A two-time state champion and hall-of-fame coach is now running with the herd.
McAlester Public Schools announced hiring Lou Dawkins as the new head high school boys basketball coach during Monday’s school board meeting, following a three-year stint leading the Muskogee Roughers boys program.
Dawkins brings a history of success to the Buffalo basketball program, most notably from his time at Saginaw High School in Michigan. He posted a 149-28 record over seven seasons at his alma mater, winning back-to-back state championships with the Trojans in 2007 and 2008.
Dawkins helped put Saginaw in the national spotlight, with the team ranked No. 2 by MaxPreps in 2007 and finishing No. 4 in the USA Today Super 25 in 2008. His team’s success earned him National Coach of the Year honors in 2007, along with Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Coach of the Year and Michigan AP Coach of the Year awards in both 2007 and 2008.
During that time, Dawkins coached four-time NBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time NBA champion Draymond Green. Dawkins was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame in summer 2024.
After resigning from Saginaw in 2011, Dawkins served as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois University for six seasons, then spent two seasons as an assistant at Cleveland State University. His most recent head coaching position was at Muskogee High School, where he was hired in 2022 and compiled a 21-49 record over three seasons before resigning at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Before his coaching career, Dawkins played for the University of Tulsa from 1989 to 1994. He remains embedded in Golden Hurricane lore for his game-winning 3-pointer against Oklahoma State that sent Tulsa to its first Sweet 16 in 1994. Dawkins still ranks in the program’s top 10 for career assists and steals.
He takes over for former head coach Mike Dooney, who finished his McAlester tenure with a 15-32 record over two seasons.
written by Brandon Green