Former Vero Beach basketball star James Dawson announced as next Indians head coach

VERO BEACH − The Vero Beach boys basketball team have not had too many people roam its sidelines.

But for just the third time in 35 years, the Fighting Indians will have a new person at the helm. And he's someone with plenty of ties to the program.

James Dawson was introduced as the school's new boys basketball head coach on Tuesday. He previously was a standout player at Vero Beach, graduating from the school in 1991 before returning as an assistant for two years from 1999-2000.

The new head coach flew into town at 8 a.m. Tuesday from Baltimore, Maryland to speak to his future players, as well as parents and program luminaries inside the John B. Witt Gym about his coveted “dream job.”

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"I've been excited even before the interview. I was excited after the interview. I'm just excited,” Dawson said. “I'm ready to roll and there’s just excitement and anxiousness all rolled into one. Just to have the opportunity that I’ve cherished, I'm honored and I'm thankful to have the opportunity to coach at alma mater.”

Dawson takes over for Shane Whitsett, who resigned at the end of the 2023-24 season. The Indians produced winning campaigns in 6 of 7 seasons under Whitsett. In that span, the team captured two district titles and compiled a 113-65 record. Last season, the team finished 13-12.

Whitsett was hired in 2017, just two seasons removed from leading Poinciana to the Class 5A state championship. He was selected to replace the all-time winningest head coach on the Treasure Coast: Chuck Loewendick. Racking up 600 wins through 29 legendary years with Vero Beach, Loewendick guided the program to 12 district titles and four Final Four appearances.

Dawson was on the staff when the Indians went on their deepest run, finishing as the Class 6A state runner-up in 2000. Now, the alum is back on the bench to head his staff 24 years later.

“I think (Dawson) brings a combination of it all,” said Indians athletic director Lenny Jankowski, who states more than 20 people applied for the opening. “When you look at coach’s resume, the connection to here being a graduate, being a family guy, being connected here to the community, I think that's important.

"We want this program to get it back to where it once was and and that involves a wide range of things, including getting people back in the gym, playing a top-notch schedule and obviously playing a brand of basketball we can all be proud of. So I couldn't be more excited. I think he brings all that to the table and I think his energy and his passion is going to be apparent throughout his time here.”

Loewendick, who was in attendance on Tuesday, was a part of the hiring committee that interviewed the five finalists and ultimately selected Dawson.

"In first year as an assistant prior to going to Lakeland for the Final Four, I remember (Loewendick) said on an interview, ‘It don’t get no better than this for me,’” Dawson recalled. “And actually I've had about six other jobs and at this point, I think he's right. It don’t get no better than this.”

As part of an extensive 23-year coaching career, 18 years as a head coach, Dawson has spent the past 13 years in the Baltimore, most recently serving as the head coach at the Academy of College and Career Exploration. Prior to moving to the Mid-Atlantic, he had a successful stint at Fort Pierce Central.

There, he guided the Cobras to a pair of Holiday Hoopla championships, back-to-back district titles and back-to-back trips to the regional finals.

“I knew in order for me to make my mark on the Treasure Coast, I had to beat Vero. And I think in my second year as a head coach at Central, we beat them,” said Dawson, who plans to install a defensive-minded system to the Indians. “I knew then that I had something because this has always been the measuring stick. Just in talking to a few coaches in the area that I know, this is no longer the measuring stick. So that’s the goal.”

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: James Dawson returns to Vero Beach as new boys basketball head coach