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Dixon Known as a Great Coach and Classy Gentleman
BY BERNIE BEGLANE
“You have to go on.”
Marge Dixon took time to talk after her son, Jamie, coached Pittsburgh to a 74-65 victory over Georgetown to win the Big East Conference championship last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
It was a joyous occasion, to be sure, but throughout the game, Marge and her husband, Jim, and their son had some other thoughts going through their heads, minds and hearts.
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Jamie Dixon |
They were of Maggie Dixon, daughter and sister who collapsed and died two years ago at West Point where she was the women’s basketball coach.
“I thought about Maggie tonight,” said her brother. “Madison Square Garden has been good to our family.
“The first tournament in her memory was at West Point and then it moved to the Garden this season.
“Next season it’s here again on Dec. 14 and has quite a field – Connecticut, Rutgers, Penn State and Army.
“What I have to do is check the time of my game the previous day so that I can get to the Garden easily enough.”
During a time when so many coaches are vilified for a lack of integrity or loyalty, Dixon draws virtually universal respect, both on and off the court.
No Division I coach in the past 25 years reached 100 career victories faster than Jamie, a former all-conference point guard from Texas Christian.
His career record equates to the third-highest winning percentage (.791) among active coaches and surpasses Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino, Jim Boeheim and John Calipari.
But it is the balance of competitiveness with humane qualities that leave a lasting impression with players and other coaches.
“Clearly, the numbers are staggering,” said Pitt assistant Tom Herrion, a former head coach at the College of Charleston, “but I think people appreciate who he is and what he stands for more than the wins and the losses. Ultimately, that’s what we are judged on.”
Dick Groat, former Pittsburgh Pirate player and now a radio broadcaster for the Big East team will never forget what Dixon, who turned 42 last November, did earlier this season.
When Groat was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame, Dixon surprised him by flying to Kansas City to attend the ceremony.
Last month, prior to the Pitt-Duke game at MSG, Dixon took time to make arrangements for the former Duke basketball All-America and Pirates MVP to be honored at halftime. Groat received a loud ovation from the packed standing room only crowd.
“I was flabbergasted,” Groat said. “I was shocked. I had no idea.”
The gesture, however, was not surprising. Groat said Dixon routinely goes above-and-beyond.
Jamie still gets emotional when he talks about his sister, who died at age 28.
When the Duquesne University players were shot in September 2006, Dixon was among the first to call Dukes’ coach Ron Everhart to offer any help. Later in the season, when Everhart was hospitalized with abdominal pains, Jamie sat with the ailing coach in his hospital room and listened to Duquesne’s stunning upset at Boston College.
When the father of a newspaper reporter who covered Pitt passed away a few years ago, Dixon and his entire staff paid their respects at the funeral.
Groat said that’s just how Dixon is, the result of a strong upbringing by parents Jim and Marge Dixon, who live in Los Angeles.
“Not only is he a great basketball coach,” Groat explained, “but he’s a class gentleman in every way.”
Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson hired Dixon as an assistant in 1999.
“Jamie cares as much or more about people than any coach I’ve ever been around,” said Pederson, who has worked at Ohio State, Tennessee and Nebraska. “That’s a unique characteristic, to be that driven and yet care about other people.”
Dixon, who earned his master’s in economics at Cal-Santa Barbara in one year, said his sister’s death made him more sympathetic to the anguish of others.
“When people suffer or have some kind of pain or a loss, I think I’m more able to reach out to them in their time of need because I understand how important it was to us and our family,” the coach said.
“I think I have always wanted to (reach out), but didn’t know if it was my place or if it was right. Now, going through it, you appreciate it. I know it does mean something.”
Winning the Big East title meant something to Jamie’s father, formerly of the Archdiocese of New York (Good Shepherd parish), who offered, “It’s a happy time for Marge and myself…and for him.”
To which Marge concluded, “Good things happen to good people.”
C.K. Girls, Despite 12 Losses, Advance to State Tourney
By Bernie Beglane
“It is almost impossible to believe that we lost 12 games this season and still will be playing this Saturday.”
Bob Mackey, veteran coach of Christ the King’s girls basketball team, was speaking about his Royals defeating Holy Trinity of Hicksville, 51-46, for the New York State CHSAA Class A championship.
That victory at Hofstra University, Hempstead, last Saturday, enabled Mackey and Co. to represent the CHSAA in the New York Federation playoffs in Glens Falls, March 28-30.
Christ the King owns a 15-12 record heading into that competition and has Mackey shaking his head in disbelief.
“Losing 12 games is very uncharacteristic of us,” continued Mackey.
“At one stretch we lost five in a row, all in overtime.
“To be sure it was a difficult year…and while not making excuses, injuries played a role.”
Molloy Wins Diocesan Title
The Royals lost the Diocese of Brooklyn CHSAA championship to Archbishop Molloy, 45-41.
“We had won that title 23 years in a row,” continued Bob. “And what is amazing, we had a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
“No plays…none…were made down the stretch.”
Christ the King, with only one senior – Jael Pena, a five-four guard who was the standout most of the schedule – was coming off last season’s New York City CHSAA title.
“Freshmen were starting many times,” concluded the coach. “Still we’re playing in March, and any time you do that it is good.”
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