Johnny Dawkins was named UCF’s seventh head men’s basketball coach on Mar. 23, 2016 and in just four seasons he has led the program to new heights, including the Knights’ first NCAA Tournament victory in 2018-19.

Under Dawkins, UCF earned its first at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19. The Knights were a nine seed in the tourney, their highest seed in five all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, and defeated eighth seeded VCU, 73-58 in first-round action.

UCF then came inches away from upsetting top overall seed Duke in the second round, ultimately falling 77-76 to Mike Krzyzewski, Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and company as BJ Taylor’s floater rimmed out and Aubrey Dawkins’ tip-in barely missed at the buzzer.

The Knights were stellar down the stretch to secure their at-large NCAA Tournament berth winning on the road at No. 6/8 Houston to snap the Cougars’ 33-game home win streak, and then topping No. 19/20 Cincinnati in Orlando on Senior Knight. It marked the first time UCF had earned multiple victories over ranked opponents in the same season, and the Knights did it in back-to-back games.

UCF finished the year 24-9, tied for the fourth most wins in a single season in program history. The Knights’ 23 regular season wins marked a new record in UCF’s Division I era. The team went 13-5 in American Athletic Conference play, the team’s most league wins since joining The American, and earned the four seed in the conference tournament for the second time in three seasons.

Known for their defense under Dawkins, the Knights ranked 11th in the nation in defensive field goal percentage, holding opponents to just 39.4 percent from the floor in 2018-19. UCF was also 27th in scoring defense, allowing 64.5 points per game.

UCF cracked the Associated Press Top 25 Poll for the first time since 2011, earning a ranking of 25th late in the regular season. It was the latest into a season that the Knights have ever been ranked. The home finale against Cincinnati marked the first matchup of ranked teams at Addition Financial Arena.

Dawkins led UCF back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005, and the first time as an at-large selection. The previous four NCAA Tournaments were as champions of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament in 1994, 1996, 2004 and 2005.

He helped three individuals earn all-conference accolades from The American in 2018-19, as UCF led the league with three honorees. B.J. Taylor became the first Knight to earn first team honors from The American, while Aubrey Dawkins was named second team and Tacko Fall added third team honors.

Following the end of the regular season, Dawkins was named a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award and the Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year Award.

In four years, Johnny Dawkins has led UCF to new heights on the basketball court, including four straight winning seasons, but he has done an even better job with his players in the classroom. With Dawkins at the helm, the Knights men’s basketball program recorded an average semester team GPA over 3.0 for the first time in recorded history. They then did it again, setting a new program record with an average semester GPA of 3.03 in the spring of 2019.

Dawkins took over at UCF after the Knights had gone 12-18 and hadn’t finished above .500 since 2012-13. He led the Black and Gold to a 24-12 record in his first season at the helm, the sixth best turnaround in the nation. With just seven scholarship players due to transfers and injuries, the Knights earned the fourth seed – their highest ever – in the American Athletic Conference Tournament, eventually falling to league champion SMU in the semifinals.

It was a season full of firsts in 2016-17, as UCF hosted its first NIT game, defeating Colorado for the program’s first win in an NIT or NCAA Tournament game. The Knights went on to defeat top seeded Illinois State on the road, before coming home to the first sell-out crowd at Addition Financial Arena and winning 68-58 over Illinois to earn a spot in the NIT Final Four.

Under Dawkins’ leadership, UCF led all NCAA Division I teams in defensive field goal percentage in 2016-17, holding opponents to just 36.5 percent from the floor. The Knights were also sixth in the nation, allowing only 61.2 points per game, and gave up 45 or less points in four games over the course of the year. Dawkins was named a finalist for both the Jim Phelan and Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year awards his first season at UCF.

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