Pitt's Dixon still same coach
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Pitt coach Jamie Dixon on his team's recent slump: "You don't panic."
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Back in the day, when the Pitt men's basketball team was beating Syracuse on the road, beating Cincinnati on the road and beating Connecticut on the road, they were ready to build a statue of Jamie Dixon outside the Petersen Events Center. The best coach in the city, they screamed at the top of their lungs. Better than the Penguins' Dan Bylsma, who won the Stanley Cup. Better than the Steelers' Mike Tomlin, who won the Super Bowl.
But now?
Listen.
Silence.
"You gotta win 'em all," a resigned Dixon was saying Monday.
Suddenly, Pitt isn't. It has lost three of four Big East Conference games after a 5-0 start and a climb to No. 9 in The Associated Press poll. Actually, Pitt -- No. 22 and sinking fast in the poll released Monday -- is lucky it didn't lose four of the past five. It was outplayed at home all day by Louisville Jan. 16 before winning in overtime because Louisville missed five free throws in the final 1:37 of regulation.
The good news is Dixon hasn't taken stupid pills. He's still the same coach he was a few weeks ago. That's comforting because, clearly, he's facing his biggest challenge at Pitt.
I'm thinking the man will be up for it.
It hasn't been just one thing with this Pitt team. It has been everything. It was rebounding and poor free-throw shooting in the loss Sunday at South Florida. It was 20 turnovers and poor shooting from the field in the loss at Seton Hall. It was loose defense in the home loss against Georgetown and even in the win against Louisville.
It's to the point that a loss Wednesday night at West Virginia would make this Dixon's worst stretch at Pitt. His 2007-08 team lost three games in a row as did his 2004-05 team. But Pitt has never lost four of five during his watch.
Know this:
Dixon isn't the least bit interested in making that kind of history.
"We've lost a couple of close games. I don't think that defines your season or your development," he said.
"How you go forward from here is what's important. We have young guys who are going to continue to develop. We just need to play better. Our guys know that and they want to get better. I think we will. I know we will."
Dixon said the same thing after Pitt's mediocre performance in a home win against DePaul Dec. 28 in its Big East opener. I doubted him. In a 12-day stretch that followed, Pitt won those big games at Syracuse (the Orange's only loss), Cincinnati and Connecticut. I'm not going to doubt Dixon again.
First Published February 2, 2010 12:00 am
