Frogs’ Dixon familiar with tough Knights
NEW YORK — TCU coach knows tonight’s NIT semifinal game against UCF is not going to be easy.
All he has to do is flash back 13 years to know that.
Back in 2004, Dixon was the head coach at Big East powerhouse Pitt when the No. 3-seeded Panthers played No. 14 seed UCF in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Knights, under former coach battled the bigger, moretalented Panthers for the entire game and actually had a three-point lead early in the second half before Pitt ended up winning 53-44 in an ugly, physical, defensive slugfest. The Knights were actually cheered as they left the court by the crowd in Milwaukee.
“What a hard-fought game that was,” Dixon recalled yesterday at the NIT Final Four news conference. “I gained a lot of respect for UCF that night. I remember we barely got by that game and then we had to play Wisconsin in Milwaukee and the entire arena was filled with red. ”
Dixon left Pitt after last season to take a job at his alma mater TCU, which joined the Big 12 five years ago.
He believes UCF has the same sort of potential.
“I’ve always thought of UCF as that school that might end up in a Power 5 league,” Dixon said. “I’ve seen their rise and what they’ve become.”
While several UCF basketball players will take the court at Madison Square Garden for the first time tonight, coach
has several fond memories of the court.
Dawkins competed in the NBA for nine seasons following a storied career at Duke from 1983-86. It was during his tenure as a college athlete that he recorded his favorite court memory at the Garden.
“Probably one of my favorite memories was winning the preseason NIT in [1985],” Dawkins said. “It was a great field of teams, a few of the teams, St. John’s, Kansas [and Louisville]…And I want to say three out of the four teams that year were in the final four of that year’s tournament were in the NCAA Final Four tournament that same season. It was an incredible run and an incredible group of teams. I’ll never forget that experience and we won it that year so that made it neat for us.” really, really
Dawkins was named one of 20 finalists for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award Monday afternoon.
It’s an honor he shares with fellow NIT Final Four coaches: Cal State-Bakersfield coach Georgia Tech coach
and Dixon. The award is presented annually to the top coach in Division I men’s basketball. The recipient will be announced in Phoenix, Ariz., site of the men’s NCAA championship game.
“Those things are great to be considered or thought of but I don’t do it for that. I’m here to work with my young student-athletes, teach them how to win and hopefully in basketball but most importantly in the game of life,” Dawkins said.
“That’s what I do and I’m going to do that no matter what. But it’s great to be considered for those types of honors. I’ll be happier if we can just continue to have the success with our student-athletes on the court and in the classroom.”