Jamie Dixon, as I mentioned previously, was going to Hawaii to speak to the camps there. Mainly, it appears, he did this as a favor to Hawaii Head Coach Riley Wallace who was one of the first coaches to hire him (hat tip to Allen).

Rainbows coach Riley Wallace hired Dixon in 1992. In the 1993-94 season, he was instrumental in UH’s WAC tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. Dixon coached the guards, including Trevor Ruffin and Jarinn Akana.

“He really worked hard with them and got them to be better shooters,” said Wallace of his protégé, who is now one of the nation’s top young head coaches (and among the wealthiest). “He’s done it right.”

But Wallace, never one to spare a playful jab, also pointed out it was Dixon who provided the scouting report for UH’s 100-47 season-opening loss to Portland in the Great Alaska Shootout.

“That was a great learning experience,” Dixon said. “We had six new players and we ended up going to the NCAA Tournament. I learned that you don’t panic and change everything if you start out badly.”

Dixon had another brief stint at UH in 1998-99 before joining Ben Howland’s staff at Pitt, where he eventually replaced him.

“Coach Wallace was the first one to give me a chance. Talk to anybody, offensively he’s considered the best coach in the WAC. The plays, the sets, the different looks. The spacing they use on the floor, the passing, the backdoor cuts. Coaches always talk about how good the stuff is that they run.

“And I learned a lot working with Coach (Bob) Nash and Coach (Jackson) Wheeler,” said Dixon, who hopes to bring Pitt to Hawaii for the 2007 Rainbow Classic. “If I hadn’t been at the University of Hawaii, we never would’ve achieved the success we have (at Pitt).”

An excellent extra reason to go to Hawaii if it can get Pitt in the Rainbow Classic. It’s one of the biggest tournaments of the non-conference slate.

Coach Dixon also mentioned that Pitt might be playing a game at Army (Men and Women) as a season opening doubleheader.

Dixon, apparently spoke quite a bit about his sister while talking to the campers (hat tip to Steve).

University of Pittsburgh basketball coach Jamie Dixon’s eyes moistened as he gazed at the interior of the Stan Sheriff Center court. The University of Hawai’i’s Lower Campus, after all, was a significant stopover in the remarkable but brief basketball life of his best friend.

“Maggie was a camper,” said Dixon, a featured speaker at the Rainbow Warrior Basketball Camp, of his younger sister. “She came out for this camp. She enjoyed it.”
…
For now, Dixon is enjoying a rare break from a hectic schedule. Last weekend, he and his wife, Jacqueline, attended her 20th Punahou School reunion. “It was good for her,” he said. “I’m just another guy who doesn’t know anybody over there. Well, I knew a few. It was fun.”

His wife spends a month each year in Hawai’i. Dixon visits for a week each year, making sure to stop by his old office.

Hey, I’d go to my wife’s reunions (or even my own) if they were in Hawaii.