On Saturday, On3’s Pete Nakos released his picks for which coaches should be on the hot seat in 2024-25.
Two coaches from the Big 12 Conference—Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley and UCF’s Johnny Dawkins—were included on the list.
“The Sun Devils are 13-17 overall and 4-15 in Big 12 conference play on a three-game losing streak entering Saturday’s season finale against No. 9 Texas Tech,” Nakos wrote. “Bobby Hurley arguably entered the season on the hottest seat in the nation, but it has only continued to warm up over the season. Hurley was ejected in Arizona State’s 37-point loss to San Francisco, and against rival Arizona in February, he called his players off the court to skip the handshake line. The Sun Devils are on pace to miss the Big Dance for the fourth time in the last five seasons and have failed to win an NCAA Tournament game in Hurley’s tenure. Hurley holds an all-time record of 168-148 in a decade at Arizona State.”
Unfortunately for Arizona State, Bobby Hurley’s young roster has not merged well. The team needed to dismiss star forward BJ Freeman part of the way through the year and has had multiple hiccups in the gauntlet that is the Big 12.
“Johnny Dawkins, the former Naismith Player of the Year at Duke, has struggled at UCF,” Nakos said. “The Knights have made just one NCAA Tournament appearance in his nine years, and they’re on track to miss the Big Dance again. UCF is 164-117 overall under Dawkins and is currently 16-14 on the season. Despite winning three of their last four, the Knights’ seven-game losing streak in the middle of the season has them at 7-12 in the Big 12.”
UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins has been a frequent occupant of the hot seat in Orlando but has remained with the program for the past nine seasons. In his career with the Knights, Dawkins is 161-115.
