Michigan Hoops: Legacy son Aubrey Dawkins joins impressive group

Over the last several seasons, John Beilein has been blessed with coaching several NBA players’ sons. The latest is Aubrey Dawkins, whose breakout 20-point performance helped Michigan (8-5, 1-0) to a 73-65 OT victory over Illinois Tuesday night.

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His father Johnny Dawkins was one of Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski‘s best ever.  Johnny was a two-time consensus All-American for the Blue Devils (1985-86) and won 1986 National Player of the Year honors. Johnny Dawkins is now in his sixth season as Stanford’s head coach.

Before he hit six of eight shots and six of seven from three against the Illini, Aubrey spent much of his time on the bench, playing behind Kam Chatman.

Shooting slump

But as outside shooters often do, Chatman found himself in an awful shooting slump (29 percent) and Dawkins made the most of his opportunity.

Partially because he transfered from Palo Alto (HS) in California to New Hampton (HS) in New Hampshire, Dawkins was only a 2-star recruit.  He did have a chance to choose between Dayton and Michigan, and he chose the Wolverines.

“It was a tough decision, but a degree from Michigan carries more weight than one from Dayton,” Dawkins said.  Not necessarily because it’s better academically, but because it’s Michigan.”

Dawkins followed other legacy recruits who learned the game under Beilein.

Tim Hardaway, Jr. (2010-13) and Glenn Robinson III (2012-14) both left Michigan early for the NBA while Jon Horford transfered to Florida for his redshirt senior year. He’s averaging 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds this season while averaging 24 minutes.

Two-way street

Jordan Dumars, the son of Detroit Pistons Hall of Fame guard Joe Dumars, spent some time with the Wolverines before leaving with recurring knee issues (2011).

It’s a two-way street for Beilein and the legacy sons. The dads trust their kids with the coach, and both Beilein and Michigan benefit.

Like many who have played for Beilein, you start your career coming off the bench. Dawkins showed he is is learning.

"“ (U-M Assistant Coach) Jeff Meyer has done a great job with him. He has been making shots in practice; not at this rate, but at the same time he has not been out there for an extended period of time,” said Coach Beilein. “We always talk about outliers on our team and how important they are to our success. Spike (Albrecht) had been an outlier; Zak Irvin had been an outlier during their freshman years. All of the sudden, there was Aubrey, and he filled a huge void of shooting the ball that we had today.”"

Michigan tries to extend its winning streak to three Saturday (Jan. 3) at Purdue (9-5, 1-0). Tipoff time is 2:15 pm, ET. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

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