Carroll Dawson is an American former
assistant coach
A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete.
History
The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultima ...
and
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA). He worked for the
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
franchise for 27 years before retiring in 2007.
College playing career
A native of
Alba, Texas
Alba ( ) is a town located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 69 and Farm To Market Road 17 on the western edge of Wood County, Texas south of Lake Fork and approximately ten miles west of Quitman. The population was 473 in the 2020 U.S. Census. ...
, Dawson played
collegiate basketball at
Paris Junior College
Paris Junior College (PJC) is a public community college with three campuses in Texas: Paris, Greenville, and Sulphur Springs. The college was founded in 1924 as a campus of Paris Independent School District. Nearly 5,000 students are enrolled ...
, where he attained the nickname, "Big Orange" and at
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...
, during the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1960, the 6'5"
center earned All-
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...
honors, after averaging 16.4
points per game
Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by nu ...
for the
Baylor Bears
The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only two private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to j ...
.
Career biography
After his college career, he was drafted into the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, and stationed at
Fort Knox
Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...
, as a tank commander. From 1973 to 1977, he then served as Baylor's men's basketball
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
. He then worked as a scout for the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
's
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
, and as a salesman for
Converse shoes, before becoming an assistant coach for the
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
in 1979.
In 1989, Dawson was struck by lightning, during a golf outing, and over the next few years, his vision became progressively worse. Unable to continue his coaching duties, Dawson moved to the Rockets' front office, becoming
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
in 1996. Dawson's career with The Rockets lasted 27 years.
Among his most notable accomplishments as the general manager of the Rockets, were his selection of
Yao Ming
Yao Ming (; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Associat ...
in the
2002 NBA Draft, and his seven-player trade to acquire
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
scoring champ
Tracy McGrady
Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, two- ...
, in 2004.
After announcing
Daryl Morey as his successor, the Rockets honored Dawson by hanging a banner with the initials "CD" in the rafters of the
Toyota Center
Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Houston ...
, during a game with the
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
.
Head coaching record
References
External links
Career retrospectiveat NBA.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Carroll
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Texas
Basketball players from Texas
Baylor Bears men's basketball coaches
Baylor Bears men's basketball players
Centers (basketball)
Dallas Cowboys scouts
Houston Rockets assistant coaches
Houston Rockets general managers
Living people
Paris Dragons basketball players
People from Rains County, Texas
People from Wood County, Texas
1938 births