Johnny Dawkins Cranks Up The Risk Factor At UCF

If he lands Dior Johnson, his backcourt will be talented but would also come with serious questions.

Duke legend Johnny Dawkins has coached at Stanford and is now at Central Florida. He has never come across as a high-risk/high reward sort of a guy but if things end up the way they’re trending right now, that might have to be reassessed.

Dawkins currently has Mikey Williams on scholarship. Williams, you may recall, enrolled at Memphis but never played there after facing gun charges in California, which included allegedly shooting at trespassers.

He transferred to UCF in January but hasn’t yet played.

He would be enough to worry about but Dawkins is also pursuing former Pitt guard Dior Johnson.

You may recall that while at Pitt, Johnson was charged with simple assault and strangulation after allegedly assaulting a woman. The charges were reduced to misdemeanors and ultimately he was required to redshirt but was not allowed to play the following year and transferred to Clarendon College, a JUCO in Texas.

We’re sure that Dawkins has talked to Jeff Capel, who like Dawkins played at Duke, and got solid feedback about Johnson. We’re also sure he’s done his homework with Williams too.

Still, it seems like he’s playing with fire. This could be one of the most talented backcourts in the Big 12, but it could also blow up in his face. Let’s hope it goes well.