Jamie Dixon

[tecumseh]

I think Jamie Dixon is the best coach in America. Year in and year out he gets it done with so so talent. His teams play hard, great defense, don't turn the ball over, yeah they can be painful to watch because they struggle offensively but that is due to lack of talent not because they are taking bad shots. If Coach K had a heart attack he would be my choice to replace him. (I know zero posters will agree).

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news;_ylt=ArBLVvCRw169HT.C85PTCjDevbYF?slug=jn-pitt112010

[Jderf]

I think Jamie Dixon is the best coach in America. Year in and year out he gets it done with so so talent. His teams play hard, great defense, don't turn the ball over, yeah they can be painful to watch because they struggle offensively but that is due to lack of talent not because they are taking bad shots. If Coach K had a heart attack he would be my choice to replace him. (I know zero posters will agree).

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news;_ylt=ArBLVvCRw169HT.C85PTCjDevbYF?slug=jn-pitt112010

I'm also a big fan of Dixon and what he's been doing at Pitt. He consistently recruits good kids (typically underrated) and puts together some very cohesive teams. I don't know if he's actually the second best coach in America (I'm assuming you only ranked him ahead of K by accident), but in my opinion he is certainly near the pinnacle of the college game right now.

[tecumseh]

Some might argue his teams have underperformed in the tourney. I think this is a bit unfair criticism and the truth is his teams overperform during the regular season so expectations are probably a bit too high. Last year all the "experts" picked Pitt to finish last or near to last in the Big East and he finished at the top probably one of his best coaching jobs. His teams do have some similarities to Duke teams in they way they play defense and their intensity and team chemistry. He signed a nice contract extension I think he would only leave for a few jobs like Duke, UNC, Kentucky, his recruiting is finally starting to pick up.

[Bluedevil114]

I think Jamie Dixon is the best coach in America. Year in and year out he gets it done with so so talent. His teams play hard, great defense, don't turn the ball over, yeah they can be painful to watch because they struggle offensively but that is due to lack of talent not because they are taking bad shots. If Coach K had a heart attack he would be my choice to replace him. (I know zero posters will agree).

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news;_ylt=ArBLVvCRw169HT.C85PTCjDevbYF?slug=jn-pitt112010

If he is that great then why dont the top recruits think so and why does he not have a National Championship? Coach Izzo does not get the cream of the crop of talent and he has won a National Championship and gone to the Final Four numerous times and what about Gary Williams the same goes for him with the talent level. Coach K is the best college coach in America. Lets not kid ourselves. He won with an average group but made them a TEAM.

[DevilHorns]

If he is that great then why dont the top recruits think so and why does he not have a National Championship? Coach Izzo does not get the cream of the crop of talent and he has won a National Championship and gone to the Final Four numerous times and what about Gary Williams the same goes for him with the talent level. Coach K is the best college coach in America. Lets not kid ourselves. He won with an average group but made them a TEAM.

This is absurd: "average group"?

We were a #1 seed last year in the tourney. We fully deserved that seeding after winning the ACC regular season and ACC championship. We had multiple pro prospects on our roster. How is the group that won last year's championship ''average'' in any way?

Regardless, I agree that Gary Williams and Tom Izzo (and Brad Stevens in my view) deserve the title of #2 best 'coach' in the nation more so than Dixon.

Gary Williams won a national championship without any McD All-Americans. Remarkable feat.

[ajgoodfella7]

I have heard many stories that Jamie is a very loyal guy, along with being a great coach. He is originally from the West Coast and he has had many job offers from Pac-10 schools, including Arizona, Arizona State and Oregon. He was also reportedly offered more money and turned them down.

Jamie has done a great job getting Pitt in contention in a very competitive Big East, year in and year out. Some would argue that the Big East may have the greatest collection of coaches in the country including Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun, Rick Pitino, Jay Wright, Bob Huggins, Mike Brey and John Thompson III. Despite Pitt not being a traditional power, and the big name teams and coaches that Pitt must deal with, Jamie Dixon has really pushed Pitt's program to places it has never been. Pitt has established a recruiting pipeline in New York and New Jersey and I think this has been huge for the program. As we all know first hand, HS players from this area are some of the most "college-ready" players in the country.

I think without a doubt he is one of the best young coaches in the country and hopefully sometime soon he can get Pitt over the hump and make a Final Four.

[ajgoodfella7]

Also I think Pitt is starting to turn the corner in recruiting. As of now in their 2012 class, they have commitments from Khem Birch (Rivals 5-star, #4 overall, #1 PF) and Steven Adams (Rivals 4-star center from New Zealand, #46 overall). It will be interesting to see what Dixon can do with a little higher level of talent then he has now if these commits stay with Pitt.

[jimsumner]

I think Jamie Dixon is the best coach in America. Year in and year out he gets it done with so so talent. His teams play hard, great defense, don't turn the ball over, yeah they can be painful to watch because they struggle offensively but that is due to lack of talent

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news;_ylt=ArBLVvCRw169HT.C85PTCjDevbYF?slug=jn-pitt112010

I understand and agree with your respect for Dixon. But part of being a great coach is getting great talent. The two cannot be separated. At least not at the highest level.

He's coaching at a large state-supported university, with some hoops tradition, a spot in a major conference, located in a populous state that churns out lots of top prep talent. He doesn't have the constraints that someone like Bob McKillop has.

So, if he has so-so talent year after year, then perhaps he's not the best coach in America.

My two cents.

[SMO]

Regardless, I agree that Gary Williams and Tom Izzo (and Brad Stevens in my view) deserve the title of #2 best 'coach' in the nation more so than Dixon.

I'd throw Boeheim in with that mix too. I like Dixon though and I'd love to see him in the ACC. As DBR has often pointed out, beyond K, G. Williams, and O.R. Williams, ACC coaching is lacking.

[ajgoodfella7]

I'd throw Boeheim in with that mix too. I like Dixon though and I'd love to see him in the ACC. As DBR has often pointed out, beyond K, G. Williams, and O.R. Williams, ACC coaching is lacking.

I also think Bo Ryan would be in that discussion. I have always admired the way his teams at Wisconsin play.

[Bluedevil114]

I also think Bo Ryan would be in that discussion. I have always admired the way his teams at Wisconsin play.

Tournament success defines a coach and that is why Dixon and Ryan should not be included even though I agree they are good coaches just not GREAT. Bo Ryan always has a ton of seniors every year and that is why he does well in the regular season but for some reason he is not able to duplicate that success in the tournament. Why?

[ajgoodfella7]

Tournament success defines a coach and that is why Dixon and Ryan should not be included even though I agree they are good coaches just not GREAT. Bo Ryan always has a ton of seniors every year and that is why he does well in the regular season but for some reason he is not able to duplicate that success in the tournament. Why?

I definitely understand your point. But I think you can be a great coach without having an NCAA title or Final Four. I just think the definition of a great coach would be a coach who gets the most out of his players. And I think both of those guys do that. But I think I just got off discussion of the OP because I CAN'T argue that either of them are the 2nd best coach in the country. But I also couldn't argue that Gary Williams could be the 2nd best coach in the country either.

[tecumseh]

If he is that great then why dont the top recruits think so and why does he not have a National Championship? Coach Izzo does not get the cream of the crop of talent and he has won a National Championship and gone to the Final Four numerous times and what about Gary Williams the same goes for him with the talent level. Coach K is the best college coach in America. Lets not kid ourselves. He won with an average group but made them a TEAM.
This is just silly all intelligent posters realize there is a catch 22 in college hoops, the best kids want to go to programs that have won a lot recently and you cannot win BIG unless you have very good talent. That is why goodfellas talked about "turning the corner", NC State is one program looking to turn the corner and the next two years are crucial for them.

What Coach K did to get started is much, much harder to replicate in todays environment a kid like Dawkins does not stay 4 years.

[SilkyJ]

Gary Williams won a national championship without any McD All-Americans. Remarkable feat.

That doesn't mean he didn't have talent. He had several NBA draft picks on that team: Dixon, Blake, Baxter, Wilcox and Morris (I think Morris ended up being drafted).

I have a tremendous amt of respect for G Williams and J Dixon. Both are great coaches with great character.

[Poincaré]

I think Jamie Dixon is the best coach in America. Year in and year out he gets it done with so so talent. His teams play hard, great defense, don't turn the ball over, yeah they can be painful to watch because they struggle offensively but that is due to lack of talent not because they are taking bad shots. If Coach K had a heart attack he would be my choice to replace him. (I know zero posters will agree).

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news;_ylt=ArBLVvCRw169HT.C85PTCjDevbYF?slug=jn-pitt112010

You make a good point, but why did you have to say "the best"? It sort of needlessly stirs up the nest. The imaginary Coach K heart attack is not great form either. Why would you even mention such a thing? It would be far more tasteful to replace the heart attack with retirement. If you subtracted those two parts, not a person in the world would disagree with you. Why make things more difficult for yourself? Is trying to convince people on DBR that Coach K is not as good as Jamie Dixon really a reachable goal? Is that worth your time? What I am trying to say is that if you are trying to promote Dixon here, you are going about it in a counterproductive way.

[tecumseh]

I guess part of it is I am a physician and we have a lot of gallows humor and pretty casual with throwing the phrase "a heart attack" around. PLUS and this is the big one Coach K does not have a cardiac history that I am aware of unlike say Dick Cheney.

"The best" is just an internet blog over the top statement to get a discussion going of course it is hyperbole. But it does bring up a question When Coach K retires what kind of guy would you want to replace him. My vote would be a Jamie Dixon type guy, in fact he would fit the bill perfectly. I think promoting assistants usually does not work you want someone with head coaching success in a major conference who is not too old IMHO. Recruiting will take care of itself for a few years. Bringing someone back who knows the "Duke/ Coack K way" does not light my fire. I kind of think bring someone in pretty young and let him build his own tradition.

I will say this it looks like a pretty thankless task, UCLA has struggled mightily replacing Wooden, Indiana is a mess post Knight, and Carolina very much a mixed bag. I do think if Jamie Dixon was coaching in Chapel Hill he would be doing a much better job.

[4decadedukie]

I am not attempting to "kidnap" this thread by highlighting Gary Williams (and moderators, please move this to a new thread if you wish). Several posters have extolled Coach Williams; I strongly demur. If a coach's duties and leadership responsibilities were limited to on-court, competitive, intercollegiate athletic performance, I could possibly agree. However, a coach is accountable for MUCH more than that; his duties clearly include both academics and ethics. Williams' "student" athletes have among the most atrocious academic records in major college sports; for some years, his graduation rate was ZERO. While this has recently improved, his aggregate record absolutely demonstrates the real value he places on life-vital scholastic preparation -- decidedly behind basketball -- which is truly unfortunate when one considers that VERY few of his players will ever enter professional ranks (and that solid degree might just be the youngster's catalyst to a happy, successful, productive and secure life). Similarly, anyone who has witnessed YEARS of despicable and deplorable fan/student behavior at Cole and Comcast -- especially aimed at Duke, and our athletes, coaches, their families, and our attending fans -- KNOWS that Coach Williams de facto encourages this brutish, boorish, dangerous and sometime felonious conduct. Yes, Gary may occasionally offer a few, mild rebukes; however, it is CLEAR that he wants teams to be intimidated -- and in ways that go FAR beyond ANY reasonable standards that constrain outrageous comportment in every other venue. Coach K would NEVER allow this sort of conduct, not even once and certainly not as a annual "Duke in College Park" festival of lewdness, incivility, abominable behavior, and truly dangerous/criminal acts.

Williams evidently believes his duties are limited to coaching his team; they are not. He is additionally responsible for his team's academic performance and his fans' behavior. He fails MISERABLY in these two critical responsibilities, and he is overall stature MUST reflect these substantial shortcomings.

[DevilHorns]

That doesn't mean he didn't have talent. He had several NBA draft picks on that team: Dixon, Blake, Baxter, Wilcox and Morris (I think Morris ended up being drafted).

I have a tremendous amt of respect for G Williams and J Dixon. Both are great coaches with great character.

Anybody who wins a national championship has 'talent.' The point is, he didn't have as highly touted recruits coming out of high school compared to other championship teams in our modern era of college basketball. In that sense, there's a lot of coaching impact that is logical to infer that he had on these young kids in terms of optimizing their potential and developing them into NBA prospects. Sure many of his players were under-ranked coming out of high school. He still coached them up and got them to over-achieve. Easily the best Williams coach in our conference.

4decadedukie -- I agree that he does have an obligation to the student-athletes in terms of education. He also should feel some sort of moral obligation to spurn poor behavior from his fanbase as he is the head coach. However, from a 'pure' coaching point of view, I think he tends to get his kids to over-achieve and develop the athlete half of student-athlete as good as anyone in the nation.

[jimsumner]

That doesn't mean he didn't have talent. He had several NBA draft picks on that team: Dixon, Blake, Baxter, Wilcox and Morris (I think Morris ended up being drafted).

I have a tremendous amt of respect for G Williams and J Dixon. Both are great coaches with great character.

Morris was indeed drafted.

But he wasn't a member of the 2002 Maryland team.

Byron Mouton was the fifth starter.

[NashvilleDevil]

and Carolina very much a mixed bag.

If you're referring to the Gut/Doh years than I guess post-Dean UNC has been a mixed bag. But they still have 2 titles-post Dean and I doubt you could find a UNC fan who would say that is a mixed bag.

[tecumseh]

If you're referring to the Gut/Doh years than I guess post-Dean UNC has been a mixed bag. But they still have 2 titles-post Dean and I doubt you could find a UNC fan who would say that is a mixed bag.

I was thinking about it in terms of replacing Dean Smith. Gut/Doh I think we agree would be painful years to the tarheel faithful and the biggest problem with Roy Williams is he is 60 already. So as far as passing the torch I do think it has been a mixed bag.

[dukeimac]

Being a great coach has to do with the good things you do with the talent you have, i.e Duke 2010.

I have a friend who is a Pitt fan (Pitt everything) and thus I have watched Dixon ever since he took over. That program has gone NO where since he took over that program. Where it is today is where it was when Howland left. He has had good talent but he has done nothing with it. No player that has left his program was any better than when they came into the program. He has had a few guys go to the pros and are doing good but they we good freshman when they came to Pitt and they left that way, not any better.

Look at Brand, a low post player in college but has developed into a pretty good PF in the pros, he developed at Duke and got better in the pros. When he got to the pros he had an outside shot, 10-12 footer. Blair came to Pitt as a post player (same mold as Brand) and left Pitt the same way. He is a good rebounder in the pros but barely scores 6 points a game as a pro. Who developed their player?

Pitt does well in the Big East but that conference is made up of computer steelers, any respectable team should do well there, any ACC team would be respectable there. This is the first year people have Pitt making the Final Four this early, lets see if they make it. Something tells me they will fall short. Any good coach can take high expectations and make good on them, i.e. Coach K. Dixon hasn't done it yet and I have a feeling they don't do it this year either. Wannamaker is a computer away from ending Pitt's season, LOL.

[ajgoodfella7]

Being a great coach has to do with the good things you do with the talent you have, i.e Duke 2010.

I have a friend who is a Pitt fan (Pitt everything) and thus I have watched Dixon ever since he took over. That program has gone NO where since he took over that program. Where it is today is where it was when Howland left. He has had good talent but he has done nothing with it. No player that has left his program was any better than when they came into the program. He has had a few guys go to the pros and are doing good but they we good freshman when they came to Pitt and they left that way, not any better.

Look at Brand, a low post player in college but has developed into a pretty good PF in the pros, he developed at Duke and got better in the pros. When he got to the pros he had an outside shot, 10-12 footer. Blair came to Pitt as a post player (same mold as Brand) and left Pitt the same way. He is a good rebounder in the pros but barely scores 6 points a game as a pro. Who developed their player?

Pitt does well in the Big East but that conference is made up of computer steelers, any respectable team should do well there, any ACC team would be respectable there. This is the first year people have Pitt making the Final Four this early, lets see if they make it. Something tells me they will fall short. Any good coach can take high expectations and make good on them, i.e. Coach K. Dixon hasn't done it yet and I have a feeling they don't do it this year either. Wannamaker is a computer away from ending Pitt's season, LOL.

This is absolutely not true.

Brad Wannamaker was a mediocre player his freshman and sophomore year. He averaged 8 combined points in 30 combined minutes those 2 years. Now he is averaging 15 points in 28 minutes.

Sam Young went from averaging 7.9 pts and 4.4 rebs in 20 minutes his freshman year, to 19.2 pts and 6.3 rebs his senior year in 31 minutes.

Aaron Gray was an absolute terrible player as a freshman and sophomore. He was a 7-footer that couldn't even convert layups. His last 2 years at Pitt, he averaged 28 points and 20 rebounds combined in 56 minutes combined. He went from a 7-footer who couldn't make a layup to a 2nd round NBA pick.

These are Pitt's 3 best players from their individual 2006-2009 teams.

None of these guys are future NBA greats. All of them were guys that developed their game while at Pitt and made themselves into serviceable players. When you go from being a mediocre freshman to a good senior, you don't think Jamie Dixon and the Pitt staff had anything to do with that?

Also Ben Howland's career record at Pitt was 89-40 (.690). Jamie Dixon's record at Pitt has been 188-54 (.776). I'd say that you could make a legitimate case that Pitt's program has taken a significant step up under Dixon from where it was under Howland.

[NSDukeFan]

Being a great coach has to do with the good things you do with the talent you have, i.e Duke 2010.

I have a friend who is a Pitt fan (Pitt everything) and thus I have watched Dixon ever since he took over. That program has gone NO where since he took over that program. Where it is today is where it was when Howland left. He has had good talent but he has done nothing with it. No player that has left his program was any better than when they came into the program. He has had a few guys go to the pros and are doing good but they we good freshman when they came to Pitt and they left that way, not any better.

Look at Brand, a low post player in college but has developed into a pretty good PF in the pros, he developed at Duke and got better in the pros. When he got to the pros he had an outside shot, 10-12 footer. Blair came to Pitt as a post player (same mold as Brand) and left Pitt the same way. He is a good rebounder in the pros but barely scores 6 points a game as a pro. Who developed their player?

Pitt does well in the Big East but that conference is made up of computer steelers, any respectable team should do well there, any ACC team would be respectable there. This is the first year people have Pitt making the Final Four this early, lets see if they make it. Something tells me they will fall short. Any good coach can take high expectations and make good on them, i.e. Coach K. Dixon hasn't done it yet and I have a feeling they don't do it this year either. Wannamaker is a computer away from ending Pitt's season, LOL.

Is one of your arguments for saying that Jamie Dixon is not a great coach that Elton Brand (a consensus top 5 recruit, maybe #1 overall?) left as a better player than Dejuan Blair, a #40 recruit? Blair became the best offensive rebounder in the last decade of college basketball and has become a very solid starter for the team with the best record in the NBA right now. Just for comparison sakes, here are some of the other #40 ranked recruits the last few years:
2005 - Eric Boateng (Duke), Fendi Onobun (Arizona) tied for 39th
2006 - Davon Jefferson (USC)
2007 - Blair
2008 - Anthony Jones (Baylor)
2009 - Jamil Wilson (Oregon)
2010 - Jordan McRae (Tennessee)

So you are saying that Duke develops its players better because Coach K (the best coach in the country) took the #1 recruit and he became a very good pro, and Dixon had the #40 recruit who is now a solid pro? I think you have to do better than that on this board.

I agree that Howland was a very good coach at Pitt and left a good program when Jamie Dixon started coaching. He had been a coach of the year won a couple big east regular season titles and taken Pitt to the Sweet 16 a couple of times. Dixon has not missed a beat and continued that success, making the tournament every year he has coached, winning a big east championship, advancing to the elite 8, having Pitt ranked #1 for the first time ever, and having solid, if not spectacular, teams every year.

Since 2003 the only Pitt recruiting class that I saw ranked according to RCSI was 2009 (#21). You could make an argument that Dixon needs to recruit better to become one of the very top coaches, but with the talent he has and consistently being in the tournament and a contender in the big east and nationally he has done a fantastic job, IMO.

I don't have a strong opinion about Jamie Dixon's coaching abilities, though my impression is that he is one of the better coaches in college basketball. I just think this particular argument missed the mark by a long shot.

[dukeimac]

Oh sorry, I guess I didn't think "serviceable" was a word one used to tell how great one is. I guess I would use that word to describe an average type of person.

Howland's record might not be that good but he took over a struggling program and made it into what it is today. But I know, a Pitt fan will never admit that, my friend doesn't either and he ends up being the butt of many Pitt jokes.

How many Pitt players does it take to change a light bulb? You have to get them to put the stolen computers first.

My bad, I guess I will hope my staff espiers to be "serviceable."

[NSDukeFan]

Oh sorry, I guess I didn't think "serviceable" was a word one used to tell how great one is. I guess I would use that word to describe an average type of person.

Howland's record might not be that good but he took over a struggling program and made it into what it is today. But I know, a Pitt fan will never admit that, my friend doesn't either and he ends up being the butt of many Pitt jokes.

How many Pitt players does it take to change a light bulb? You have to get them to put the stolen computers first.

My bad, I guess I will hope my staff espiers to be "serviceable."

If you are not recruiting top end recruits and consistently turn them into "serviceable" NBA players, you will deservedly end up in the hall-of-fame.

[Jderf]

Oh sorry, I guess I didn't think "serviceable" was a word one used to tell how great one is. I guess I would use that word to describe an average type of person.

Howland's record might not be that good but he took over a struggling program and made it into what it is today. But I know, a Pitt fan will never admit that, my friend doesn't either and he ends up being the butt of many Pitt jokes.

How many Pitt players does it take to change a light bulb? You have to get them to put the stolen computers first.

My bad, I guess I will hope my staff espiers to be "serviceable."

First of all, there are no average NBA players. If you are "serviceable" in the NBA, then you are one of the best in the world at your job. Many former Duke players are now making their living as serviceable NBA players. I think that is something I would "espier" (aspire?) to.

Second of all, Howland's body of work doesn't somehow negate the success of Dixon of the past several years. Dixon has done extremely well with his crop of players. Perhaps he needs to recruit better, but that is a different story. The fact remains that Pitt has consistently been a Top-15 team for a while now.

[NYC Duke Fan]

I'd throw Boeheim in with that mix too. I like Dixon though and I'd love to see him in the ACC. As DBR has often pointed out, beyond K, G. Williams, and O.R. Williams, ACC coaching is lacking.

Totally agree about Boeheim. I think that he is an underrated coach. You know that if Coach K picked him to help out this year in the World Championships, that he must be one terrific coach.