For those who follow Duke Basketball, the watershed moment for the Mike Krzyzewski era was 1983 when left-handed point guard Johnny Dawkins out of the now defunct Mackin High School in Washington, D.C. signed with the Blue Devils in one of the better all time men's basketball recruiting classes. As a result, the 80s saw Dawkins lead his senior Duke team to an NCAA finalist performance in 1986. Going into the 90s, Dawkins finished a nine-year career in the NBA that included stints with the Spurs, 76ers, and Pistons. He then went into coaching as an assistant at his alma mater into the two-thousands before becoming head coach at Stanford in 2008.
However, the twenty-tens (10s) may see hardcourt dominance by his son, Aubrey Dawkins. At 6-foot-4 and 175 pounds, Dawkins plays point guard in the same manner that his father did. At the recent City Championships in San Francisco, he displayed his ability as a finesse player who is fundamentally sound with his ball-handling, passing, and shooting form. Despite being right handed, Dawkins dribbles well with his off hand and is able to shoot mid-range jumpers with his left hand as well.
Dawkins was born and raised in the Research Triangle area in North Carolina before making the move out to Palo Alto in 2008 due to his father's coaching move to Stanford. Dawkins prepped at St. Francis when he first came to the Bay Area but will finish up with Palo Alto High.
Growing up in Tobacco Road in the middle of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) where basketball is king, Dawkins says about the basketball atmosphere, "It was loud and exciting to be at the Duke games, especially the North Carolina ones. Since my father was on the coaching staff, we had seats behind the bench. You feel like you are on the court. You sweat like the players with the intensity."
After making the move to Silicon Valley, Dawkins has been in the middle of the Pac-12. He states his opinion of Pac-12 basketball after following his father's Stanford program. "Maples Pavilion does not have the same feel yet as Cameron, but the culture and league are still great. The student population has not yet fully embraced the basketball program like its football program."
With his father having played for Krzyzewski and then later as a part of Krzyzewski's coaching staff, the younger Dawkins has had a unique position of knowing the all-time Division I basketball wins leader. He says, "Coach K is like family. He interacted with my siblings and myself and was very nurturing. That is something that I see my father trying to replicate at Stanford." About the possibility of playing for Krzyzewski," It would be awesome. It would be déjà vu for Coach K since I have some playing similarities as my father."
When comparing Dawkins' performance last summer with this past month's City Championships event at City College of San Francisco, Dawkins displayed leadership on his team, size and strength improvements, and more aggressiveness in his overall game. The point guard position has always been considered the natural leader position for basketball because the ball goes through that position for critical decision making. Dawkins has the potential to be such an impact recruit in the 2013 class.
When asked if he could a recruit like his father who was part of a program changing recruiting class, Dawkins says, "I believe that I can make an impact wherever I go. I do not think that I have met my potential on the basketball court." Dawkins is the youngest of four in the family as his older brother goes to St. Johns while his two older sisters are both at Duke.
Being a versatile guard, Dawkins has received interest from Denver, Florida Atlantic, Portland State, and UC Davis. He believes that his basketball skills can be best utilized in a half court set or run and gun team.
This summer, Dawkins will be working on his ball-handling, shooting, and endurance with his Bay Area Hoosiers club. Watch for Dawkins to continue his break out in Palo Alto this upcoming season. Expect him to be part of an impactful recruiting class in 2013 and track how this younger Dawkins dominates the 10s.
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