I have a theory.
There’s a good chance it’s dead wrong, or many of you don’t think it applies to you, but hear me out.
From March 2003 to February 2004, Pitt went through as traumatic and turbulent 12 month period college sports fans can go through with out the words and phrases “sanctions,” “recruiting violations,” “NCAA investigation,” “arrests,” “criminal activity,” “gambling,” “drugs,” “prostitution,” and “trans-sexual hooker” involved.
Consider the timeline:
March 2003. Pitt is rolling to a Big East Championship and the UCLA coming after Ben Howland rumors are getting louder and louder. They only seemed to get louder when Pitt won its first BE Tournament. Then there was the NCAA Tournament, and Dwayne Wade blowing-up, starting with Pitt.
April 2003. Ben Howland bolts Pitt for his “dream job” at UCLA only a few days after that loss. Pitt fans are stunned, and more disturbingly, so was the Pitt Administration. In part because the school was still operating with an interim AD, several months after the previous AD had left. Pitt conducts a chaotic and very slip-shod coaching search. Focusing almost entirely on Skip Prosser, but unable to close the deal. They fall back to Jamie Dixon, just barely before he was going to leave to join Howland in LA.
May 2003. The ACC’s raid of the Big East is leaked. This soap opera of greed and betrayal ends up going through July.
July 2003. Miami and VT announce they are leaving for the ACC. Pitt football player Billy Gaines falls to his death when he and his friend, roommate and teammate are drunkenly climbing around the rafters of a church. Abdul is traumatized and goes from automatic on field goals to a glaring problem.
August 2003. Pitt football seems poised to finally take that next step. The team is considered the best possibility for knocking off Miami in the BE farewell tour. Pitt is already locking down top recruits from the area and hopes are high. Also, PSB is launched.
September 2003. Lee gets married (and it is a dry reception) and that night Pitt loses to Toledo. I’m not saying one is cause for the other, but they do remain intertwined. That night, Pitt’s defense was exposed and became Pitt’s achille’s heel.
October 2003. The season continues to unravel as Pitt’s defense lets ND’s RB Julius Jones run all over Pitt like he was going through a junior high j.v. squad. BC announces it too will jump to the ACC, and the BE decides rather than split the football and basketball-only schools, they will instead consider forming a mega-conference.
November 2003. Actually started the month quite well with ACC defectors BC and VT going down to Pitt. Of course, Pitt proceeded to tank the games against the Hoopies and Miami. The latter with a legit shot at still winning the conference.
December 2003. Pitt blew its consolation game against Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl. Actually made Al Groh look like a real coach. The rumblings began that RB Andrew Johnson was going to reexamine his verbal commit to Pitt.
January 2004. The other top-line verbal, Anthony Morelli, also begins to consider going elsewhere. The entire recruiting class seems to be unwinding before a stunned fanbase’s eyes.
February 2004. NLI Day is a disaster. Pitt not only loses Morelli and Johnson, but others like a solid WR named Peyton staying home to play for USF. Linebacker James Bryant also bailed on Pitt for Miami, dissing his own brother Sam. The only plus was getting an athletic QB/TE who chose Pitt because he was promised a shot at QB rather than being moved to TE right away as Auburn would have. His name, Darrell Strong.
And just to top off the end of the month, Pitt basketball lost it’s first game in the Pete.
Now, the events of the NLI Day 2004 have hung over Pitt fans’ collective heads for the last couple of years. Let’s face it, many of us (including myself) were waiting for some last minute change of mind from one of the recruits.
It may take a couple more years to fully disapate the foreboding. Still, this past Wednesday was a huge step forward and a gigantic relief. The hope and optimism are there right now. It has really seemed to finally push that day into the past.
Then there is that trauma that started the whole 12 month period. Losing Howland. The coach who made Pitt basketball matter for the first time in a decade. The coach responsible for getting Pitt to its first BE Tournament Championship and 2 straight Sweet 16 showings.
So now, there are rumors/theories starting to spread about Coach Jamie Dixon.
It’s also no secret that Arizona State coach Rob Evans is in dire trouble. Lots of guys will be lining up to take that job if it comes open, but I’ve got a sleeper for you: Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon, who grew up in North Hollywood, Calif., and was an assistant at Northern Arizona, Hawaii and UC-Santa Barbara. If it comes down to money, Arizona State shouldn’t have a problem getting Dixon, because he’s one of the lowest paid coaches in the Big East.
And this gets the nervous buzzing going again. Especially when you consider that Doug Gottlieb of ESPN hinted at similar things a week ago.
“Nationally, the ultimate sign of respect is when jobs come open, and Jamie’s name is going to be thrown into the fray because everyone knows he can get the job done. There is a good chance that a job or two is going to come open in the Pac-10 this year. The first name you’re going to hear is Jamie Dixon’s. He’s going to have to make a decision. …
And God help us if Gottlieb could be right.
It’s possible, I guess, but consider that it would be the PAC-10 and that would mean facing Ben Howland about twice a year. Hmm.
Q: Could you ever see Pitt scheduling a non-conference game with Ben Howland at UCLA?
FITTIPALDO: It’s not going to happen, John. I have asked Howland and Dixon about the possibility, and they both can’t say “no” fast enough. They are adamant about it. Dixon and Howland still talk almost every day. Howland told me that it’s just not any fun going up against your best friend.
I’m not saying enough money wouldn’t overcome the issue, but it is definitely something to keep in mind against it.
It would also be a rebuilding job. Another thing to decide. He’d have lean years like Howland had at Pitt at best. At Pitt, he is maintaining, growing, improving. It’s plenty of work, but not like a rebuilding project. Does he want one of those so soon after helping accomplish that at Pitt?
I do believe that Pitt will step up with the money, but they do need to be proactive. ASU is not a dream job or one of the top “name” basketball programs in the country like UCLA. I think he will merely use the possibility to get a nice raise.
