Jamie Dixon, the men's head basketball coach at the University of Pittsburgh for the last 13 years is coming home. Sort of.
Dixon, who was born in L.A., will take over the same job at Texas Christian University, his alma mater, in Fort Worth, Texas. The step of going home is a step down in this instance. TCU and its conference are not near the level of basketball prestige and success that Pitt and its conference are.
Dixon took the Pitt basketball program to heights never before attained: a number one national ranking, a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, consistent qua routine NCAA qualification, yearly conference championship contenders. He was named national coach of the year by different organizations in 2009, 2010, and 2011. More than even all of that, out of next to nothing Jamie Dixon created an identity: "Pitt basketball," everyone knew what it meant: tough, physical, hard-working, defense-minded. Dixon had years left on a long-term contract and was the highest paid employee in the university. He deserved both but left with the acquiescence of the the athletic director who actually helped TCU lure him by reducing the buyout provision in Dixon's contract.
There had been constant criticism however the last several years that Dixon was not able to take the "Panthers" to the Final Four of the college basketball tournament, now being played, Pitt was eliminated in its first game, an ugly loss to Wisconsin, despite, in years past, being highly-seeded and losing to teams perceived to be their inferior.
Then there was the "Mystery of Pittsburgh," the unexpected, disastrous 2011-12 season, during which the "Panthers," once 9th ranked in America, had separate losing streaks of eight and five games. Pitt was like a sinking ship, suffering the ultimately fatal gash on November 16, an at the time inexplicable home loss to Long Beach State, seemingly righting itself-It was nothing, just a little scrape.-by winning the next nine games, and getting back to 15th in the country, and then getting torpedoed again at home on December 23 against Wagner. Wagner was the start of the eight-game losing streak. They then won four in a row, beating 10th ranked Georgetown in one, and then lost five in a row. S-O-S, never mind ship sunk.
The 2011-12 watershed has never been explained and began Pitt's decline under Dixon. Both coincided with two events which makes the connection not coincidental but causal. The first was Pitt's switch of conference from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The second was recruiting, specifically that of Khem Birch.
The Big East, New York-based and New York-oriented, was the best basketball conference in America, the best basketball conference that ever was. The Big East was distinctive, it was the cities' conference, tough, physical, gritty, hard-working. Jamie Dixon had never been head coach in any other conference and he recruited players and build his Pitt teams for success in that dog-eat-dog conference. And Jamie Dixon owned the Big East. The ACC, Greensboro-based and North Carolina-oriented is a superb basketball conference and was far superior to the Big East on all other metrics: academics, football, stability, revenue. The decision to switch to the ACC was a no-brainer for the University of Pittsburgh but it required a change of soul, and of identity, of the basketball team and of Jamie Dixon and neither did change. Pittsburgh was accepted into the ACC on September 18, 2011. The disastrous 2011-12 basketball season, a lame duck in the Big East, began October 29.
The 2011-12 season marked a watershed in recruiting for Jamie Dixon. For the first and only time in his career Dixon was able to recruit a McDonald's All-Anerican to Pittsburgh. Without a doubt Pitt's decline, both in 2011-12 and since had a lot to do with recruiting. Ironically, the 2011-12 debacle manifestly had something to do with that greatest recruiting catch in Jamie Dixon's career, Khem Birch. For on December 16, 2011, after playing only ten games of his freshman season, Khem Birch announced that he was transferring schools. On December 23 Pitt started to go under against Wagner.
Jamie Dixon did not recruit at Pitt commensurate with the success the team had achieved in the stellar seasons before 2011-12; he recruited about as well as that 2011-12 team and the teams in succeeding years performed. Why Dixon did not or could not recruit better is another mystery.
Jamie Dixon now takes those mysteries with him to Fort Worth, along with the miracles he performed, with his reputation still outstanding, and with the thanks and well-wishes of everyone at Pitt. Pitt may never have as good a coach and as good a man as it had in Jamie Dixon. Or it may! That mystery will be solved.
Dixon, who was born in L.A., will take over the same job at Texas Christian University, his alma mater, in Fort Worth, Texas. The step of going home is a step down in this instance. TCU and its conference are not near the level of basketball prestige and success that Pitt and its conference are.
Dixon took the Pitt basketball program to heights never before attained: a number one national ranking, a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, consistent qua routine NCAA qualification, yearly conference championship contenders. He was named national coach of the year by different organizations in 2009, 2010, and 2011. More than even all of that, out of next to nothing Jamie Dixon created an identity: "Pitt basketball," everyone knew what it meant: tough, physical, hard-working, defense-minded. Dixon had years left on a long-term contract and was the highest paid employee in the university. He deserved both but left with the acquiescence of the the athletic director who actually helped TCU lure him by reducing the buyout provision in Dixon's contract.
There had been constant criticism however the last several years that Dixon was not able to take the "Panthers" to the Final Four of the college basketball tournament, now being played, Pitt was eliminated in its first game, an ugly loss to Wisconsin, despite, in years past, being highly-seeded and losing to teams perceived to be their inferior.
Then there was the "Mystery of Pittsburgh," the unexpected, disastrous 2011-12 season, during which the "Panthers," once 9th ranked in America, had separate losing streaks of eight and five games. Pitt was like a sinking ship, suffering the ultimately fatal gash on November 16, an at the time inexplicable home loss to Long Beach State, seemingly righting itself-It was nothing, just a little scrape.-by winning the next nine games, and getting back to 15th in the country, and then getting torpedoed again at home on December 23 against Wagner. Wagner was the start of the eight-game losing streak. They then won four in a row, beating 10th ranked Georgetown in one, and then lost five in a row. S-O-S, never mind ship sunk.
The 2011-12 watershed has never been explained and began Pitt's decline under Dixon. Both coincided with two events which makes the connection not coincidental but causal. The first was Pitt's switch of conference from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The second was recruiting, specifically that of Khem Birch.
The Big East, New York-based and New York-oriented, was the best basketball conference in America, the best basketball conference that ever was. The Big East was distinctive, it was the cities' conference, tough, physical, gritty, hard-working. Jamie Dixon had never been head coach in any other conference and he recruited players and build his Pitt teams for success in that dog-eat-dog conference. And Jamie Dixon owned the Big East. The ACC, Greensboro-based and North Carolina-oriented is a superb basketball conference and was far superior to the Big East on all other metrics: academics, football, stability, revenue. The decision to switch to the ACC was a no-brainer for the University of Pittsburgh but it required a change of soul, and of identity, of the basketball team and of Jamie Dixon and neither did change. Pittsburgh was accepted into the ACC on September 18, 2011. The disastrous 2011-12 basketball season, a lame duck in the Big East, began October 29.
The 2011-12 season marked a watershed in recruiting for Jamie Dixon. For the first and only time in his career Dixon was able to recruit a McDonald's All-Anerican to Pittsburgh. Without a doubt Pitt's decline, both in 2011-12 and since had a lot to do with recruiting. Ironically, the 2011-12 debacle manifestly had something to do with that greatest recruiting catch in Jamie Dixon's career, Khem Birch. For on December 16, 2011, after playing only ten games of his freshman season, Khem Birch announced that he was transferring schools. On December 23 Pitt started to go under against Wagner.
Jamie Dixon did not recruit at Pitt commensurate with the success the team had achieved in the stellar seasons before 2011-12; he recruited about as well as that 2011-12 team and the teams in succeeding years performed. Why Dixon did not or could not recruit better is another mystery.
Jamie Dixon now takes those mysteries with him to Fort Worth, along with the miracles he performed, with his reputation still outstanding, and with the thanks and well-wishes of everyone at Pitt. Pitt may never have as good a coach and as good a man as it had in Jamie Dixon. Or it may! That mystery will be solved.
