Carroll Dawson
From Hoopedia
Carroll Dawson enters his 27th season with the Rockets and his 11th as the General Manager of the franchise. Prior to moving into the front office, Dawson worked as an assistant coach under four Rockets head coaches, aiding Del Harris from 1980-83, Bill Fitch from 1983-88, Don Chaney from 1988-92 and Rudy Tomjanovich from 1992-96.
Affectionately known as “CD,” Dawson oversees all player personnel activity for the Rockets. His duties include managing the entire scouting department, which includes analysis of athletes at both the amateur and professional levels. Dawson also deals with free agency issues, trade inquiries and the assessment of team needs.
Dawson is recognized as one of the top executives in the NBA. Since moving to the Rockets front office job in 1996, he has shown the ability to both bolster a playoff contender with veterans and acquire emerging talent as part of a youth movement. In his first few years, he made trades for Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen to give a team led by Hakeem Olajuwon even more experience. Dawson then helped the Rockets acquire several young talents in the following years, including Cuttino Mobley, Steve Francis and four-time All-Star Yao Ming.
In the summer of 2005, Dawson worked with Owner Leslie Alexander to sign Yao to a maximum-value contract extension. In the summer of 2004, Dawson changed the face of the franchise by obtaining one of the NBA’s top players in Tracy McGrady. The two-time scoring champion was acquired from Orlando in a seven-player deal that included Francis and Mobley. Dawson has given Houston a nucleus of Yao and McGrady, two players 27 years old or younger with a combined 10 NBA All-Star Game selections. Since obtaining McGrady, Dawson has provided additional support with the acquisitions of hard-working veterans Rafer Alston, Shane Battier, Juwan Howard, Dikembe Mutombo, Bob Sura and Bonzi Wells. He has also worked to maintain a balance of youth by adding Chuck Hayes, Luther Head, John Lucas and Vassilis Spanoulis.
Dawson holds the distinction of being the only person on the coaching staffs of all four Rockets teams that advanced to the NBA Finals, as Houston played for a championship in 1981, 1986, 1994 and 1995. Dawson is known throughout the NBA for his work with frontcourt players and has also been credited with teaching Olajuwon his famous jump hook. Dawson has coached many NBA All-Stars during his years in Houston, including Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, Ralph Sampson and Tomjanovich.
Dawson’s knowledge of the game has not been limited to the NBA. Prior to the inaugural 1997 WNBA season, Dawson was commissioned by Alexander to help assemble the first Houston Comets team. He guided the efforts to bring Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper to Houston, and then drafted Wanda Guyton and Janeth Arcain in the WNBA Elite Draft. Dawson was also instrumental in the selection of Tina Thompson with the first pick of the Inaugural WNBA Draft. Finally, he worked with Alexander to hire three-time WNBA Coach of the Year Van Chancellor. Currently, Dawson is Chancellor’s top advisor as the Comets Executive Vice President of Basketball.
A native Texan, Dawson hails from Alba, a town with a population of 200 that sits about 75 miles east of Dallas. As a 6-foot-5 high school center, he led Alba High School to a 44-3 record as a senior. He then went on to win Junior College All-America honors at Paris Junior College (Texas) under Head Coach Boyd Converse. After two seasons at Paris, Dawson moved on to Baylor University, where he led Bill Henderson’s Baylor Bears in scoring and rebounding in each of his two seasons. In 1960, he averaged 16.4 points as a senior to earn All-Southwest Conference honors.
In 1963, he returned to Baylor as an assistant to Head Coach Bill Menefee. He later succeeded Menefee as head coach in 1973, remaining in that position for more than three seasons. After spending two years as a scout for the Dallas Cowboys at the call of executive Gil Brandt, Dawson started a career as a salesman for Converse Shoe Company.
Dawson has been honored with induction into the Paris Junior College Hall of Fame in 1991, the Baylor University Hall of Fame in 1998, the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. He was also named Mr. Sportsman 2005 by Interfaith Charities in Houston.
One of the top golfers in the NBA, Dawson resides in Houston with his wife, Sharon. Sharon has a daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, Michael.
