DURHAM, N.C. – Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced on Friday that Andre Dawkins has signed his offer of admission and will join the men’s basketball team for the 2009-10 season. Dawkins recently received his high school diploma after passing his final course requirement this summer.
“We are excited about Andre joining our program,” said Krzyzewski. “He is a very talented player and an excellent student. He worked hard throughout his high school career and this summer to put himself in this position. He will be an outstanding addition to the university and our basketball team.”
Dawkins, a native of the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, played his first year of high school basketball at Deep Creek [Chesapeake, Va.] before transferring to Atlantic Shores Christian [Chesapeake, Va.], where he elected to repeat his freshman year. He and his family decided to pursue forgoing a fifth-year of high school after realizing that he had all of the core credits required by the NCAA Eligibility Center and only needed to pass English 12 to graduate.
Last season, Dawkins averaged 20.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game to lead the Seahawks to a 32-2 record and an appearance in the Division II state private school final. He was named All-Tidewater area and also was a first team Division II private school all-tournament team selection.
As a sophomore, he guided Atlantic Shores to a 29-7 ledger and was named the Metro Conference Player of the Year and All-Tidewater area. In his first season, Dawkins helped the team to a 29-6 record that included a 21-game win streak following an 8-5 start to the season.
Dawkins, a 6-4, 190-pound guard, is ranked as one of the top players in the Class of 2010. ESPN.com ranks him as the No. 2 shooting guard in the country and the No. 10 overall prospect, while Scout.com rates him as the No. 3 shooting guard and No. 22 overall.
With his enrollment this fall, Dawkins joins freshman Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee in the 2009 recruiting class. Duke’s 2009 class was already ranked No. 9 overall by Scout.com prior to Dawkins joining the group.
