Jamie Dixon’s tenure at TCU falling short of realistic expectations
When Jamie Dixon left Pittsburgh to “come home” to TCU no one at the football-minded school thought its basketball team would become Kansas overnight, or any night.
But TCU basketball under Jamie Dixon should be in a better place than they currently find themselves, which does not even include No. 6 Kansas abusing the Horned Frogs on Tuesday night, 93-64.
And then 67-49 on Saturday against No. 2 Baylor in Fort Worth.
Kansas came to Fort Worth having most recently lost by double digits to Texas and The Shaka Smarts in Lawrence; Bill Self’s latest group of 5-stars and prep school products were not going to lose two straight.
The game against Kansas started this straight-from-hell, 10-game stretch for TCU that will determine its season, and just how far Jamie Dixon has come since arriving in 2016, and how much more distance remains.
Ideally, TCU should contend for fifth or fourth in the Big 12, which would guarantee an NCAA berth. Sprinkled in with some first place finishes, that’s what Dixon’s teams did in his tenure at Pitt.
That is not what he has done at TCU.
There is a plausible chance this TCU team could lose 10 straight, thus killing any real chance at an NCAA tourney berth.
If they can win four games in this stretch of 10, great success. Losing by 29 points at home to start this stretch of games is not exactly an encouraging sign.
Although they were better against Baylor, only marginally. And Baylor is also just that good.
Against Kansas, TCU was out-rebounded 41-21. TCU NBA draft hopeful, center Kevin Samuel, who was averaging a double double, collected zero rebounds.
He’s 6-foot-11.
“I didn’t see it coming,” Dixon said. “They punched us in the face early and we didn’t respond.”
Now in his fifth year in Fort Worth, TCU under Dixon has not been bad. They have been OK, which considering TCU’s history is good.
They just expected to be better.
TCU hired Dixon specifically to make the NCAA Tournament. That’s where the return comes on a men’s basketball team.
While it took him a while to get there, that’s what Baylor has done under Scott Drew. Texas Tech under Chris Beard nearly won a national title. Texas under Shaka Smart is finally showing something.
Since Dixon arrived, the Big 12 has been one of the best conferences in the nation. But TCU also invested in the program to give this coach every chance to win conference games.
If TCU makes the NCAA Tournament “bubble” in Indianapolis this season, it will not only be a success but a pleasantly shocking surprise.
Don’t buy your NIT tickets just yet, either; it will be a surprise if the NCAA, which owns the NIT, holds the second-tier tourney this spring.
Dixon’s teams have struggled to regain the success it achieved in his first two seasons when they won the NIT and reached the NCAA Tournament, in consecutive years.
The best players from those teams were recruited and signed by previous coach Trent Johnson.
They reached the semifinals of the NIT in Dixon’s third year, but last season were “saved” by COVID canceling the final weeks of the season.
Of all the sports affected by COVID, NCAA men’s basketball coaches “enjoyed” it the most. It bought every coach an extra year, and or at least offered an excuse.
“Well, we were getting better and we were going to the tournament” was a common theme/load.
TCU was 16-16 last year, and that was with an NBA first round pick Desmond Bane.
TCU is currently 9-4, 2-3 in the Big 12, and this stretch of games can flip the season, in either direction.
TCU was not expected to beat Kansas, but when Jamie Dixon came “home” to Fort Worth everyone expected just a bit more than what his team is producing.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021, 5:00 AM.
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