Well, maybe a little more than one more thing.

I also want to point out this post from Ray Merangh talking about how smart Coach Dixon is about hiring assistants and how coveted getting the job is these days.

Which brings us back to the point when Herrion left and Dixon went into action. Everybody wanted that job because Dixon has become a coach who’s assistants get head coaching opportunities. Dixon was deluged with calls and resumes. Guys were even reaching out to know-nothings in the media to see if they knew anything! But Dixon had a plan.

He saw the talent in New England’s coming classes (the 2012 and 2013 classes each has potentially five top-25 guys)

He saw the potential problems at Connecticut.

Finally, he saw the guy involved with most of that talent — Pat Skerry, then at Providence — and went and got him.

Pitt pays well enough for assistants to be competitive, but there are plenty of other programs out there that pay far better. Pitt and Coach Dixon, though, offer the assistant who comes aboard more than just the money.

Obviously hey get to be part of a program that is winning, and playing regularly on national TV. More importantly, they get exposure and very clear recognition for their work. Why? Because Coach Dixon trusts his assistants to work the recruiting in their strong geographic areas and get guys that will fit.

Barry Rohrssen: New York City and Northern New Jersey. Levance Fields, Tyrell Biggs, Keith Benjamin, Ronald Ramon, and Chris Taft.

Mike Rice: primarily Philly and some New Jersey. Gets guys like Lamar Patterson, Brad Wanamaker, Travon Woodall and Nasir Robinson.

Tom Herrion with his more Atlantic coast connections hits Dante Taylor, Talib Zanna,  and J.J. Moore.

Now Pat Skerry, and it is up in New England. Both sides do very well from this approach. Skerry is getting more recognition and public notice for bringing Birch to Pitt than he would have if he had pulled it off at Providence — despite the fact that getting a talent like Birch to Providence would have been that much more remarkable.

In Providence, Keno Davis is still relatively new as the head coach and the storyline would have been more about Davis and how he has invigorated the program and is bringing talent into the school. Skerry would have gotten credit, but more as a part of Keno Davis’ staff than the direct credit he is receiving.

Don’t think that athletic directors at other schools aren’t taking note and putting his name on a list of considered coaches in the future. This is about perception and recognition. Coach Jamie Dixon is still the guy in charge and the player had to like what the head coach had to say and do.

Birch took an unofficial visit to Pitt two weeks ago and came away impressed. Hurd said Birch quickly felt comfortable with Dixon after meeting him, too.

“It was kind of the perfect storm for Pitt,” Hurd said. “He already had the relationship with coach Skerry. And then he saw what coach Dixon was about. He liked that coach Dixon has some players who are now getting paid who were not necessarily pros when they got there.”

And other potential players like what they are seeing with this recruiting class.

?”I love the pickup. Pitt is definitely a favorite for us,” Omar Calhoun Sr. told NBE’s Ray Mernagh…

Omar Calhoun, Jr. is one of the top shooting guards in the 2012 class. Right now Rivals.com and Scout.com list him as a 4-star recruit. ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. has him a “97” or 5-stars.

The constant building on the success. Both on the court and in recruiting. Seeing it progress so steadily it really does feel like Pitt basketball hasn’t yet peaked and so much more is to come.