Maybe it is because I don’t reside in the ‘Burgh. I didn’t know there was a huge debate and divide over Coach Jamie Dixon.
I ask, because few local sports personalities generate as much hysterical reaction as Dixon.
Some consider him overrated. They say he’s never won a big game, ignoring the fact he wins big games every year.
Others wildly boast that Dixon is the best coach in America. Which sounds great until you look at all the names you’d put behind him.
I can say that there seems little debate among college basketball bloggers and writers around the country that Coach Dixon is one of the best coaches — and always high on fans wishlists. Obviously, I am part of the group that believes Coach Dixon is one of the best coaches in the country.
Not top-5 or even top-10 (which when considered with career achievements includes Krzyzewski, Williams, Self, Izzo, Pitino, Calhoun, Boeheim, Howland, Donovan, Calipari). Instead he is in that high-character, excellent coach tier with Ryan, Wright, Few, Miller, Crean and others like that .
The dichotomy of maximizing the talent of players, but not getting the most talented players possible seems to really be the issue. Something that has been beaten to death over the years. I’ve maintained in the past, and seeing it occurring in the present, that the way Coach Dixon has built this Pitt program is not to be flash and immediate. Instead it is steady, building on each success. The talent has been increasing each year.
Like everything in life, the growth and progression is not a pure straight line. There are dips and spikes, but it is all trending upward. The result is a stronger overall program with better foundations and creating a perspective of high expectations within the program and by the fans.
The issue of not winning the big games, really comes down to not getting the team to the Final Four or more. Under Dixon, the team is always near the top of the conference. They have made runs to and won the Big East Tournament. The team has always made the NCAA Tournament, made the Sweet 16 and for the first time in the programs history gotten past the two-win mark in the NCAA Tournament. They even achieved their first #1 ranking in the polls.
You can expect a lot of this sort of write-up about Pitt for next year.
Pittsburgh: After losing DaJaun Blair and Sam Young to the NBA, the Panthers were under the radar entering the season, but coach Jamie Dixon again proved the staying power of his program with a 25-9 record and a tie for second place in the Big East. This time around, Dixon should be returning nearly all of his significant contributors. Sophomore leading scorer Ashton Gibbs will again be one of the Big East’s top home run threats and solid point guard Brad Wanamaker returns for his senior season. Gone will be defensive specialist Jermaine Dixon. The defense will again be anchored by 6’10” junior Gary McGhee, the Panthers’ top rebounder and shot-blocker. This collection of solid talent will be joined by a pair of Rivals ranked recruits, No. 69 Isiah Epps, who will back up Wanamaker initially, and No. 107 J.J. Moore, who could help replace the defensive gap created by Dixon’s departure. Should be another strong team for Dixon.
Yes, I know there are plenty of inaccuracies and fallacies in the details. That is the difference between broad overviews of a boatload of team and focused examinations.
I don’t know how closely anyone follows the coaching rumor mill, but yesterday had a real fun one. Ben Howland to DePaul, and then Pitino to UCLA. Sadly the silliness was debunked, but that’s great stuff. Still, there is some claim that it was somewhat legit, while at least acknowledging Dixon to DePaul was never real.
Contrary to a TV report that ran in Chicago last week, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon was never a serious candidate for the job. He is a good friend of DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto and the two keep in touch but Dixon never was offered the job and he never seriously considered it. UCLA coach Ben Howland did consider the DePaul opening but decided on Tuesday to stay in Westwood where he feels his program is poised for a rebound season after a difficult 2009-10 campaign.
Sorry, the only reason Howland’s representatives even listened is for the same reasons any coach’s agent listens. The money (rumored to be in the $3 million ballpark) and to remind his bosses that he is still a valuable commodity. Something Howland probably needed to do after the disaster of a season the Bruins had.
Coach Dixon was out yesterday in Chambersburg, PA watching a potential recruit for 2011 in Jaylen Bond.
Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Jaylen Bond may have picked the perfect time to get rid of the blues, caused by foul-shooting woes, that have plagued him recently.
Last night, in a PIAA Class AAAA state semifinal against North Allegheny, with University of Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon watching him for the first time, Bond delivered a monster performance to place PW within a win of its first state championship since 1997.
Fueling a 16-2 scoring surge, Bond erupted for 12 of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter as the Colonials broke open a two-point game and blasted the Tigers, 71-47, at Chambersburg Area High.
“This was my best game in the whole playoffs,” Bond, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, said. “I did everything I could to help my team win.”
He also had 14 rebounds in the game. Bond has interest from Villanova and WVU, as well as FSU and Temple. This story has video from the game (Bond is #15). At the moment, Pitt still has one scholarship open for the 2011 class. Guard John Johnson has one spot claimed.
Bond gets a “93” from Scouts, Inc./ESPN.com (Insider subs), but they don’t have an evaluation up since April of 2009.
He has very good length coupled with very good leaping ability, which makes him a handful on the offensive boards. He runs the floor well and can finish off the break with a dunk. In the paint, he has a tendency to keep the ball low, which serves to make him smaller and prone to guards coming in and swiping the ball from him. Bond also will have to work on staying under control offensively and not playing too fast, which makes him turnover prone at times.
He’s a tweener as far as forwards go. Plays inside like a PF, but size makes him more like a SF. For those hoping Pitt goes for more size inside, with recruits, this won’t make you happy.
I’m a diehard Pitt fan and think Starkey’s article was dead on. I listen to sports radio all day at work and there are plenty of fans who “question” Dixon so the debate does exist. I appreciate Jamie and think he will get us a NC soon.
Chas echos a comment I made earlier in the week. Jamie is building a sustainable program at Pitt, not a flash in the pan run at a championship. He doesn’t need to change a thing.
Let’s face it, Pitt has a huge disadvantage in recruiting over many schools in both football and basketball. Some have an “environmental” advantage. If you’re a football or basketball recruit considering say Florida and Pitt, and you have no ties to either, where would you go? I’d take Florida with its weather and women (Erin Andrews is a Florida grad for example) any day. Others, like Starkey pointed out, have tradition. Pitt is just building tradition in basketball under Jamie and our football tradition was lost in the ’80s before any of the current HS kids were born. Wanny is doing a good job of rebuilding that too. The talent is taking notice and that’s why Jamie is starting to get the high-level guys like Taylor, Epps and Moore. The championship runs – plural not singular – will follow soon enough.
But most of you here know that already, so our job is to educate the impatient and short-sighted out there whenever we have the chance.
Those that think that Dixon does not want high-caliber talent are pretty funny. He wants the best players he can get while running a clean program.
They will come. Just have some faith.
I have no doubt that this decade he’ll get to the Final Four, if not win the whole enchillada.
Jamie HAS BUILT a sustainable program that will consistently improve the talent from Year 1 to Year 4 and have us in the top 15 teams in the country year in and year out. Occasionaly, we will be tenured enough (and lucky enough) to make a FF run. Last year was our shot. IMHO, 2012 will be our next. The difference for NCs will be securing the offensive talent that is beyond developing in college and is truly God-given/NBA talent. That talent is coming.
Starkey floated that subject out two days ago on that weak talk show he is now on. It generated calls, so he recycled it into his column in the Rag today.
Hey, let’s face it, we haven’t been a choice destination for the elite players to date, but we are getting closer. I still remember my crappy cramped seats in Fitzgerald watching Ralphie’s team flounder. Then to the Pete with Ben’s team of guys who you didn’t know if they were going to work or coast through the game (insert Taft, Troutman, Zavakas into that spot). And worry if we had to go deeper than 6 players in a game.
Now we are getting there everfy year and soon more kids will choose Pitt over the other schools with more tradition. We need to patient and let Jamie get us there.
They also booed Dave Wannstedt when walked across the court pregame on Junior Day. REALLY hope they don’t renew next season.
If that qualifies as a great debate or divide, OK. But anyone that thinks there’s a better coach for Pitt than Jamie Dixon right now has not been paying attention.
Best coach in the country? Not yet. Best Pitt coach in modern Pitt history? I’d say so.
Here’s the article:
link to zagsblog.com
Maybe Dante (or one of the other guys on the team) can develop into that lottery pick, and maybe one of the new guys will work out like that for us.
But until we can definitively say that we have the best player on the floor 95% of the time, we may not get our national title.
Blair was the closest I’ve seen Pitt to having that guy during the last decade.
How about that picture of Walker…he looks a little, uh, large. 6’10”, 300 pounds? He’ll need to get in better shape than that.
As to Jamie keepin mind that the handful of coaches rated higher than him(ie Coach K, Boeheim, etc.) have been around a long time 25 to 30 years. Give Jamie time he is way ahead of the timeframe of the college coaching greats.
Hail to Pitt ! Hail to jamie too !
Watched some Walker highlights on youtube. He is somewhat of a project, mainly because of his weight though. He looks to have soft hands, a soft touch, and decent feet inside. Maybe could develop into a Samhan type player.
As far as who would leave if Walker does sign, my guess would be one of the other “projects” since he looks like one too but with a bigger upside – literally. Take your pick there. That also assumes all of the other recruits qualify.
The reality of the PITT BB situation is this: Howland, and now Dixon, have built something that never existed at PITT before; consistently winning teams and a good sustainable program. What it isn’t (yet?) is an elite program… regardless of how much PITT fans want it to be.
Elite coaches make their programs achieve,and sometimes overachieve in crunch time – not during the almost meaningless, regular season. Elite program’s success rate in conference and NCAA tournaments are what separate them, not how many wins they can stack up against teams that are at the same level or less than they are. A four for 10 record in conference championship games isn’t placing PITT in rarefied air.
Forget about their NCAA record – one elite eight appearance in forever says it all.
PITT BB is good, no mistake about it, as is Jamie Dixon, but let’s not lose sight of why and how laurels are bestowed on elite coaches. That is their ability to rise above the pack and to compete for and win tournament championships on a consistent basis. We haven’t seen PITT do that under Dixon or any other coaches.
PITT BB is a good program, a credit to the University and great fun for its fans (myself included) but IMO PITT fans project something that isn’t there onto the coach and the program itself.
A spokesman for hoopwise.com this week on 93.7 talked about the walker kid and indicated that Pitt was over their scholarship limits but was telling Walker they had made room for him, and that Brown was most likely leaving for Europe.
OK, so Walker thinks there’s a scholarship and the rumor about Gilbert going to Europe resurfaces. Chris Dokish (NBE’s main guy on Pitt) has heard the rumblings and writes about it on his blog today. Here’s a link because it’s a long explanation:
link to bebballreportpitt.blogspot.com
Sounds like there’s some confusion somewhere. Either that or Moore may not qualify afterall.
Again, I have to wonder if the Pitt coaches have some updated information regarding Moore’s eligibility.
Many thought he should have pressed but this Pitt team is not good enough to press and gives up too many layups.
Coach Dixon is a brilliant young coach and a great recruiter. PERIOD!
