The last time Johnny Dawkins was caught smiling in public as broadly as he was after being introduced as the new Stanford men's basketball coach in California on Monday was after J.J. Redick broke his Duke scoring record in 2006.

Dawkins, looking snazzy in his Cardinal red tie, described how eager he was to start his head coaching career at a new home that reminded him so much of his old one at Duke.

During a news conference that was publicly webcast via the Stanford athletics Web site, Dawkins said, "We're going to do something special here."

Dawkins, who was given a six-year deal, was asked how he felt about being the fifth or sixth man to interview for the job that came open when Trent Johnson took the Louisiana State post. Dawkins was relaxed enough to respond with a straight face, "That bothered me," before he laughed and said he was just kidding.

But Dawkins nearly was upstaged during the first public moments of his first head coaching job when Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby broke the news that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski feels Dawkins probably will succeed him at Duke ... in 10 years.

"Coach Krzyzewski said that Johnny was a likely successor to him," Bowlsby said, sharing details of a recent conversation with Krzyzewski.

Bowlsby called Krzyzewski to ask about Dawkins, who was Krzyzewski's right-hand man for 11 seasons, and Duke assistant Steve Wojciechowski.

Krzyzewski, 61, who has coached 28 seasons at Duke, has never designated a successor nor said how long he will continue to coach. He often has said he'll know it's time to go if he loses either his health or his passion for coaching.

Dawkins, 44, said he did not accept Stanford's offer to gain experience he'd need to eventually replace his Hall of Fame mentor. He said he wanted to expand his reach as a coach and knew he'd be happy at Stanford.

"No one can predict the future," Dawkins said. "I had a wonderful experience [at Duke] and wonderful memories there. Who will succeed Coach K no one knows. I hope he does coach for another decade. He's capable of it. ... I used to tell him, 'Coach, I don't know what else you'd do if you weren't in the gym."

Krzyzewski was able to wish Dawkins well on Sunday. Both men were in Phoenix at a USA Basketball meeting. Dawkins is the player personnel liaison for the U.S. men's national team. He said, if his schedule works out, he'll be able to fulfill a dream of participating in the Olympics.

When Dawkins left the USA basketball meeting, Krzyzewski hugged the player who, back in the 1980s, helped him carve those first, tough lines into his Duke legacy.

"He said he was excited for me," Dawkins said. "Life has changed. It's a little easy saying, 'Coach, I think we should do this.' Some things I may not see at the moment. ... I think I'm prepared for it."

The Stanford interview was Dawkins' first for a head coaching job. As the No. 1 Duke assistant, and with his children so attached to Durham, he hadn't seen a job he felt strongly enough about to pursue.

Stanford, another private school with high academic standards, was different because it seemed so familiar.

"When the job was offered, Tracy [his wife] was with me, I looked at her and asked her how she felt, and she felt good, so I guess it took about 10 minutes," Dawkins said.

Dawkins met his new team Monday but left later to start recruiting. The current NCAA contact period ends Wednesday.

During a phone interview after the news conference, Dawkins said one of the first things he'll try to do is re-recruit Miles Plumlee of Warsaw, Ind., who has asked to be released from his letter-of-intent to Stanford.

Dawkins may have to battle familiar faces in the process. Plumlee's younger brother Mason committed to Duke in February as part of its 2009 class. And Dawkins has said he would not be surprised if the older Plumlee also ended up there.

Meanwhile, there are several former Duke players with coaching experience who could join Wojciechowski, 31, and Chris Collins, 34, on Krzyzewski's staff.

David Henderson went 85-93 in six seasons, through 2005-06, at Delaware. Robert Brickey did not have his contract renewed at Shaw University after his Bears went 8-48 in his two seasons. Quin Snyder, who coached the NBDL's Austin franchise this season, went 126-91 at Missouri but was forced to resign in the wake of an NCAA probation.

Henderson and Snyder were former Duke assistants.

Closer to home, Nate James works with the team's strength and conditioning program, and Chris Carrawell is a community outreach coordinator.

Also, Jason Williams has been doing occasional stints as a television commentator and working on other projects since his NBA career was cut short by a serious motorcycle accident.