Andy Katz of ESPN.com has made no secret in the past that he is on good terms with Coach Jamie Dixon. That sure helps in doing a story like this that has been on the front page of ESPN.com’s college basketball page all weekend.
The coaching carousel tried to scoop up Dixon yet again this spring. And, for the third year in a row, Dixon turned down all the suitors. Stanford, Cal, Oklahoma State, LSU, Arizona State, Indiana and Arkansas have all tried to get Dixon interested when they’ve had recent openings. But he won’t bite.
“He is so loyal to us and if there are three to five suitors every year, that would not surprise me at all,” Nordenberg said. “He doesn’t dangle that in front of us and doesn’t advertise it or try to take advantage of it.”
“Every time his name circulates with a job, Jamie shuts things down fast,” said athletic director Steve Pederson, back for his second stint as AD.
The Arizona State job was the only one that reached anxiety levels. I’d say there were a couple reasons for that. First, it was the first time he had been so actively pursued by another school. The year before the Pitt team really faded in the back end and there was a lot of sniping about Dixon’s performance. Finally, the difference in salaries at that point was a big difference that had to make anyone listen.
After that, it has been quiet or quickly rejected without much dancing. As a fan I appreciate that. As a blogger looking for material to write in the off-season, it’s damn frustrating. Mindless speculation of will he-won’t he and possible replacements can fill weeks of blogging if drawn out correctly. But no, that keeps being denied to me.
And still Dixon is doing it at a place where elite players in the area are virtually nonexistent. So with the help of his assistants from former aide Barry Rohrssen (now the head coach at Manhattan) to current assistant Orlando Antigua, he continues to make Pitt a familiar name in New York City. The Panthers can call Madison Square Garden their home away from home, too, going 23-8 in the building since 2000, which is better than what UConn, Syracuse and St. John’s can boast.
“He put Pittsburgh in a position where it’s an upper division team in the Big East,” said Florida associate head coach Larry Shyatt, a former assistant in the Big East at Providence under Rick Barnes and a former head coach at Wyoming and Clemson. “That’s the way it’s thought of outside and in the Big East. That’s the best compliment I can give.”
And now, Pitt has made inroads into Maryland and Philly.
I know that feelings are mixed on Dixon. I do understand that. I am one of those in his corner.
A big reason why is that I feel he has done a lot to build Pitt’s program overall. Not just the winning — which is huge. It’s the effort in helping to support the summer league in Pittsburgh. Something that never existed. Giving the players a chance to stay in the ‘Burgh over the summer to play together and against each other. To be able to keep improving, hit the weight room with direct supervision and guidance, and to take classes to stay up on the academics.
All of that is vital to making Pitt a basketball program a growing and strengthening entity. And it pays off in that the former players in recent vintage are still eager to be around the city and the program. We also see more connection with past players renewing ties to the school. Re-connecting and supporting.
The summer program also gives the more talented high school kids other options on playing and connecting with present Pitt players. Western PA will never become a hotbead of basketball talent, but the more connections made into the area can only encourage and make sure that kids feel some local ties and desire to play there one day. It’s something that Pitt has still fought to overcome.
All of that has happened with Dixon here.
