University of Washington head coach Mike Hopkins has announced that Cameron Dollar will join his staff as an assistant coach. Dollar returns to the bench at Alaska Airlines Arena after spending the last eight seasons as the head coach at Seattle University. He will join Will Conroy on Hopkins’ staff, as Conroy was retained earlier this week.
“Cameron brings a wealth of knowledge, extensive experience and valuable relationships to our program that are just unparalleled,” said Hopkins. “I’ve known him since he was a player at UCLA and I have a ton of respect for him, not only as a coach but as a person. Our values aligned right away. His passion to help develop young men on and off the court is so evident. We are so lucky to have someone of his caliber on our staff!”
“It is an honor to rejoin the Husky nation,” said Dollar. “I have known and respected Coach Hop for years. We have the same core values about life on and off the court. Furthermore, I’m excited for the opportunity to continue to help young men grow and reach their dreams.”
Dollar is familiar with the Washington program as he was a member of Lorenzo Romar’s staff from 2002-09 before taking the Seattle U head job. During his time in purple and gold, Dollar was a part of three NCAA Tournament Teams, two squads that advanced to the Sweet 16 and helped UW earn the first No. 1 seed in program history.
Additionally, Washington won its first outright Pac-10 regular season title since 1953 while Dollar was on staff and he was key in helping the Huskies land some of the highest ranked recruiting classes in UW history. Washington’s record of 145-81 (.642) was also one of the best stretches in Seattle.
When he left the UW staff in 2008, Dollar went to take over the Redhawks program that was in its transition to Division I and was able to navigate rebuilding of a program that reached postseason play twice.
Using an up-tempo style with aggressive defense, Dollar led Seattle U to a 17-14 record in his first season (2009-10), making the Redhawks the first team to post a winning record playing a full Division I schedule in its first year as a Division I counter. The team started to gain national recognition after a 77-74 victory at Utah, and then made history later in the year with a 99-48 win at Oregon State, the worst home loss ever for the Beavers.
Seattle U made the College Basketball Invitational twice, advanced to the finals of the Western Athletic Conference Basketball Championship and had a winning record at home in all but one season as he amassed an overall mark of 70-53 when playing in Seattle.
Prior to his arrival at UW, Dollar served three years as an assistant coach on Romar’s Saint Louis University staff. He helped the Billikens to a three-year record of 51-44 (.537), including a 2000 Conference USA Tournament championship that secured the league’s automatic NCAA berth.
Dollar began his coaching career as an assistant on the staff of head coach Pat Douglass at UC Irvine in 1997. He became the nation’s youngest head coach in 1998 when, at age 22, he took the reins of the Southern California College program in Costa Mesa, Calif. The Vanguards, who returned just six players from the previous season, posted an 11-22 record in Dollar’s only season, but recorded wins over NAIA Top 25 teams Westmont and Azusa Pacific.
After a three-month stay as a part-time assistant at the University of Georgia in 1999, Dollar left to join the Saint Louis coaching staff on a full-time basis.
A four-year letterman at UCLA from 1994-97, Dollar achieved national recognition in 1995 as a pivotal player in UCLA’s NCAA championship season when he took over for injured starter Tyus Edney in the title game. In Dollar’s final three collegiate seasons, the Bruins won the NCAA title and reached the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Dollar averaged 5.0 points and 3.7 assists per game during his four-year career.
Dollar is a native of Atlanta, where his father, Don, was the long-time coach at Clarkston High School. Cameron and his wife, Maureen, live in Seattle. They have three children: Jalen (born April 26, 2005), Giselle (born Feb. 12, 2007), and Jason (born Dec. 23, 2008).
