Dawkins Named Roughers Head Boys Basketball Coach
Launch the media gallery 1 playerMay 3, 2022
Dawkins Named Roughers Head Boys Basketball Coach
MUSKOGEE, Okla. - Muskogee Public Schools Board of Education approved the recommendation to hire Lou Dawkins as the next head boy’s basketball coach at Muskogee High School.
“We think Coach Dawkins has a unique and powerful vision for the program. His passion for creating impact and community connections has been evident in his work with our auxiliary programs for the past three years,” said Executive Director of Athletics Dr. Jason Parker.
“Couple that with his basketball coaching experience and it makes him an ideal fit for Rougher Athletics.”
Dawkins is no stranger to Northeastern Oklahoma having played collegiately at the University of Tulsa as a member of the 1994 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen squad.
He is an accomplished high school basketball coach from his time in the State of Michigan.
A native of Saginaw, Mich., Lou served as head boys basketball coach for seven seasons at Saginaw High leading the team to a 149-28 record. Under his guidance, Saginaw High earned the Michigan Class A state championship in 2007 and 2008. He was named the Michigan AP Coach of the Year following both seasons and was named the 2007 Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Coach of the Year.
In 2007, he was named National Coach of the Year after the team was ranked second in the nation by MaxPreps and the 2008 team was ranked fourth in the USA Today Super 25.
He coached 11 players who earned basketball scholarships at the NCAA Division I level, including current Golden State Warrior and former Michigan State Spartan Draymond Green.
In six of his seven seasons, the Trojans won the Saginaw Valley Championship and Dawkins was named coach of the year three times. He served as the Director of Athletics at Saginaw High for his final three years in addition to being the head varsity basketball coach. Prior to becoming the varsity coach he led the junior varsity program for six seasons.
In 2011, Dawkins joined the men’s basketball staff at Northern Illinois University as an assistant coach. Dawkins was a key member of coach Mark Montgomery’s staff in helping rebuild a Huskies program that had just two winning seasons in its previous 15 before a 21-13 season in 2015-16. That season NIU finished tied for third in the Mid-American Conference west division and reached the quarterfinals of the Vegas 16 postseason tournament, the first postseason play for the Huskies since the 1995-96 season.
Dawkins joined the staff of Dennis Felton at Cleveland State University in 2017 where he remained for two seasons. The Vikings reached the Horizon League Tournament Championship game as the No. 8 seed.
He most recently has served Muskogee Public Schools as Athletics Coordinator leading the district’s youth sports program, Rougher Youth Sports Academy, in addition to teaching physical education courses.
Lou played college basketball at the University of Tulsa under J.D. Barnett and Tubby Smith from 1989-1994. He graduated from the University of Tulsa in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. He was a second-team all-conference honoree and selected as the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1994. He ranks seventh in career assists, 339, and steals, 176, for the Golden Hurricane.