SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - One legend out, another one in.
The men's basketball team lost a valuable member of its coaching staff Tuesday with the resignation of associate head coach Tommy Amaker, but quickly replaced him on Thursday with Johnny Dawkins, the 1986 National College Player of the Year as a Blue Devil and a member of the Duke Sports Hall of Fame.
Amaker left his post with the Blue Devils to assume the head coaching position at Seton Hall University. With the exception of a brief hiatus during the 1987-1988 school year, Amaker has been affiliated with the University and the basketball team since 1983 as a player, a graduate assistant coach, an assistant coach and finally his most recent position, associate coach, which he took in 1995.
For Amaker, who led the Blue Devils as a point guard from 1983-1987, this will be his first head coaching position. He takes the reins of a Pirate team that last season struggled to a 10-18 record, including a 5-13 mark in the Big East.
"I've had the opportunity to be at Duke for quite some time," Amaker said at a press conference Wednesday at Seton Hall. "I've been there, I've learned a lot and I've had the opportunity to watch the program grow from ground one. I was a student-athlete there in 1983-84 before Duke was 'Duke' as it is today. I've seen it come about and I know what it takes to get to that level. It starts with people. That's why I'm here-because of the people at Seton Hall."
Though saddened to lose Amaker from the Duke program, head coach Mike Krzyzewski fully endorsed the move and heaped nothing but praise upon his pupil.
"It's a sad moment for me because Tommy's been with me for 13 of my 17 years at Duke," Krzyzewski said. "He has been unbelievably instrumental in the success of our basketball program. I feel like I'm losing a very close member of my family.
"On the other hand, Tommy is ready to take on the challenge of a top level program. I think the situation at Seton Hall is perfect for Tommy. The people there are terrific and they will appreciate who Tommy is as both a person and a coach."
Amaker had received multiple other head coaching offers before, but accepted the Seton Hall job because of what he deemed the perfect "fit." Although enthusiastic about running his own program, Amaker was saddened by the thought of departing Duke, where he has spent most of his adult life.
"When you lay down your roots, you have a lot of emotional ties, a lot of things that are very dear to you-people, locations, things that you are very accustomed to over the years," Amaker said. "That was clearly the case with me at Duke. I had one of the best assistant coaching jobs in the country.
"I always said to myself that it was going to take something very special for me to move. I've had the opportunity to move on before, but there was nothing quite as unique or as special to me or my wife Stephanie personally as Seton Hall. That's what it was going to take and that's why I'm here."
Dawkins, a 1986 Duke graduate and a three-year teammate of Amaker, brings outstanding credentials as a player to the Blue Devils. He is Duke's all-time leading scorer with 2,556 points, had his jersey number 24 retired by the University and played nine seasons in the NBA. Dawkins spent the last year as an administrative intern in the Duke athletics department and as a radio color analyst for all Duke games. He has no previous coaching experience.
"I never tried to look ahead at what possibilities I would have to coach," Dawkins said. "I always knew I wanted to be involved and I wanted to go into coaching. I really didn't know if Coach K would hire me. I just wanted to be around and if something presented itself, have the opportunity to apply for the position."
Although he has never been a coach, Dawkins hopes that his extensive playing experience at both the collegiate and professional level will make him an asset to Krzyzewski and future Duke teams.
"I like to teach," Dawkins said. "I'd like to share some of the experiences I've had with the young players and help them grow. I think I can bring my personal experiences to the job. Having played basketball from eight to 33, you pick up a few things here and there."
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