ORLANDO – UCF’s Aubrey Dawkins is set to begin his professional career after signing a free agent deal with the New Orleans Pelicans shortly after the 2019 NBA Draft ended early Friday morning.
Dawkins made his mark in just one season on the court for UCF. The guard was named Second Team All-Conference in The American after averaging 15.6 points per game in 2018-19. Dawkins also grabbed 5.0 rebounds per game and totaled 34 steals on the season.
After sitting out a year due to transfer rules after coming over from Michigan, Dawkins missed a second year due to a shoulder injury before finally hitting the court for the Knights. He was relied upon time and time again to knock down shots, leading UCF with a 40.0 three-point percentage on 73 makes from beyond the arc.
Dawkins’ biggest moment came on the biggest stage, a 32-point blistering of no. 1 Duke in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. He went 12-for-18 from the floor, 5-for-7 from three-point range, dished out four assists and had three steals, as the Knights narrowly missed out on upsetting the Blue Devils.
He’s now set to start camp with former Blue Devil opponent Zion Williamson, who went number one overall in Thursday’s draft. The Pelicans also picked up Jaxson Hayes out of Texas and Nickeil Alexander-Walker of Virginia Tech in the first round.
Things will likely get started for Dawkins and the Pelicans on July 5 with the beginning of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.