Johnny Dawkins has lived in Durham since his freshman year at Duke.
Being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs didn't change that. Neither did later NBA stops in Philadelphia and Detroit.
But now, Dawkins is gone.
His house is on the market.
The former Blue Devil point guard and nine-year associate head coach is 2,800 miles away, having taken the open head coaching position at Stanford April 26.
For the first time in 26 years, Dawkins will make his permanent residence outside of North Carolina.
"It's a change," Dawkins said. "I've definitely moved outside of my comfort zone. I've learned a great deal over the last month and a half."
And while Dawkins was learning, Duke's coaching staff was undergoing its first major change since 2000. Assistant coaches Steve Wojciechowski and Chris Collins were promoted to associate head coaches, and Nate James was hired to fill the void left from Dawkins' departure.
Dawkins' No. 24 hangs in Cameron's rafters, and head coach Mike Krzyzewski said no one did more for Duke's program in his 28 years at the helm. But after spurning previous overtures to leave his alma mater, Dawkins couldn't pass up the Cardinal post.
He felt it was the right time to leave, and the similar tenet of the schools' athletic departments-the academic-athletic balance-made the job particularly appealing.
"The [Duke] program is in great shape," Dawkins said after running off a list of other reasons the Stanford job intrigued him. "Of course, I wouldn't have departed if I didn't think we were in terrific shape with where we were going and our future with what we were doing.
"I'm always pulling for them, of course. I'm a Duke alum, and I'm excited when those guys have success."
Dawkins' name is frequently brought up in connection with the Blue Devils' future. Some consider him to be the leading candidate to replace Krzyzewski after the legendary coach retires, a topic that was sparked anew when Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby introduced his new coach as Krzyzewski's likely heir.
Krzyzewski will not name a successor, and he prefers that the job stays in the Duke family, he told The Chronicle in June. But Dawkins tends to ignore the suggestions that he may one day return to the sidelines of Coach K Court.
"I try not to concentrate on that," Dawkins said. "I can't see anyone there other than [Krzyzewski]. I never could see past that. So many people have visions of what happens when he goes or this and they're looking at all kinds of strategies behind Coach's departure, and I'm one that can't ever see anything other than him always in the picture. And it's because not only did I work for him, but also played for him. So I take a different perspective than, I guess, most people."
Before he coaches his first game in Palo Alto, Calif., though, Dawkins will get one more opportunity to work with his mentor. Despite the rigors of taking charge of the Cardinal program, Dawkins will still travel to Beijing as the director of player personnel for Team USA.
He never seriously considered opting out of his commitment to Krzyzewski and USA Basketball because he believed that working for the national team was the "highest honor" possible, he said. When Dawkins interviewed for the Stanford job, he was asked whether he would go to Beijing this summer. He replied that he wanted to stay involved with the national team either way.
Dawkins' role on the Olympic team is to work with the players before, during and after practice, as well as to oversee their training regimens off the court-a position he's comfortable with, having spearheaded player development at Duke.
As for working with Krzyzewski one last time? Dawkins' whirlwind departure to the West Coast will make the trip to China that much more meaningful.
"Everything changed so quickly that really I didn't have a chance to catch my breath," Dawkins said. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to work with him."
But even though he will be nearly 3,000 miles from Krzyzewski's office this fall, he won't be forgotten anytime soon at Duke. Dawkins was in town as recently as Father's Day, and he has kept in touch with the Blue Devil players this summer.
And after all, he still has that house to sell.
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