Okay, you may have seen this snippet in the P-G today.

It appears Pitt will have to pay a steep price to retain coach Jamie Dixon after this season.

Arizona State has Dixon at the top of its wish list, according to a report in the Arizona Republic yesterday. The Republic cited sources in the Arizona State athletic department in its story saying Dixon was the leading candidate to replace Rob Evans, who is expected to be fired soon.

Well, here’s a piece in the Arizona paper looking at the job — and not reaching good conclusions for ASU.

Evans’ critics complain that he got ASU into the NCAA Tournament only once, yet 2003 was only the third time in 25 years for the Sun Devils. The other two came under the bumpy watch of coach Bill Frieder, who since his departure in 1997 has called ASU’s basketball potential “the mirage in the desert.”

ASU’s basketball blahs have been around longer than anybody on the current roster.

Boosters still loyal to Evans repeatedly have complained that ASU has not supported him enough through marketing or any attempt at altering the complete lack of atmosphere at Wells Fargo.
…
Hollins, also a former ASU and Suns assistant, knows the landscape as well as anybody. But even he might have questions about whether ASU is just talking or willing to invest in a real commitment to basketball.

In other words, follow the money.

The path will start with Evans’ expected departure and negotiations for a successor. Evans has one year left on a contract that was extended in 2002 after he said no to a $4.9 million offer from New Mexico. His extension was for two years at the same financial terms: $595,447 per year.

According to sources at ASU and several other sources connected to the coaching community, Dixon is the leading candidate. One interested coach at a mid-major school in the West said Dixon would have to say no before anybody else has a chance.
…
For ASU, that’s the first question: How much can it pay a coach with proven credentials? Tennessee just extended first-year coach Bruce Pearl’s contract for two years at an annual salary of about $1.1 million. ASU football coach Dirk Koetter will get $950,000 a year in his new deal.

It’s not whether ASU has the money. It’s whether they will spend it? It also appears that if there are issues with Dixon and Pitt about how much they put into the basketball program, then there are even more of those issues at ASU.

Of course, this tidbit from Andy Katz is encouraging as well (ESPN Insider):

By the way, Dixon has not made any indication that he’s the slight bit interested in Arizona State, if it were to open. Arizona media reported Thursday that he’s the leading candidate, with the assumption that Rob Evans is out now that the Sun Devils are done in the Pac-10 Tournament. The most likely scenario is for Dixon to get a call from ASU if the job opens but for him to stay at Pitt after getting a big bump in pay. Multiple sources say that’s expected to happen.

I Expect Pitt to be paying Dixon around $1 million and the team to be taking more charter flights rather than commercial after this season.