Pitt coach Jamie Dixon has come to find that if you play on winning teams your friendships with teammates will last forever. Dixon knows that from experiences with the teams he has coached at Pitt, but he also knows it from his days as a player at Texas Christian University.

Dixon was a senior on the 1987 TCU team that earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament and came within one point of advancing to the Sweet 16. The friendships Dixon forged in those days with the Horned Frogs continue, and this afternoon there will be a reunion of sorts at the Petersen Events Center for several TCU alumni.

Pitt plays an exhibition game against Coker College, which is coached by former TCU assistant Dan Schmotzer. He was an assistant under former TCU coach Jim Killingsworth for 10 years and coached Dixon for four seasons. One of Schmotzer's assistant coaches at Coker is Dennis Nutt, a teammate of Dixon's for two seasons. A third former Horned Frog will be in attendance as well. Greg Grissom, who played with Dixon for three seasons, is Schmotzer's brother-in-law and made the trip to visit with old friends.

"I'm looking forward to it. They're all good friends of mine," Dixon said. "I've stayed in touch with those guys over the years. There was a group of us that would get together every year over Memorial Day. We did that every year except for the last couple of years. Our friendships go beyond basketball."

Before Dixon got into coaching, he was a player of some repute for the Horned Frogs. He earned all-Southwestern Conference honors and led the league in assists as a senior in 1987.

In the '87 Southwestern Conference championship game against Texas, Dixon made a miraculous buzzer beater to defeat the Longhorns, a victory that helped the Horned Frogs land the No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, the highest seed for a TCU team.

TCU beat Marshall in the first round but lost to No. 5 seed Notre Dame, 58-57, in the second round.

"The thing about Jamie is that he always understood his role," Schmotzer said, recalling Dixon as a player. "Jamie started a lot, but coach would also bring him off the bench as a sixth man. And Jamie never complained. On defense, he was always a step ahead of the other guys on the floor. And he was a great shooter. I can remember Jamie winning so many big games by hitting so many big shots."

Killingsworth retired after the 1987 season, and Schmotzer landed the job at Coker shortly thereafter. Schmotzer and Dixon credit Killingsworth for helping shape their coaching philosophies.

"Toughness was instilled by coach Killingsworth," Dixon said. "He didn't make things real complicated. Mental toughness was the foundation of team success, and he instilled that in his players and his program."

Even though Schmotzer once coached Dixon, he finds himself patterning his program after Pitt in many respects today.

"I look at Jamie's teams and there are certain things you try to emulate, certain things you try to teach your kids," Schmotzer said. "I'd like to think that on a smaller level we do the same things. We play good defense, have toughness and have good shot selection. I'd like to think we do those things well, too."

Schmotzer has notched three 20-win seasons in his 22 years at Coker and was named the Carolinas Intercollegiate Conference coach of the year in 1994. He has been after Dixon to schedule the Cobras for an exhibition game since Dixon was named head coach in 2003. His persistence finally paid off earlier this year when Dixon agreed to play today's exhibition game.

"I've really been pestering him for a couple of years now," Schmotzer joked. "I place that phone call about the same time every year, 'Please give us a game. Please give us a game.' He finally gave it to us this year, and we're very appreciative. This will help us in recruiting and it helps us supplement our athletic budget for the year."

• Game: Pitt vs. Coker College in the Panthers' final exhibition game

• When: 4 p.m. today

• Where: Petersen Events Center

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