UCF Hires Johnny Dawkins (Or Donnie Jones 2.0)

Well mere minutes after I posted my Linc Darner article and went to go play Fallout, UCF reportedly named a basketball coach. Tell me if this sounds familiar: UCF hired a head basketball coach with mediocre success at his previous school. A man that the fanbase was happy to have move on, a coach that was a better assistant then a head coach. A coach whose offense is mediocre at best. A coach that had a losing record in conference. As an assistant worked under a legend in college basketball, where the team won championships. Yes, it appears that UCF has again fallen down the same path that led them to Donnie Jones 6 years ago. So pardon me if I am not celebrating the hiring of Johnny Dawkins.

Dawkins was the weakest of all the potential candidates. Oh yes, I had been told that Dawkins was the favorite and was going to get the job. But I didn't want to believe it. Did not want to accept that Danny White had made a mistake. That was why I kept pushing Ingelsby, McCall, and Darner in my blog because I hoped that my source was wrong. Well I was wrong and the source was right. It's frustrating to UCF fall down the same exact hole again. Well here we are and I am just shaking my head at this mistake. 

Dawkins record at Stanford was 156-115 and 68-78 in conference. He made the NCAA tournament once in his 8 year tenure at Stanford. If you need more help drawing Donnie Jones comparisons here is the San Jose Mercury News assessment of Dawkins last season: *** The injuries cannot be used as an excuse for a coach who has struggled for eight seasons, Dawkins' recruiting successes actually highlight the on-court shortcomings, because the Cardinal is finishing behind teams with lesser talent, *** The poor attendance at Maples Pavilion is also an issue, not only because the atmosphere stinks and the student turnout is paltry but because the Cardinal is bleeding cash.

 Do I need to keep going or can you grasp that this is basically Donnie Jones 2.0? 

I know what the critics will say "but he coaches in the PAC 12, one of the hardest conferences  in the country." I am sorry do you think he's going to do better against SMU, Uconn, Houston, Tulsa, Memphis? Cause in terms of basketball the AAC is pretty top heavily stacked. Some will say oh he won the NIT twice! Want to know how many consecutive years Stanford made the NCAA Tournament prior to Dawkins hiring? Eleven. Some will point to his Sweet Sixteen run the only time he made the tournament. I want those people to lean in close as I whisper this:Andrew Wiggins was hurt that year in the tournament. So that Stanford team caught a bunch of luck. For those pope, that say "The kids will know him from Duke!" oh just like the players would know Donnie Jones from his time at UF, right? Let me ask you something, do you think a college recruit is going to remember Dawkins when he played for K or the time Stanford kicked him? What is fresher?

At a time when UCF needed a coach that could bring excitement. A young coach with a exciting philosophy(McCall,Darner) or a unproven assistant itching for his chance(Ingelsby), UCF settled on the fired retread coach. When UCF had the chance to recharge a dead fanbase, they fell back to what they know. The same path that got them in this position in the first place.