ORLANDO — UCF basketball coaches Johnny Dawkins and Sytia Messer share a similar journey through the evolving world of college basketball. Now, they approach an identical fork in the road of their respective careers.
As players, both led their teams to the Final Four. Dawkins brought Duke within one win of the title in 1986 while capturing the Naismith Player of the Year, and Messer earned Most Outstanding Player honors of the 1998 West Regional as Arkansas became the first unranked women’s team to reach a national semifinal.
Both eventually captured championships as trusted assistants for modern coaching legends. Dawkins returned to Duke after a nine-year NBA career and cut down the nets with former boss Mike Krzyzewski in 2001, and Messer’s scouting and development proved pivotal in eight seasons with Kim Mulkey at Baylor, culminating in a 2019 national title.
And now, as they enter the 2025-26 season, both face the immense challenge of producing results as Big 12 underdogs with overhauled rosters in the unforgiving age of the NCAA transfer portal — potentially with their jobs on the line.
“I think as long as we have a revenue-share and are paying student-athletes, this will be the norm for basketball,” Messer said Oct. 14 during the school’s basketball media day. “When you find student-athletes that stay three or more years at a university, that’s just not normal now. Players are going for what’s best for them, and sometimes that’s the money. Sometimes, that’s staying. We just have to adjust to it, and with that, there should come some grace with coaches. That locker room is different; it’s different personalities, and it takes a while to get to know your players.
“Expectations are what I live for and what UCF stands for. And I am proud to be in those shoes. To me, it’s a juggle every day. We want to get 1% better than the day before. And if you do that, the chips will fall where they may, and the hard work will speak for itself.”
UCF women’s basketball enters Year 4 under Sytia Messer
Messer enters her fourth season on the Knights’ bench, posting a 39-50 overall record with an 8-28 mark in the Big 12. UCF is projected to finish last among the league’s 16 teams, according to the preseason coaches’ poll.
She replaced Katie Abrahamson-Henderson in April 2022 after the latter accepted the head coaching position at Georgia. Her contact, which includes a base salary of $625,000 per season according to USA TODAY’s coaching salaries database, expires in 2027.
Messer’s squad features three returners, including 17-game starter Khyala Ngodu at center. The Knights added 11 newcomers — eight from the transfer portal — and lost nine players, most notably leading scorer Kaitlin Peterson to Ole Miss and All-Big 12 Freshman Team guard Emely Rodriguez to Iowa.
“As far as why I stayed, I trust Coach Messer,” said Ngodu, who averaged 6.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore. “I trust her a lot. She has a players’ coach mentality. We’re always on the same page about what I want or what I need, what she wants and what she needs as a whole. Because that’s the case, I feel like we have the same goals — trying to bring a winning culture to this program.”
UCF men’s basketball roster returns 0% of scoring
Dawkins, meanwhile, must deal with an entirely clean slate for his 10th season at the helm. UCF is one of five Power Four men’s basketball teams which returns 0% of its scoring from a season ago — along with Baylor, Indiana, Miami and West Virginia. The Knights have 13 new players, 11 of whom arrived via the portal.
Ahead of each of the program’s three Big 12 campaigns, Dawkins has brought in at least 10 new players.
All-Big 12 second-team “big guard” Keyshawn Hall and center Moustapha Thiam, one of 25 finalists for the 2025 Kyle Macy Award given to the country’s top freshman, reportedly landed multi-million-dollar deals in the portal — from Auburn and Cincinnati, respectively. Even the team’s role players who stepped up in UCF’s unlikely run to the College Basketball Crown’s inaugural championship game, such as Nils Machowski (Wofford) and Tyler Hendricks (Utah Valley), departed for bigger opportunities at smaller programs.
And, of course, UCF’s four-year floor general Darius Johnson — Dawkins’ godson and a top-five Knight all-time in games played (125), 3-pointers made (218), free-throw percentage (81.4%), assists (478) and steals (241) — graduated.
“Definitely a new challenge, especially at the point guard spot,” Dawkins said. “Having someone that I have been able to rely on at that position for a number of years, it’s rare these days (to) have a player like Darius. He may be the last player like that. It was great having him for all four seasons.
“So now what you want to do is to try and recruit guys that fit your system. I think we were able to do that and find guys that have some experience. Once they learn who I am and what I expect, they’ll be able to go out there and compete at a high level for us.”
Dawkins leaned on prior recruiting relationships for several additions, including Orlando native Riley Kugel (Mississippi State), Tallahassee native Kris Parker (Villanova) and Canadian center Jeremy Foumena (Mississippi State). He added several other players who competed against the Knights last season, including the Milwaukee duo of point guard Themus Fulks and double-double machine Jamichael Stillwell, sixth-year senior Devan Cambridge from Texas Tech and former Georgetown forward Jordan Burks.
“Coach Dawkins recruited me out of high school, since I was in the eighth grade,” said Parker, a 6-foot-9, 201-pound redshirt sophomore guard. “I just knew him as a person, that he was a good dude.
“He really loves the game. We’re in here Saturdays. Even on his birthday (Sept. 28), he’s in the gym. It really matters to him, and he’s really knowledgeable. There’s probably nothing on the floor that he hasn’t done.”
Dawkins, who turned 62 last month, signed a two-year contract extension in June 2024, according to a term sheet provided to USA TODAY by UCF’s athletics association. He will make $2.1 million for 2025-26, the lowest figure among Big 12 head coaches, and his $2.2 million salary for next year is not guaranteed.
To date, Dawkins has a 168-120 record with the Knights, making five postseason appearances — albeit just once for the NCAA Tournament. He has scored nine wins over ranked opponents, including home upsets of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Texas A&M since UCF joined the Big 12, and recruited and developed the program’s first NBA lottery pick (Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks).
UCF is listed 64th on the preseason KenPom college basketball ratings, meaning a March Madness return is a reasonable goal. Dawkins believes he put together a tournament team and his formula can work regardless of who stays and who goes.
“I think it’s important for you to stay with your standards,” Dawkins said. “Everyone has a system that they run; I know we do. With that in mind, you try not compromise some of those values that you’ve established. It’s important that you take advantage of your summers and take advantage of your fall. It’s hard to give a young man the habits you want him to have in nine months because that’s how long you have a lot of these student-athletes now. But you can instill some of the things you do well. I just think you need to keep it more simple.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF basketball coaches Johnny Dawkins, Sytia Messer enter pivotal years
