Like his mentor, Mike Krzyzewski, Johnny Dawkins took a little time to get Stanford off the ground. Now in his fourth year, Dawkins has piloted Stanford to the NIT championship.
There are two ways to look at the NIT these days: for an older team, it's a consolation prize. For a younger team, it's a launching pad.
With a lot of young talent on hand, and a lot more on the way, Dawkins is positioning Stanford to be quite a load in the PAC-12. They certainly were for Minnesota.
The Gophers turned the ball over 21 times and went nine minutes without a basket in the first half. Stanford also held Minnesota to 37.3% from the floor and outrebounded them 36-29.
There's a picture on theGate.com, which you may or may not be able to find now, which shows Dawkins in a pose in which his body language is unbelievably like Krzyzewski's. Maybe his career is about to be as well.
- Stanfordâs Resurgence Culminates in a Title
- Stanford wins NIT title game
- Stanfordâs Resurgence Culminates in a Title
- Four-point play sparked Bright
- This time TOs too much to overcome
- Tudor:Â NIT could be key step for Johnny Dawkins
- Stanford rolls Gophers in NIT title game
- Gophers thrashed in NIT championship
- Gophers-Stanford game recap
- Postgame:Â This loss hurts, but there are bright spots ahead
- NIT championship: Stanford beats Gophers in a blowout
| The Duke Basketball Blue Book |
| DBR Auctions! |
| New T-Shirts! |
 |
| DBR Is On Twitter!(DBRTweetz) |