Chante Black is coming off and amazing season.  She is one of Tri Captains for the 2009 Duke Women's Basketball team.  She will be joined by fellow senior Careem Gay and the ever so popular Abby Waner.

The Cameron lights will shine for one last time on Waner and teammates Black and Gay

There will be a BDN Premium members chat tonight at 9:15 EST on the message board.  We will discuss recruiting, Johnny Dawkins and more.  It's not to late to subscribe and join us!  The paypal links for 3, 6 or 12 month memberships are in the menu to your left.  The yearly rate is by far the best deal.  There is also a general update on BDNP, which covers recruiting and other issues.

           Jamil Wilson                               Leslie McDonald

       Kenny Boynton Jr.                          Mason Plumlee

Ali Hausfeld is shown here during last seasons Meet the Blue Devils event.  She's a testament as to how the Duke Student Athletes Family support one another.  A salute to this graduating senior who was honored during the recent  Women's Volleyball Awards Banquet.  Ali leaves Duke with the all time assist record not only for her team but the ACC as well.

NEW YORK – Former Blue Devil great Grant Hill (Phoenix Suns) was recently named the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy presented to the 2007-08 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner. Hill becomes the first two-time winner of the 13-year old award. A former Duke player has now claimed the NBA Sportsmanship Award in each of the last four seasons.

Hill, a ...   more »

I just received a media advisory that Johnny Dawkins will be introduced to the media at 4:00 (7:00 EST) this afternoon.  There will be a live stream of the event.  You can see the live streaming of the press conference will be available at www.gostanford.com.  Be sure to support our former great! 

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Johnny signs for fans during a promotion for men's and women's basketball

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Dan Loftus recorded a season-high 17 saves to help top-seeded and second-ranked Duke repeat as ACC Champions with an 11-9 victory over third-seeded and third-ranked Virginia on Sunday afternoon at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. 

Duke held an 11-3 lead with six minutes left in the third period and held off a determined Virginia squad over the ...   more »

The Johnny Dawkins to Stanford story continues to receive major press interest this morning. Over at the Herald Sun, Frank Dascenzo and Bryan Strickland offer up their take on the move. While at the News & Observer, Luciana Chavez and Caulton Tudor opine. Out west, the San Francisco Chronicle has another article posted.

On the baseball front, Luciana Chavez has written a nice article on left-handed pitcher Christopher Manno who received national recognition this week. Duke is pushing hard to qualify for the ACC Tournament.  Meanwhile, the Duke Lacrosse team defeated UNC in the ACC tournament semi-finals and is set to take on Virginia in the championship game today. Down in the bayou, Joe Alleva's contract has been approved.

The big news this evening is Stanford hiring Johnny Dawkins as their basketball coach. Ray Ratto, of the San Francisco Chronicle, seems to be willing to give Dawkins a chance, while Tim Kawakami, at the San Jose Mercury, isn't impressed with the hire. Those of us who follow Duke basketball understand that Stanford is bringing in a class act in Johnny Dawkins and I'm sure JD will prove Kawakami-san wrong.

In AAU basketball action, here is an update on Friday night action at the King James Shooting Stars Classic in Akron, Ohio. One team competing in Akron is the Indiana Elite with Mason Plumlee, Stephan Van Treese, and Jordan Hulls. According to Jody Demling, of the Louisville Courier-Journal, Duke is showing interest in Hulls who is a 6'0" point guard from Bloomington South High School.

The Asheville Citizen-Times has an update on Miles Plumlee and his request to be released from the National LOI he signed to play at Stanford.

Finally, USA Basketball has an article up on the Olympic Games including the men's and women's schedule.

Dawkins Named Head Coach At Stanford
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke associate head coach Johnny Dawkins has been named the men's basketball head coach at Stanford, as announced by Jaquish & Kenninger Director of Athletics Bob Bowlsby on Saturday. Dawkins becomes the 17th head coach in the history of the Cardinal program.

"We are thrilled to welcome Johnny and his family to Stanford," said Bowlsby. "His credentials as a player, combined with his coaching experience gained mentoring under a Hall of Fame coach at a university such as Duke, made him a perfect fit for Stanford. The philosophies of the two programs both on the court and in the classroom are very similar. I am confident Johnny's leadership skills, coaching ability and commitment to attract top-flight student-athletes will be a driving force in continuing Stanford's tradition of basketball excellence."

Dawkins, 44, takes over at Stanford after completing his 11th year as a member of the Duke coaching staff. For the last nine seasons (2000-08), Dawkins served as the program's associate head coach. He began his coaching career as an assistant during the 1998-99 campaign.

“In my 28 years at Duke, no one did more to build our program as a player, coach or a person than Johnny Dawkins. He is as responsible as anyone for the success we’ve had for more than two decades,” said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. “Johnny is certainly ready to become a head coach at a high level, and that is exactly the opportunity he’s been presented. He will identify completely with what Stanford does, both in the classroom and on the court, and will maintain its strong basketball tradition. This is a great fit for both Stanford and Johnny.
During Dawkins' 11 years as a coach at Duke, the Blue Devils won a national championship in 2001, six ACC regular season championships, seven ACC Tournament titles, and posted an amazing 330-60 record, 142-34 in league play. For four consecutive seasons from 1999-2002, Duke finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in both national polls, marking the first time that has happened in college basketball history. Duke reached the No. 1 national ranking in eight of the 11 seasons that Dawkins coached for the Blue Devils.

Dawkins led the Duke player development efforts during his tenure. Nine Blue Devils were tabbed NBA lottery picks and one of his pupils, Elton Brand, was named Co-NBA Rookie of the Year. He played an integral role in the development of Duke's most recent NBA first round selections, Shelden Williams, who was selected fifth overall, and J.J. Redick, who was selected 11th overall, in 2006. Other first-rounders under Dawkins' guidance have been Roshown McLeod (20th overall in 1998), Brand (first in 1999), Trajan Langdon (11th in 1999), Corey Maggette (13th in 1999), William Avery (14th in 1999), Shane Battier (sixth in 2001), Jason Williams (second in 2002), Mike Dunleavy (third in 2002), Dahntay Jones (20th in 2003) and Luol Deng (seventh in 2004). In addition, Duke has had four National Players of the Year -- Brand in 1999, Battier in 2001, Williams in 2001 and 2002 and Redick in 2005 and 2006 -- and 14 All-Americans during Dawkins' tenure on the Blue Devil coaching staff.
Dawkins added to his coaching resume in 2006 when he was named the Player Personnel Director for the USA Basketball Senior National Team (2006-08). In his first competition with the program, Dawkins helped a team that included former Duke standouts Elton Brand and Shane Battier to an 8-1 record and a bronze medal finish at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan. Last year, he saw Team USA post a 10-0 record at the FIBA Americas Championship to win the gold medal and automatically qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

One of the most decorated players in Duke basketball history, Dawkins finished his career in 1986 as the school's all-time leading scorer and held that honor until Feb. 19, 2006, when Redick scored 30 points in a home win over Miami to surpass his mark of 2,556 points. Prior to the 2002-03 campaign, Dawkins was named as one of the 50 greatest players in ACC history by the league office. The Sporting News named Dawkins the 78th greatest player in college basketball history in its Legends of College Basketball book released in 2002.

After suffering through an 11-17 rookie season when he was named Freshman All-America, Dawkins led Duke to an 84-21 record over his last three seasons. A native of Washington, D.C., Dawkins was a part of three NCAA Tournament squads. During his senior year as team captain, the Blue Devils won 37 contests and recorded a single season school record 21-game winning streak (that streak has since been broken). That squad went on to win the ACC regular season championship, the ACC Tournament title, and advance to the NCAA Final Four where the Blue Devils lost to Louisville in the National Championship game in Dallas.

Dawkins set school records for most field goals in a season with 331 in 1986 and most field goals in a career with 1,026. He scored in double figures in a school-record 129 career games, all but four of the contests he played in at Duke. Dawkins led the Blue Devils in scoring all four years of his career, recording the fourth-highest season point figure in school history with 809 in 1986.

In addition, he held Duke career standards for points in ACC regular season action (1,073) and points scored in Cameron Indoor Stadium (1,125), until the 2005-06 season when Redick surpassed both marks. The team leader in assists as a freshman, he ranks sixth in career assists with 555.

An alternate on the 1984 USA Olympic basketball team, Dawkins was a two-time first team All-ACC performer in 1985 and 1986 as well as the school's first consensus two-time, first team All-America. He added ACC Tournament MVP and National Player of the Year accolades as a senior.

A 1986 first-round draft selection (10th pick overall) by San Antonio, Dawkins saw action in nine NBA seasons with the Spurs, 76ers and Pistons.

Upon his retirement from the NBA, he was inducted into the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in September 1996. His jersey number 24 was retired by the school.

Dawkins, who maintained a residence in Durham with his wife, Tracy, during his NBA career, spent the 1996-97 academic year as an administrative intern in the Duke athletic department. He also served as the radio color analyst for all Duke games on the Capitol Sports Network.

“I am deeply sorry to lose him as our associate head coach,” added Krzyzewski.  “That said, I am very happy for Johnny, Tracy and his four children. The Dawkins family will be embraced by the Stanford community, just as they were here in Durham. They’re a wonderful family.”
 
Dawkins is a 1986 graduate of Duke with a degree in political science. He and his wife, Tracy, have four children: Aubrey, Jillian, Blair and Sean.

Johnny Dawkins has brought a lot of joy to Duke fans and he'll be missed.  Here he is with Bilas, Alarie and Henderson.  He was part of a vey specil griup that turned Duke Basketball around. 

I met Johnny Dawkins for the first time as a wide eyed freshman and have known him to be a true Blue man ever since.   Being able to watch Johnny break the all time Duke scoring record and seeing his team bring Duke back to the top of the basketball world will always be special to me.  I remember watching him go down to an untimely injury while playing for the Sixers and my heart went out to him then.  Well, it does again. 

Dawkins to Stanford

He will be missed in many ways, but he has taken an opportunity which was at hand.  He has a wonderful family both at Duke and at home and has served the Blue Devils in a most dignified manner.  The Blue Devil Nation wished Johnny all the best and will follow him throughout his career.

Carlos Boozer is shooting 54.7%  from the field this season.  In this article, his shooting touch is discussed.  There are some  quotes from Wojo as well.

Here is a link which talks of Team USA and the changes in international basketball.  K's forces will soon be in practice and must win in the preliminary games to advance.

The Duke Men's LAX team is in Charlottesville where they will face arch rival North Carolina in the ACC semifinal.  Here is more on the match ups.  If Duke should win they will play the Cav's in their backyard.