Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Tennessee on October 26, 2025 at 7 p.m.
/
7 p.m.
Men's Basketball
at Tennessee
.png&width=24&height=24&type=webp)
Dawkins Q&A: Redick A Worthy Example For Others
3/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. - Senior J.J. Redick's pursuit of the Duke all-time scoring mark this month brought to mind for many the player who held the record for the past 20 years. Johnny Dawkins, now the Blue Devils' associate head coach, passed Mike Gminski to become the Duke scoring leader late in his senior season of 1986. Dawkins broke Gminski's mark against Oklahoma, the same day his jersey No. 24 was retired, and went on to finish with 2,556 points. He is the only player in Duke history to take over 2,000 shots, to make over 1,000 shots and to lead the team in scoring four years. Redick eclipsed his total in a recent game with Miami. Dawkins was the first player up off the bench to applaud the go-ahead basket, and he presented Redick with a game ball at center court after the game.
“J.J. has been an amazing player for his career here,” Dawkins said. “He's been a great role model and a great representative for our university, and I'm excited for his individual accomplishments as well as his team accomplishments.”
Are you surprised that your record stood for 20 years?
“I am, actually. People have been asking me how I feel about my record being broken, and for me, first it's great that I have been a coach on the staff for the player who broke it. And second, I played in a different time. They are playing a different game now from the one I played. I'm enjoying seeing the evolution of the game as well as the great performances a young man like J.J. is capable of putting up.”
Obviously, a big change in the game has been the addition of the three-point shot. If you had the three-pointer, there's no telling how many points you would have scored...
“Absolutely (laughing). That is one of the big differences in the game. Also, the shot clock now is 35 seconds as opposed to 45. We started off without a clock actually, and then had a longer one than what we have now...so there are a lot more possessions being used now than when I played the game.
"I'm amazed at what J.J. is doing in this day and age with the way defenses are gearing toward him and the way he has come out every day and had a mindset of consistency of effort. It's great to see. I think for any young person wanting to be good in anything, watching J.J.'s performance this year is a great teaching tool.”
Comparison are always made among great players in sports. Who was the best home run hitter, Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron or Mark McGuire? The same could be done at Duke with some of the great players from Bill Werber and Dick Groat to Johnny Dawkins and J.J. Redick...
"I look at accomplishments and people who achieve greatness, like what J.J. is doing now, and just admire it more than make comparisons of my time to his time, or someone comparing me to their time in the 70s or 60s. It's something I really enjoy seeing. I like seeing excellence and he's provided that for me for the last four years here.
"People are going to make comparisons, and try to pick one guy over another, but I don't think that does our university justice. I'm very happy for J.J. and I hope after he breaks my record, he continues on to break the ACC record and goes on even further, because he has worked so hard at his game that he deserves everything.
“There have been a lot of great players. It's so hard when you are looking at the caliber of student-athletes we've had here over the years to identify all the ones who have made great contributions and have played terrific for us. So what you like to do is just enjoy the different generations and the players who come along during your time and root for them, and remember that there were players before them and there will be players after them who provide the same kind of excitement.”
It is always said that records are made to be broken eventually.
“Yes they are. That's an old clich?, but it's absolutely correct. Records are made to be broken and what you want when records are broken is to have people do it who exemplify the standards of the program you are with. I like to see kids do that, because then it couldn't happen to better people, and this couldn't happen to a better kid than J.J.”
But this is somewhat of an unusual situation in that you've been very instrumental in helping to develop the person who broke your mark.
“Being on the staff has been great, and having the opportunity to work with J.J. has been special. I use him as an example with my own kids. They might not listen to me as much but they listen when I mention J.J. It's funny because he's a guy who has worked very hard to get better every year, and it's culminating with a special, special season that he's having right now. All the work that he's put in is paying off and I'm excited about his future.”
There has been a lot of fanfare and media attention around Redick's pursuit of your scoring record. What do you remember about breaking Mike Gminski's mark back in 1986?
“When I broke the record I was totally engrossed in what we were doing as a team during the season. Once I knew the record was coming up ? I forget the game that we were playing ? I was mainly focused on winning the game and the record was more of a by-product of continuing to win. After it was over I had a chance to look back on it and I felt good about having the record, and very proud to be known as the leading all-time scorer at Duke.”
Coach Scheyer Media Availability
Wednesday, September 24
Jon Scheyer Press Conference: Summer 2025
Tuesday, July 08
Duke vs Houston: Press Conference
Sunday, April 06
Duke vs Alabama: East Region Champions Press Conference
Wednesday, April 02
