It’s interesting, heartbreaking and difficult at times to watch and read Coach Jamie Dixon struggling to start talking about his sister’s passing.

Simultaneously, outside the basketball offices upstairs, their coach was getting choked up talking about his sister, Maggie, who died unexpectedly six weeks ago from a heart ailment.

While everyone around Pitt’s coach has settled back into some sense of normalcy, Jamie Dixon is still trying to deal with the pain of losing his sister, the women’s coach at West Point, at age 28.

“I’ve gotten so many e-mails saying it’s happened to other people at a young age,” Dixon said. “You just wonder why. People have that image of her being carried off the floor [after the Patriot League championship game]. And to have something like that a couple of weeks later … people will always ask why.”

Dixon fought back tears on a few occasions in his first meeting with local reporters since Maggie’s death April 6. Dixon said yesterday that it was time for him to send a message to the people in Western Pennsylvania who have overwhelmed his family with letters of support.

He seems to need to start talking about it to help work through it.

Jamie Dixon said Thursday his family had received “an amazing number” of condolence letters and e-mail messages from western Pennsylvania and neighboring states, as well as from government officials.

“It really has pulled us through some tough times,” he said, tears in his eyes. “I never did know how much it would mean. It means a lot.”

He said talking about Maggie may appear to make him uncomfortable, but he believed it was important for people to know about her and her accomplishments.

“She can be an inspiration to a lot of people, to a lot of girls,” Dixon said.

It can’t be an easy thing to talk about his family and what they are going through so publicly for Coach Dixon. In his time at Pitt, until this season with Maggie Dixon coaching at Army, I had never even heard him mention his family. They have always seemed to be something he has tried to keep away from the media and conversations.

Aaron Gray is not going to waste his parents’ money on workouts for NBA teams.

“One of two things is going to happen,” Gray said yesterday after playing pickup games against other Pitt players at the Petersen Events Center. “I’m going to work out here and invite all the teams to come. Or I’m going to pick a location and work out for a team and do their workout. If I did that, they would have to agree to open it up to all the other NBA teams.”

Gray said that workout likely will be sometime in the next two weeks before the Orlando camp, which is June 6-10. Gray still plans on attending the predraft camp, but he said he will only be there for physicals and official measurements and weigh-ins.

“I have no problem working out down there,” Gray said. “But no big men are going to be there. If I do well, it’s going to be against power forwards and forwards. Even if I did well, what good would it do?”

By holding one, all-inclusive workout, Gray will be able to give general managers what they’re looking for without incurring the expenses of traveling around the country for private workouts. Many players who have signed with agents, as former Pitt player Chris Taft did last season, traveled across the country for private workouts with teams.

Gray retained his college eligibility by not signing with an agent. If he attended private workouts, he would have to pay for all expenses related to those trips by the start of the school year in August. Gray said his workout will be at Pitt or in Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, Detroit or Cleveland.

“Chris’ situation was totally different from mine,” Gray said. “He gave up his eligibility. I have to foot the bill for everything. That’s why when I do this workout it has to be open to every team.”

All those spots are of course locations with NBA franchises and within reasonable driving distance from Pittsburgh for Gray. Not sure many NBA teams would want to send scouts or GMs to Pittsburgh just to see one guy.

The article has Gray trying to make it as abundantly clear as possible that he hasn’t made any sort of decision at this time.

But Gray said yesterday that money will not be the determining factor in his decision.

“I can promise you this,” Gray said. “Just because they tell me I’m going to be a first-round pick doesn’t mean I’ll leave here. All the money in the world can’t buy back my senior year. They could tell me I’m a lottery pick. But that’s not what it’s all about for me.”

Gray said he is not fazed by the likelihood that Ohio State recruit Greg Oden and other first-year college players will forgo their eligibility and enter the draft next season. Gray said he welcomes the competition.

“I’m confident in myself,” Gray said. “I’m not afraid of Greg Oden or anyone else out there. I’m not afraid to come back. My worst option is an amazing option. If I don’t work out well and they tell me I have to come back, then I’m more than happy to come back to school.”

Gray said he has received more feedback from NBA teams since declaring for the draft, but he refused to discuss any new information on his draft status. And while he talked glowingly and at length yesterday about the possibility of returning, he wanted to make clear that he has not made up his mind.

“I think about it every minute,” Gray said. “The easy part for me is getting out there on the court. That’s when I can forget about it.

“This is a great opportunity for me. I’m going to put my best foot forward for the NBA, so when I make the decision, I’ll have both sides of the story.”

The only Center who is clearly ranked ahead of him by every scout and mock draft, Patrick O’Bryant of Bradley is now “all in” for the draft now that he has hired an agent. O’Bryant is expected to go somewhere at #10-15 in the draft — the fringe of the lottery picks.

It seems no big men actually work out in the Orlando pre-draft camp. They just go down there for measurements and perhaps some interviews with teams. That is what Gray will be doing.

Gray, a senior-to-be who entered his name in the NBA draft April 26, nonetheless, will attend the camp June 6-10 at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., where he’ll be required only to undergo a physical.

“One of the things I heard is there’s not going to be any big men down there,” the 7-foot, 270-pound Gray said.

Gray has until June 18 to decide.

If you want something other than draft projections to make you feel positive about the possibility of Gray returning for his Senior season, read this Bill Simmons article about what direction the NBA is heading.

Is this where we’re headed? Are teams better off building for SmallBall over a conventional style? If you can play only five players, and you don’t have an above-average center on your roster — which most teams lack, by the way — why not just play your best five guys regardless of position?

For instance, last summer’s most important signing turned out to be Raja Bell, a much ridiculed move at the time. Remember? Twenty-five million for Raja Bell? What was Phoenix thinking? Actually, they were thinking that he’s a great defender who makes 40 percent of his 3s. Perfect for them. So they started pursuing him on midnight, July 1, then overpaid to make sure they got him. Ten months later, he looked like an absolute bargain even before he saved their season Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the Zydrunas Ilgauskas contract (four years, $55 million) would have been fine in 1998, but it’s a roster killer in 2006. Much like in real life, you can’t survive with slow big guys anymore.

Just look at this year’s draft. As recently as three years ago, LaMarcus Aldridge would have been the first pick, because, after all, you always take a good big man first, right? Not this year. LSU’s Ty Thomas (a Marion-like forward) will be the first pick, and I have a sneaking suspicion that Aldridge and Adam Morrison (another player who would have been more effective five years ago) will drop out of the top three, whereas Brandon Roy (Washington’s outstanding shooting guard) and UConn’s Marcus Williams (yes, the Laptop Guy, as well as the only elite point guard in the draft) will end up going higher than people think (and doing better than people think). In the old days, you needed a franchise player to realistically contend for a title. Now? You need two penetrators (including an alpha dog), three or four shooters and two guys who can rebound and protect the rim. That’s it. Just ask Phoenix.

I admit to watching and enjoying the NBA playoffs this season a lot more than in recent years. Simmons is right about the big men losing importance. The centers in all the series have been relegated to complimentary players (with Shaq the only exception — barely). The wildcard with regards to the draft, is how many GMs have noticed and adjusted their thinking accordingly. I wouldn’t be surprised if a large number are still a few years behind.