Dave Telep, National
Recruiting Director, Scout.com
TheBootleg.com: As a coach, what's
Dawkins' style? What are his strengths and weaknesses?
Dave Telep: Coach Dawkins was a smooth, aggressive player. He’s regarded as one
of the gentlemen of college basketball. Easy going and engaging, he’s a
statesman and is regarded as the most talented player in the modern history of
Duke basketball.
TB: Duke players haven't done so well in the NBA over
the past decade. He's been in charge of player development over the past decade.
Is that somewhat his fault?
DT:
Incorrect statement. Duke has put a slew of players in the pros in the past
decade — Grant Hill, Elton Brand, Shane Battier and Jason Williams would have
been an all-star had he not crashed his bike. Bobby Hurley’s career ended
prematurely, Corey Maggette is a long time pro. Ditto for Deng, Dunleavy,
Boozer, etc.
TB: His recruiting -- we'd heard through the grapevine
he's not in love with recruiting. Is that true? How hard will he beat the trails
to land kids?
DT: The challenge for Coach Dawkins
will be transitioning to a greater role and involvement in recruiting. At Duke
was part of a team of talented coaches with an elite pool of talent to select
from. At Stanford he’s going to have to
work with a more limiting pool, mainly for academic reasons. His staff will be
his lifeline. He’ll be strong in the home because of his reputation and
demeanor.
TB: How successful might he be recruiting against Duke?
That'd have to be awkward for him. For example, Miles Plumlee. What's the latest
on him?
DT:
Recruiting against Duke isn’t easy. I’m sure there will be kids that they tussle
over and each scenario is different. If Dawkins starts beating Duke regularly,
that’s a great sign. The challenge won’t be beating Duke. It’ll be making sure
he makes strong decisions for Stanford, identifies the talent pool early and
successfully recruits the Stanford-type kid.
As for Plumlee, I think
at this stage he and his family are resigned to looking elsewhere and I think
Duke is taking this opportunity to recruit him and may in fact evolve into the
team to beat.
Mitch Johnson
He definitely knows what he’s talking about. Leading player
development, and now, as a head coach, it’ll be his own stamp
On the past few
weeks:
A lot of people learned a lot or a little more about college
basketball. College basketball is still a business so much more than just
playing basketball. People maybe found that out, some of whom weren’t aware of
that. But as close as we were, this hasn’t changed our chemistry. Just except
some of us are even closer now.
On personnel
changes:
No matter who the coach is, it wasn’t going to be the same as last
year, with no Taj, no twins. We can’t pound, pound down low. Josh and Will Paul
are great bigs, but they’re different bigs. I think we can do things on the
perimeter and the motion offense can help
On Miles
Plumlee:
I don’t have a sense in that. Obviously for a kid coming into
college, it’s so hard to know. It has to be the best decision for him and his
family. I had a great time with him and I wish him the best.
On his impressions of
Dawkins:
Very straightforward. His demeanor is probably laid back and calm,
but very intense and competitive about the game of basketball. He seemed very
fair. We all know what we’re going to get.
On Dawkins’
career:
For someone to say you’re going to have an All-American coach at Duke
and in the NBA for nine years and the top assistant in the nation and the same
size and stature as you, it kind of fits like a glove. I’m definitely
excited.
On the coaching
switch:
It’s never been that big of a deal because
I always thought our team would always be our team. Coach J, now Stanford brings
in a great guy, no matter who it is, none of us are underclassmen -- to us Josh
isn’t – and to us it’s just a matter of what’s it going to do for us.
On his relationship with
Trent Johnson:
We haven’t talked. It’s a matter of both of us are busy and have a
lot of work to do.
Law
Hill
No one thinks about Coach moving or a player transferring. When Tim Morris transferred, we thought that was kind of weird. It’s whatever fits you --
I wish him the best and know he’ll be successful there.
On his
summer:
I’m going to go out there and play hard. This year, I know we have a
goal to win games, and I’ll do whatever it takes.
On how last season
affects his approach looking forward:
I’m not going to take anything away from how things went. It can be
put on my own shoulders now. I know this is my last year and it’s up to me to
work hard, be someone like Taj, I’d like to be. Go out and give it my all. It
doesn’t matter if he scores, you know he’s a vital part of team.
Johnny Dawkins
I’m definitely going to spend a lot of time watching tape of
personnel, who we have and where we are.
On not releasing Plumlee
from his LOI:
I don’t personally believe in that. You always want kids who want to
be in the program first and foremost. If a young man is not sure of his decision
or feels it’s not right, I’m a believer that kid should go where he feels most
comfortable. You want Stanford kids here. You don’t want an unhappy experience.
On whether the idea of
him going to Duke would be a surprise:
For him, the universities are similar in a lot of ways. Nothing would
surprise me.
On the importance of the
2009 class in recruiting:
That’s why I’m going to get out right now, get out and see a couple
kids before Wednesday ends. And July is also very important also, to see as many
kids as possible.
On whether he’d consider
himself similar to the other former Duke assistant coaches turned head coaches,
[many of whom have struggled in their new jobs]:
We all are very different. Each one of the guys is unique and
different. They all followed their paths.
Dawkins then describes
Amaker, Quinn Snyder, Mike Brey and others’
personalities.
On how he would classify
his personality relative to this Duke group:
I hope I’m as classy as anyone. They’re all different. All great guys.
On taking a head-coaching
job:
I never was really looking at a timetable to be a head coach. I was
an associate head coach at an amazing program. For me, I knew where I sitting
with Coach and our relationship and for me it was just an amazing opportunity.
This is so similar – I’ve always looked at this University in the sense that it
has the same special qualities from when I was at Duke.
On his house in
Durham:
We’re going to keep that house for the time
being because my parents may be moving down to Durham. We’re going to look
for housing [in the Bay] as soon as possible. I’ll get something temporary until
I can get housing. I’ll find something temporary.
Telep was contacted Tuesday. All the other interviews occurred Monday,
immediately after the Dawkins press conference.
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