Stanford hires Dawkins; Gibson to stay at USC

Johnny Dawkins, a longtime assistant coach at Duke, has been hired as Stanford’s new basketball coach.

He replaces Trent Johnson, who left for Louisiana State earlier this month. Dawkins will be introduced in a news conference on campus Monday, the school said.

Dawkins has no head coaching experience. He most recently was the Blue Devils’ top assistant under Hall of Fame Coach Mike Krzyzewski, responsible for player development and other duties.

The 44-year-old Dawkins was an All-American at Duke and has been on the coaching staff there since the 1997-98 season. He was associate head coach for the last nine seasons.

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USC sophomore forward Taj Gibson has decided to return for his junior season, his father, Wilbert Gibson, said.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Wilbert Gibson said. “He’ll be right at USC next year.”

Wilbert Gibson said his son reached the decision after conferring with family members during a visit home to Brooklyn, N.Y.

Gibson led the Pacific 10 Conference with 2.55 blocks a game last season and was the Trojans’ leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, averaging 7.8 rebounds and 10.8 points.

Losing Gibson would have been a potentially more devastating blow to USC than the loss of freshman guard O.J. Mayo because the Trojans will replace Mayo next season with Compton High standout DeMar DeRozan, another elite wing prospect. Mayo announced earlier this month that he would hire an agent and enter the draft.

-- Ben Bolch