue during his three years at UCF as he was pushing over 300 pounds.

That very well could have made him too slow for this new up-tempo offense Dawkins wants to install this upcoming season.

Installing that offense may have required old players to go out and also requires new players to come in.

One player even had a change of heart, when deciding whether or not to stay at UCF. Senior guard Matt Williams was planning on transferring to Wake Forest as a graduate student until he decided to recommit to the Knights for his final college basketball season.

After meeting with Dawkins, he learned about his new coach’s hard work and dedication mentality that Williams prides himself on as a leader of last season’s team. That made Coach Dawkins very happy and helped him sleep better at night knowing he has a skilled shooter on the team.

Williams is another local having played at Orlando Jones High School. He started in 18 of the Knights’ 30 games last season averaging 8.1 points per game.

The 6-foot-5 shooting guard is known for his 3-point shooting skills. He shot 32 percent from beyond the arc last year. Shooting will be something that will be at a premium in Dawkins’ new offense.

UCF will have some talent returning to the team for this upcoming season, including point guard B.J. Taylor, who as a Freshman in 2014 was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team, but missed all of last season due to a foot injury; forward A.J. Davis, who was the Knights’ leading scorer with 12 points per game and the Knights’ leading rebounder with 6 rebounds per game last season; and 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall, who led the American Athletic Conference with 70 blocks last season.

Dawkins has skilled players on his team already so he is not completely starting over from scratch. There is still a lot to be done to turn UCF Basketball into a winner. He went to the transfer market to find player who will embrace the new identity of UCF’s head basketball coach.

So far, he has brought in five players to come play at UCF, all of whom come from different backgrounds and schools around the country.

Most of these new players will not be eligible to play this year due to NCAA transfer rules, and they will have to sit out the upcoming 2017 season. That is a small price to pay for acquiring new talent via the transfer market.

Dawkins first stayed in the family, bringing in his son Aubrey Dawkins to transfer from Michigan to UCF. While at Michigan, the sophomore guard started 22 of 36 games, averaging 6.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per game for the Wolverines. He will have to sit out next season, but will have two years of eligibility remaining at UCF.

Coach Dawkins wants to have a family atmosphere with his basketball team at UCF, so by adding his son to the team that sent a message to current and potential players interested in the program. UCF wants to be a family on and off the court, so this was a step in the right direction in building his new team this offseason.

Next, Coach Dawkins received his first commitment from a player, besides his own son, in Drexel University transfer point guard Terrell Allen.

The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 9.8 points, 3.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game and started 29 of 31 games, during his freshman year last season.

Based on those stats, he looks to be a player who can contribute to UCF in multiple areas on the court, and gives Dawkins another all-around point guard similar to B.J. Taylor. Allen will have to sit out the upcoming 2017 season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Coach Dawkins shared his thoughts about his new point guard:

“Terrell will be a good addition to our program both on and off the court,” Dawkins told UCFKnights.com. “He’s a proven leader and a skilled point guard. His ability to score yet still make his teammates better will benefit our program for years to come.”

Another player was added to UCF in Louisiana Tech University transfer small forward Dayon Griffin. The 6-foot-5 200-pound wing, has local ties to Florida as he is from the St. Petersburg area which reportedly played a significant factor in his decision.

During last season, Griffin averaged 11.3 points per game, and the key stat is that he led his team with 56 3-pointers. That is important because UCF just lost one of its best long-distance shooters with Henriquez transferring, and another Williams is going to graduate after next season.

This addition will provide UCF with a much needed skilled wing player, which will spread out the floor for his teammates.

Dayon Griffin told Knights247 why he chose to transfer to UCF to play for the Knights:

“Coach Dawkins is a good coach and has been places where I want to go in my career,” Griffin said. “I think he has the right set up for me and also to rise UCF and the basketball program.”

The latest incoming transfer player to go to the Knights is forward Nick Banyard from Illinois State University. He will be immediately eligible to play next season, according to Jon Rothstein of College Basketball Insiders.

Banyard is a 6-foot-8 forward who averaged 5.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season. An interesting path led him to UCF, the fifth-year senior graduate student started playing at the University of New Mexico for his first two years, then sat out his junior year when he transferred to Illinois State, where he played last season. He provides size and experience to the young UCF front court.

Coach Dawkins was not just focused on transfer players, as he was recruiting for the present and future. He received a commit for this upcoming season and for the 2017 season.

The recruit who can help UCF immediately is Ceasar DeJesus, a 6-foot-3 combo guard from Mt. Zion Prep School in Baltimore, Maryland. He is known as a scorer, which can definitely help the Knights because they need all the scoring they can get.

For the 2017 season, as recent as yesterday UCF received a verbal commitment from guard Daniel Lewis during his visit, a source told Evan Daniels of Scout.com. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard goes to Westlake High School, in Atlanta, Ga.

As you can see, Dawkins is making moves for the present and future of the UCF Basketball program during his first year of rebuilding his new team into a winner. He expects a lot from his players when on the court.

He has high expectations for his players who wear the black and gold.

The future looks bright for UCF Basketball.

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