ORLANDO Johnny Dawkins' legacy at Duke is assured, thanks to a pair of consensus first-team All-America honors, a National Player of the Year award in 1986 and his No. 24 jersey hanging in the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium.In the NBA, he averaged 11.1 points and 5.5 assists across nine seasons, and competed against the likes of Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in the Slam Dunk Contest during the event's heyday. At Stanford, he brought a pair of NIT championships to Maples Pavilion and collected the fourth-most coaching wins in program history (156).Set to turn 63 in September and now a full decade into his tenure at UCF, and with another three years secured on a contract extension he signed at the end of May, Dawkins believes how he will be remembered in Orlando is still "to be determined.""I think we've done some amazing things here, but I think the best is still yet to come," Dawkins said July 22 in an exclusive one-on-one interview with The News-Journal. "I'm never satisfied on what I think we can do here with this program. My vision for us is one of championships. I haven't gotten our program to where we want to be yet because our standards are higher than what weve been accomplishing. We have to keep pushing until we move it to that goal of ours."The Knights achieved their second at-large NCAA Tournament bid in program history, their first since joining the Big 12 Conference three years ago, in 2026 but were eliminated by UCLA in a first-round matchup in Philadelphia. Terry Mohajir, UCF's vice president and director of athletics, rewarded Dawkins with a three-year extension worth $7.8 million.Last season appeared to be make-or-break for Dawkins, considering his salary $2.2 million at the time, per a term sheet provided by UCF Athletics was not guaranteed entering 2026-27 on his previous deal. Dawkins said he "never even thought about it" in those terms, and that staying along the Knights' sidelines was a fairly easy decision."I've known I always wanted to be a part of UCF, and I think they know that also through our commitment over the years. I think it speaks for itself," Dawkins said. "Fortunately, we've been around some amazing people, like our president (Alexander Cartwright) and our athletic director. And these guys have always been amazing to us, amazing for us to work with and for. They have the same type of vision that we have for our program and for all of our (athletic) programs here There is so much potential here that can be realized. Our university has been very supportive in trying to make that happen for all of us."Dawkins needs just 11 wins to join Torchy Clark and Kirk Speraw as the only coaches to reach 200 at UCF. He has notched 12 of the Knights' 14 all-time victories against ranked opponents, including three during the 2025-26 campaign alone (Kansas, Texas Tech and at BYU).The Knights will, once again, have an overhauled squad for the upcoming season due to heavy losses sustained both due to graduation and the NCAA transfer portal. Starting backcourt duo Themus Fulks and Riley Kugel turned pro; both signed with the Los Angeles Clippers as undrafted free agents to compete in the NBA Summer League. Forwards Jordan Burks (Oklahoma State) and Jamichael Stillwell (Texas Tech) transferred to rival Big 12 teams, pending the latter's lawsuit seeking a fifth year of eligibility.Junior center John Bol, however, is one of five Knights that finished last season with the program to return. The 7-foot-2, 235-pounder from South Sudan started all 33 games and averaged 5.9 points and 5.5 rebounds. Sharpshooting reserve guard Carmelo Pacheco, backup big man Elijah Hulsewe, second-year guard Tanner Jones and Arturo Dean, who signed with the Knights in January, will compete after using a redshirt.UCF snatched up its share of talent from mid-majors, including former Wofford guard Cayden Vasko, former North Carolina A&T wing Lewis Walker and former Florida Gulf Coast forward/center Elijah Malone, the ASUN's Defensive Player of the Year. Dior Johnson returned to the Knights after averaging 24 points per game and receiving WAC Sixth Man of the Year acclaim at Tarleton State, and UCF added a pair of talented true freshmen following the season in Ladarius Givan and Jahda Swann.Early prognostications are not too promising for UCF, whose November non-conference schedule is set to include a road trip to Vanderbilt and neutral-site matchups with Boston College and Georgia at the ESPN Events Invitational in Lake Buena Vista. CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein listed the Knights 13th in his preseason Big 12 power rankings, and The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman put them 15th of the 16 teams.As far as Dawkins is concerned, challenge accepted."I was an underdog as a player. I wasn't no 6-(foot)-7 player with a 45-inch vertical. I was 6-1, 152 pounds going to college," Dawkins said. "No one thought I would do what I was able to do in my personal career. I use those things even when I coach about being an underdog. There are still things you can do to be successful. It starts with a belief. I believe in our system, I believe in our staff, I believe in our players."If we don't (believe), then we're just wasting our time. I try to recruit young people that believe. I look them in the eye and can see a certain thing where (a player) wants to be a part of this."This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Johnny Dawkins on UCF basketball legacy: 'It's still to be determined'