Dawkins reflects on UCF's Cinderella run, proving doubters wrong, and a dream NCAA Tournament return to his old stomping grounds.
A historic season by the UCF Knights (21-11, 9-9 Big 12) punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
Coach Johnny Dawkins sat and spoke to local media shortly after celebrating with his players who achieved an accomplishment they set for themselves in the preseason.
On seeing UCF's name revealed as the No. 10 seed and heading back to Philadelphia, where he played from 1989 to 1994:
"You're always excited to hear your name called. It's such an honor to be invited to this tournament. It's the best tournament in sports, in my opinion. And so to have this opportunity is great, to get back to Philadelphia is kind of the icing on the cake for me. I have fond memories of my career there as well. Yes, absolutely a special moment."
On how happy he is to see his team prove the doubters — who predicted them to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 — wrong:
"I've said it all season long how proud I am of this team. I saw something in them this summer, just how competitive they were, and it carried over throughout the season. So that made it really special, and to see our young people, you know, these are dreams that are made, you know? When you're a young player, you dream of having the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament. And so to see a number of these players who've never had this opportunity, this is their first time, and some of the guys who've had multiple opportunities, it never gets old. It's such a special feeling. So, I'm really happy that we have this group together and that we have this amazing opportunity in front of us."
On if making the NCAA Tournament in today's league is different from his last appearance in 2019:
"Well, hadn't really thought about that too much other than it's still very, very challenging to get these opportunities. Talking about 366 Division I teams and including the play-in game, you're taking 68 teams. So it's such a small percentage of teams that are afforded these opportunities. That part hadn't changed. The landscape has changed mostly because of rev share [and] NIL has changed the way we do our business. But as far as the young people competing and playing with spirit, that hadn't really changed. I hadn't faced a team yet that I noticed a difference in competition due to the fact that the landscape has changed with regard to the money that is involved now."
On how he feels about his team's play heading into the NCAA Tournament next Friday:
"I think our team feels great. It's an amazing opportunity. I think everyone right now that had their name called on Selection Sunday is excited about the opportunity to continue your season. No one wants the season to end. And so to be afforded this moment in time to be able to go compete is exciting, and that's how our guys felt. I think if you watch the reaction that they had when they heard their name called, I think it speaks volumes. They're looking forward to the opportunity."
On how significant having players with previous tournament experience is on the team:
"I think it's huge. You have guys that have actually experienced it. So there are going to be so many new things coming to the team with regard to when you travel, when you're there. It's going to be festive. There are going to be things happening in your shootarounds and practices where a lot of people are interviewing you. And so I think it's great for our guys to be exposed to this. But it is different. And so we have to make sure our guys that have been there and done that can kind of continue to counsel our guys as well as we will as a staff because we've done it a number of times to help our guys navigate that to make sure we stay focused and concentrating on what's the main thing, and that's competing."
On how games against No. 1 Duke, No. 16 Vanderbilt and Texas A&M prepared UCF for the NCAA Tournament:
"Well, I thought our staff did an amazing job. I've said that on numerous occasions. Our staff — they were incredible. We tried to build out our schedule. We talked about what would be the right fit for this group because every team is different. We felt that as challenging as possible early on would be beneficial for us. And so, obviously, you play Duke right away and set a tone based on what we wanted to see our young people do. And then, of course, the Big 12 schedule is phenomenal in itself. Texas A&M on the road is an incredible game, too. So, I thought our guys really had a taste of what it's going to be like throughout the season for us. And so, they had to come prepared every night. And I thought they did. I thought they came almost every night with a certain level of competitiveness, a certain level of hunger in our games. And that's what you have to have to be consistent and to win and to be an NCAA tournament team."
On how exciting it was to have his team together for some more time and that they did enough to punch their ticket to March Madness:
"It's a great feeling to know that you've accomplished something, a goal that you set in the preseason, and you have to wait five or six months before it's realized. So, I've always told our guys, you have to embrace hard. Hard is good, and it is difficult to accomplish this, but you have to embrace that, and I thought our guys did. Throughout the entire journey in our conference, through the ups and downs. I mean, it's the best basketball conference in college basketball. I think our guys responded very well to that. They kept competing. We had great moments. We had some tough ones, but I think it all helps prepare us for this time of the year, where we face so many different situations that I think will help us going forward."
On if he's seen the No. 7 Seed UCLA Bruins play:
"I have not seen UCLA. Of course, they're on the West Coast, so I haven't seen them play not one time, but of course, I know Mick Cronin, man, great coach. He's done well wherever he's been. He did a great job at Cincinnati. He's doing a great job at UCLA. So, I have a lot of respect for him and his programs because I know how he coaches, but I haven't had a chance to see them. I know they're well coached and they're talented."
On the hallmarks of UCLA coach Mick Cronin's play style:
"Defensively, just toughness and the ability to defend and rebound, I think, have been hallmarks of what he's done at Cincinnati. And I'm sure he's doing something similar at UCLA. I haven't seen them out there, of course, but I don't think he would trade that or change anything because he's been very successful at what he's done."
On how important it is for his team to be on the same page:
"I think our guys are definitely getting healthier as they've had this time now to recover, which is good. I think they're in a good place as of today. I don't think there's anyone that's really out. I mean, we have some guys day-to-day with getting back, but I don't think there's anybody that would be ruled out as of today on our roster."
On the moment he knew UCF was a tournament-worthy team:
"I thought early on, even in the preseason, I thought if we could just continue to play the way we were playing, the team had the makings of one that could play in the postseason. So, I thought early on, and I said that to our players, I thought they did a great job of how they handled the games early in the season, our exhibition games, even though we lost them. I thought it was great preparation. Played a really good Vandy team. I think everyone is realizing that now. They just played for the SEC championship. You play Texas A&M on the road. So, we played a lot of challenging teams, and through all of that, I thought our guys responded well. I thought they were very competitive. Do we have some things to learn, 13 new guys? Absolutely. We had to find ways to win. We had to learn how to win together, but I thought our guys all bought into that at the end of the day. And so, by the time we went to conference play, I felt if we could just continue to do what we were doing in the preseason, we'd have a chance to be competitive in the Big 12. And I thought we were."
On how excited he is to coach and make his return to the NCAA Tournament:
"You can never take these opportunities for granted. So, I'm definitely happy for our team, my staff, trainers, our doctors, everyone, you know, athletic director, deputy athletic director, you name everyone in our organization that's in our family. I'm very, very happy for everyone. Like I said, because you can't take this for granted. These opportunities are very, very challenging, and it takes a lot of work, and I thought our guys did a great job of putting [themselves] in this position. I couldn't be more proud of our players because you know they made it happen at the end of the day, and I couldn't be more proud of them for that."
On if traveling to Philadelphia is an advantage over UCLA, despite the Bruins being the higher seed:
"I don't think that's going to affect either team from the standpoint of, you know, I think in the Big 10 now, you travel coast to coast and play games anyway, if I recall. So, they're used to probably traveling and playing. It's not like we're playing in our state. We have to travel some as well. It's just one of those things that I think both teams will be prepared. You don't get many of these opportunities, and so I think both teams will be putting their best foot forward when it comes time to compete."
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