Lou Dawkins
	Hometown: Saginaw, Mich. Position: Assistant Coach Experience: Second Season Alma Mater: Tulsa

Lou Dawkins joined the Northern Illinois men's basketball coaching staff on April 14, 2011, following seven highly-successful seasons as the head coach at Saginaw High School in Saginaw, Mich.

In his first season at NIU, Dawkins helped guide one of the youngest teams in the nation to the program's first MAC Tournament victory since 2003, defeating MAC West Champion Eastern Michigan in the opening round of the conference tournament to advance to Cleveland. NIU saw 55.9 percent of its minutes played by freshmen during the 2011-12 season, the sixth-highest percentage in the country, and the Huskies lead the MAC in offensive rebounds while ranking second in rebounding defense and third in rebounding margin.

During his seven seasons as the head coach at Saginaw High, Dawkins had an overall record of 149-28 and led the Trojans to Michigan Class A state championships in 2007 and 2008 and reached the state semifinals in 2005; the Trojans finished 2007 ranked second nationally by MaxPreps and in 2008 they were fourth in the USA Today Super 25. Dawkins was named the national coach of the year in 2007. He was also the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Coach of the Year in 2007 and the Michigan AP Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2008.

The Trojans won the Saginaw Valley Conference championship in six of Dawkins' seven seasons as head coach and he was named the conference coach of the year on three occasions. Dawkins also served as the Director of Athletics at Saginaw High during his final three years as head coach.

Dawkins coached 11 players that went on to receive NCAA Division I basketball scholarships, including Michigan State's Draymond Green and Josh Southern of Boston College.

Prior to becoming the varsity coach at Saginaw High, Dawkins was the junior varsity coach for six seasons, compiling an overall mark of 112-10.

A Saginaw, Mich., native, Dawkins played collegiately at the University of Tulsa from 1989-94 under J.D. Barnett and Tubby Smith. He helped the Golden Hurricanes reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 1994; Dawkins earned all-conference second team honors and was also named Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year that season. He still ranks fifth all-time in Tulsa history with 339 career assists and sixth all-time in school history with 176 steals.

Dawkins received his bachelor's degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation from Tulsa in 1994. He and his wife, Latricia, have been married for 18 years and have two sons; Mario Robinson, 21, and Christian Dawkins, 19, and a daughter, Hailee Dawkins, 14. Their third son, Dorian Dawkins, passed away three years ago at the age of 14.