Stanford a good fit for Dawkins

Stanford is the perfect job for former Duke associate head coach Johnny Dawkins, who will be formally introduced as head coach there Monday.

Dawkins is a classy, dignified coach who belongs at a school with a strong basketball tradition and an outstanding academic profile. He’s somewhat reserved and shy, so working with the media and public will be an adjustment for him, but there’s little doubt that he has the ability to coach and particularly develop players.

His departure leaves Duke in an unusual position of flux. Coach Mike Krzyzewski is preparing to spend the summer coaching the U.S. Olympic team, and already the school is without an athletics director.

(As an aside, it’s interesting how the dominoes fell here. Athletics director Joe Alleva left Duke for LSU, then hired Trent Johnson from Stanford as LSU’s basketball coach. That opened the Stanford position for Dawkins).

The most logical move for Krzyzewski in terms of replacing Dawkins would be to promote one of his two other longtime assistants and then hire a less experienced coach. Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski both are highly respected and have assisted Krzyzewski for more than six years.

Problem is, it will be difficult to promote one without disappointing the other. So Krzyzewski will have his hands full during a summer when he’s coaching the Olympic team and it’s also imperative to make progress in recruiting for a program that’s aching for a quality big man.

– Ken Tysiac