UCF Knights men’s basketball Head Coach Johnny Dawkins has signed a contract extension that will keep him with the Knights through the 2023-24 season, the school announced on July 25. Dawkins’ contract was also extended after the 2016-17 season, his first.
“I’m very thankful to [Athletic Director] Danny White, Eric Wood, former President John Hitt and new President Dale Whittaker for their continued support of me and my staff,” Dawkins said, per the school’s press release. “It’s great to have our administration behind us, knowing they believe in what we’re doing as a program and our standard of representing UCF and the community at the highest level.”
In Dawkins’ first two seasons at the helm, the Knights recorded back-to-back winning seasons with 43 total wins.
Of his first two seasons, Dawkins found the most success in his first. He led UCF to its first-ever semifinals appearance in the 2017 National Invitation Tournament. The Knights lost to the eventual champions, the TCU Horned Frogs, 68-53 in Madison Square Garden.
In addition to adding to UCF’s wins total, Dawkins has also made the Knights one of the nation’s consistently best defensive teams.
Over the course of Dawkins’ first two seasons, the Black and Gold finished in the nation’s top six in fewest points allowed per game: sixth (61.2) in 2016-17, third (61.7) in 2017-18. UCF also was the No. 1 team in opposing field-goal percentage in the 2016-17 season, holding teams to an average of 36.5 percent from the field.
“I am thrilled to have Johnny Dawkins leading our men’s basketball program,” White said, per the release. “Our Knights have a great leader and are fortunate to learn from Johnny every day. He is a great coach and a better man.
“We’re all very proud of the success Johnny’s team has had on the court and in the classroom the last two years, and we look forward to what’s next for this program.”
On an individual basis, the best example of Dawkins’ influence is, perhaps, his impact on center Tacko Fall. The 7-foot-6 center recorded just 7.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in his freshman season. In his subsequent two seasons with Dawkins, Fall scored 11.1 points per game and grabbed 8.4 rebounds per game.
Dawkins also managed to convince UCF’s all-time leading 3-point shooter Matt Williams to stay for his final season. Williams contemplated transferring to Wake Forest University before ultimately returning for his redshirt-senior season in the 2016-17 campaign.
That year, Williams recorded his first double-digit scoring season, recording 15.1 points per game and shooting 38.4 percent from 3-point range on 9.1 3s per game.
Williams has carried over his long-range shooting to the National Basketball Association, shooting 39 percent on 7.4 3s per game while starting 18 of his 43 appearances for the Miami Heat’s G-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. The 24-year-old has also made three appearances for the Heat, going 2-for-6 for five points in 11 minutes.
UCF will start the 2018-19 campaign by participating in the 2018 Myrtle Beach Invitational in Conway, South Carolina. The opening game will be on Nov. 15 at 1:30 p.m. against California State University, Fullerton.
Afterward, the Knights will start the regular season with a home game against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Nov. 29.
For more on the Knights, as they enter their third season under Dawkins, follow Anthony Abruzzon on Twitter at @abruzzo_ant.
