I've now seen Andre Dawkins play in twelve games and the Duke commitment has made huge strides from being the six man on last seasons Boo Williams team.  It was clear to me on a trip to Richmond earlier this season that Dawkins had improved greatly since the summer.  Maybe it was there all along, but the thing that caught my eye was his athleticism.  In the first five games I had scouted Dawkins, he was primarily a long rang threat, capable of scoring points in bunches.  Now, Dawkins is showing off his athleticism by coming all the way across court to block shots or throwing down emphatic dunks.  Dawkins struggled in Boo Williams opening game, but erupted the rest of the way scoring over 2o points in five straight games.  I was all set to write the headline, "The Andre Dawkins Show," in the semi final game but a miraculous finish by Michael Gilchrist and Team Final spoiled the day and knocked Boo Williams out of the championship game.  Despite that, heads were turning with Dawkins play this weekend and the majority of the sites will raise his ranking or add another star to his name.  It was easy to see this coming for me after his play during the high school season, but Dawkins has put the rest of the nation on notice that he wants to be known as an upper tier star in the class of 2010.  Dawkins was named to the all tournament squad.  This is the second of three chats I had with Dawkins over the weekend.  The first interview can be found on the Blue Devil Nation Premium message board.  Please keep in mind that we do not have a public forum, so registering will only get you in if you are a subscriber.

Have you heard from the Duke coaches of late?

They just want me to concentrate on my AAU season and be myself and go out thee and play hard every night.

You struggled with your shot a bit in the first game, do you just keep shooting until your shot starts to fall again?

Yeah, just trying to get out of the slump from my first game.  I knew that wasn't going to last too long.   You can't rely on the last game.  You have to get your mind set.

Are you going to work on Harrison Barnes this weekend?

Oh [private] yeah, that's my job, I've got to go find him.

Kendall Marshall will be on him as well ...

Yeah we are both going to be on him all weekend so ...

Barnes doesn't tip his hand much does he?

Naw, he is cool.

Is your Dad here this weekend and if so what has he been saying to you of late?

Last night he just told me to forget about that game and move on to the next one.  That's what you have to do.  You can't go around worrying about the last shot in the last game.

[UNC verbal Kendall Marshall walks by smiling at Dawkins]

He's wearing that national championship shirt today.

[Travis McKie nods to me as he walks up and then off]

What about McKie?  Are you trying to get him to Duke? [asked somewhat tongue in cheek since McKie is not being recruited by the Blue Devils]

I'm trying but Travis isn't trying to go there.  He's not feeling them.

What about your teammate McAdoo?  Some are saying he is a UNC lock and that Flordia trails him as well ...

Naw, I don't think he's a UNC lock but he's definitely a great player.

You are obviously used a bit differently with Boo Williams than your high school team.  Can you address that?

You have a lot more duties with your high school team.  That's the way it is with all of these guys.  I mean it's the best guys from every high school.

Does Boo try to assign you to certain areas on the court?

I don't think he wants to label me or anything like that.  He wants me to do more.

What is it like being a leader on this seasons Boo Williams team?

It's a little bit different.  I was kind of backseat last year, but I'm kind of used to it being a leader on my high school team, but it's a little bit different having this much talent on a high school team.

Okay, I have to ask this.  When I was on Richmond, you made a thunder dunk and then went up to Duke Assistant Coch Nate James and let him know about it.  What was going through your mind then?

I don't know, I guess I was excited, just bring it and all.  It was a good play - it was a nice pass from Steve [Pledger], so I was just having fun. [/private]