I usually leave that school located in the middle of Pennsylvania out of my posts. The news, though, that Ed DeChellis left for Navy at the end of May… Wow. Keep in mind Navy lost its head coach because the guy who was there found the job so tough he went back to being an assistant at Villanova. Ed DeChellis not only left a Big 10 program for a service academy in the Colonial Patriot. He took a big paycut. He also left his alma mater. Dana O’Neill (who is a PSU alum) really lays into Penn St.
There’s a good argument that despite taking a pay cut from $650-700 K to $450 K is misleading. He got no extension and was heading to the last year of the contract, probably saved his job this past season, and likely would be out of work after yet another go-round of rebuilding. So jumping now probably gives him more long-term stability and money than just going one more year in Happy Valley and having to go back to being an assistant somewhere else for $100-200 K/year. Still, there’s no good way for Penn State to spin this as a positive reflection on their basketball program.
If other BCS schools struggled to make a “name” hire in the normal coaching carousel time, and Maryland had to cycle through 5 or 6 rejections to get Mark Turgeon, where does that leave Penn State heading into Memorial Day weekend? Not a lot of choices.
It’s either an old coach turned analyst, assistant or a low mid-major coach. Fran Dunphy is not leaving Temple. Nor are the other mid-major coaches — Stevens, Smart and Mooney — that turned everyone else down this offseason. As usual, Dick Vitale is stumping for Bob Knight. Some of the names being rumored (Insider subs): Pat Chambers (Boston U, former Nova asst.), Tom Herrion (Marshall, former Pitt asst.), Tom Moore (Qunnipiac, former UConn asst.) and Jimmy Martelli (St. Joe’s Phil Martelli’s kid and an assistant under Mike Rice). You know what’s sad, Knight actually makes some sense. PSU has such lousy options with the timing and everything else. They almost need a placeholder for a couple years to get it together.
Pitt basketball’s APR has slowly been climbing. It is a rolling figure based on a 4-year average. When Coach Dixon took over, the APR started in the danger zone with the players that Willard brought in and had to be cleaned out for various reasons (leaving early, substance abuse, criminal convictions). Now the APR for basketball was in the top 10% of the D-1 basketball programs.
Under the direction of four-time National Coach of the Year Jamie Dixon and Director of Academic Support Services Mike Farabaugh, the Pitt Basketball program has consistently ranked among the nation’s top-20 percent and among the best Big East Conference performers in the APR. During Dixon’s eight-year tenure, 28 of 35 men’s basketball players have graduated from the University of Pittsburgh. The Panthers have also earned a Team Academic Achievement Award for Most Improved Academic Team in three of the last seven years (2004, 2006 and 2008).
“Graduating student-athletes will always be the No. 1 priority for our program,” Dixon said. “This is a tremendous honor for our university and a great reward for all of the hard work and dedication that our players have put into their studies.”
Minor note that Coach Dixon actually gets mentioned as one of the few college coaches that gets some interest from the NBA.
A capsule review/preview of the Big East notes that Coach Dixon and other Big East coaches once again, did not jump to other jobs. As for this coming year…
Pittsburgh: Robinson, Woodall, Gibbs, Taylor, Zanna. Just another crop of guys you hardly know that’ll keep Pitt near the top.
Not listed, Khem Birch, who continues to show why he will be playing plenty of minutes this coming season.
Coaches will take a player out of a game for taking a bad shot or making a bad pass,” said recruiting expert Tom Konchalski. “I can’t recall a coach taking a player out of the game for rebounding the basketball too much. Khem Birch could be that type of player in the Big East.”
Birch displayed that rebounding prowess Sunday afternoon, grabbing nine boards, including five offensive, to help the Sean Bell All-Stars secure the iS8/Nike Spring Classic championship by defeating Real Scout, 71-60.
“I pattern my game after [Denver Nugget forward] Kenyon Martin,” said Birch, whose 14-point, 16-rebound effort helped Sean Bell defeat New Heights (Artie), 73-56, in Saturday’s semifinal.
…
“I really liked coach Dixon and the program as a whole,” said Birch, originally from Montreal. “I was told that I would be playing the four or five next season, and with no true centers on the roster, they will run more pick and pop sets.”Konchalski believes Birch’s upside is endless.
“If Khem improves his offensive game, he should be a terrific Big East player,” said Konchalski. “Jamie Dixon usually gets the most out of his players, and if I know him, Khem will definitely build up physically.”
Birch will get the time because of his defense and rebounding. Offense — other than on putbacks — will be a bonus
😉
