Jamie Dixon to Arizona?
By Chris Dokish
This is the time of year that there is buzz about Jamie Dixon going elsewhere and this year's entrants are Kentucky and Arizona. Don't expect either to happen. Kentucky is closing in on hiring John Calipari, and even if that falls through, they will go after bigger fish than Dixon. As for Arizona, I talked to one of Dixon's inner circle today and he texted me with "No way!!". I also talked to another person with great knowledge of the situation and he said "Everybody I talked to said he's not interested". So rest easy Panther fans. At least as of now there is nothing out there that suggests that Dixon won't be at Pitt next season.
posted by Chris Dokish @ 12:33 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Hey Chris. I by chance went to the Bishop McNamara vs. St. Benedicts game and saw Zanna vs. Patterson. Both looked great. I think Patterson can play. Seems to me that talent on this team is pretty, two years and they should be in very good shape with Nasir, Patterson, Gibbs, Woodall, Taylor, Zanna, and Miller...and in epps and it seems like a very good team.
Zanna and Patterson are both going to be good players, no doubt about it. Pitt just needs to find a couple of elite players if they want to be a Final Four contender. Right now only Taylor has that potential, and Epps will have that potential, too. Zanna may have that potential but he is a little raw yet. I don't see all-star potential from the rest, at least as of now. We'll see if any of them reach that status. It will be interesting. At the very least they have a bunch of good players who are going to win a lot of games in their careers.
Chris,
Would you characterize Will Coleman as an elite player? And what about the Ukranian kid?
Out of Doron Lamb and Will Barton, who do you think would be a better fit at Pitt and who do we have a better shot with? It seems like we would at least take another player in the 2010 class although I have no idea where the scholarship comes from. If we get another big for this year it seems pretty complicated, especially if Gary McGhee stays.
I don't know about an elite player for Coleman, but he could develop into one certainly. He's a physical freak who is getting better and better. I know Pitt fans are weary of junior college players, but he is rated much higher than past Pitt junior college players. I don't think there is any doubt that he would make an immediate impact. I'd say that if he was starting as a senior, which you would have to assume, you may be looking at something like 12-14 ppg and 8 rpg. The Ukranian, Kyryl Natyazhko, is not an elite player but he's a pretty good player, maybe maxing out at 12 ppg perhaps. Those are just projections, of course, based on their physical talent and skill level, and you never really know how well they will perform.
As for Barton and Lamb, they have recruited Barton much more at this time, especially because he was a former teammate of Dante Taylor, and I would say there is a much better chance they would get him. Lamb has only recently mentioned Pitt so it's still a question as to just how much he will have an interest in Pitt. In a few months when the AAU season gets into high gear, things will become much clearer. As for which is better, they are both elite SGs who can score a ton of points, and Pitt would kill for either.
Thanks for responding so quickly.
If Arizona or Memphis go after Tim Floyd and he leaves USC what are the chances Jamie would leave for USC? They play in a dump stadium and he would have to play against Ben at least twice. I don't think USC is as good a program as Zona or Pitt so it doesn't seem like a better job. It was fairly annoying to hear Len Elmore during the McD's game talk about how Pitt's program is in flux because Blair might leave and so will Jamie. Len should know a little bit about hearsay considering he is a lawyer.
Elmore clearly was just babbling and he should know better. As for USC, the only reason Dixon would take that job is because his parents live there. As a basketball program, the only thing USC has better than Pitt is a local recruiting area. I would assume that he would be interested, but I still would guess that he wouldn't leave. But you never know.
I guess its a good thing so many programs are interested in Dixon because it means he is a good coach. But we all already know that so I don't think any of us need that validation. It's a little discouraging that every time there is a job opening at a Western school his name is mentioned by people like Len Elmore whether he is really in consideration or not. Despite a potential rebuilding year next year I think the program has more incoming talent than we ever have. I really don't want to see that disrupted.
He was being pursued prior to last season because he was cheap. He's not cheap anymore so that limits the amount of schools that can afford him.
I don't know whether he will be interested in USC or not, but I have three people very close to him, and who have always been honest with me, and they said he never once expressed an interest in Arizona. So this whole Arizona thing was simply rumor and innuendo. We'll see what happens with USC.
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