Former Lamar Standout Dawkins Makes Rio Grande Valley Vipers D-League Roster

BEAUMONT, Texas -- Former Lamar men’s basketball standout Kenny Dawkins made the final roster of the NBA Development League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers as announced by the club Wednesday.

Dawkins, who was drafted by the Vipers in the fifth round of the D-League Draft, was one of 15 players on the initial roster prior to two rounds of cuts.

He scored 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 19 minutes off the bench in Saturday’s exhibition loss to the Austin Toros.

Dawkins finished his senior season at Lamar (2008-09) with averages of 15.2 points, 4.2 assists and 4.0 rebounds while appearing in 25 games. He also made 87.8 percent of his free throws to rank first in the SLC and 14th in the nation. He scored in double figures 21 times with six outings of at least 20 points.

The Holly Springs, Miss., native transferred to Lamar from Arizona Western Community College and was named First Team All-SLC and the 2008 SLC Newcomer of the Year. He is just the 19th player in Lamar history to be named all-conference at least two times in their career.

Dawkins finished his two-year career at Lamar with 818 points - for a 14.9 ppg average, 240 assists, 176 rebounds and 105 steals. His 85.3 career free throw percentage ranks third all-time in school history. He made at least one 3-pointer in 47 of 55 career games and 113 overall makes from outside.

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are the NBA Development League affiliate of the NBA Houston Rockets. The NBA Development League, founded in 2001, is the NBA’s official minor league and features 16 teams with direct affiliations to NBA teams. 63 former NBA Development League players were on 2009-10 NBA start-of-season rosters, amounting to almost 15 percent of NBA players, and the league continues to develop coaches, referees, and front office staff for the NBA and its teams.

In fostering the league’s connection to the community, its teams, players and staff promote health and wellness, support local needs and interests, and assist in educational development through NBA Development League Cares programs. The NBA Development League also advances the game of basketball as the research and development arm of the NBA.