Basketball Thoughts

[LVH]

We are a good defensive team almost every game out. We hold good teams under their season averages. We have chances to come back in games because we make stops... but the offense looks forced and discombobulated so damned often. I would love if we could bring in an offensive consultant or something. If we could just be average on that side of the court we could have something

Our defensive efficiency rank is 163... worse than our offensive efficiency rank of 112. Don't look at it by points per game, but points per possession. Because we try to slow teams down, of course we are going to hold them under points per game averages.

 

[Genbukan]

TCU basketball in the 70's (Swaim only); the 80's (Killingsworth); and the 90's (some of the Tubbs teams), had some very good years. DMC was a rocking place to be...and we played everyone tough in good years and bad. If it was a down year, I always felt like we were rebuilding to compete or win the conference.

IMO, Killer was the best of them all. He was a great strategist. He wasn't a great recruiter, but when he got one or two studs, he was able to combine them with mediocre athletes who were well coached.

Given that Dixon was a Killer disciple, I thought we would see some of Killer's coaching talent in Dixon, but it has just not been there. I used to go to games with two people who played D-1 basketball. Neither went to TCU, but they cheered for TCU. Over the years, they have expressed confusion and concern about Dixon's coaching strategy (specifically, the lack of one).

I like Dixon as a person and as a fellow alum. I was very optimistic and hopeful when we hired him. For whatever reason, we are clearly on a downward trend for the last few years. Players don't ever seem to develop under him. There is absolutely no home court advantage anymore. I think this team would struggle in the old WAC.

I don't know what happened, but for all the reasons already mentioned, it was a huge mistake to keep him here when he wanted to go to UCLA. I have heard that both of his parents are not in good health, which is probably another reason why he wanted to return to southern California. So, I am sad for him, his family, and TCU.
Pathetic that TCU Administration did not learn from their horrible mistake with keeping Pat Sullivan around after he wanted to go to LSU. It, too, was a lose/lose proposition for him and TCU.

Unfortunately, we are now stuck with each other until the contract runs out. I just don't have any faith anymore in Dixon.......or in TCU Administration to make a commitment to excellence in basketball. We've got a beautiful arena located in a basketball hotbed of talent and college basketball fans. If BU can turn around their sorry, crime-ridden basketball program in a pathetic place like Waco, then there is no excuse for TCU basketball to be this awful.

The good news for TCU fans is that I will not be renewing my basketball tickets of 25+ years, which will open up some prime seats for you guys that are younger/more optimistic than me.

Thanks for the memories.

A thoughtful and insightful post. I agree that Killer is the best we have ever had. He did three things really well - coached fundamentals, taught a match up zone defense that gave us a chance in every single game and maybe most importantly he could put together a team where all the pieces fit. His squads pure athletic abilty was not even in the same zip code as Dixon's teams but everyone knew there role, bought into the system and played as a team.

One of my biggest complaints about Dixon is that the pieces of the puzzle just don't fit together as a coherent squad. I know the trend nowadays is to have 5 guys that are interchangable, who can switch and guard anyone on the opposing team but we have sacrificed guys that are really good at one thing for guys that might be kinda good (hopefully....eventually) at several things.

The UCLA affair, on the heels of [ What the heck? ] happened in Hawaii, is hard for me to blame on Donati. It's a contract and if Dixon really wanted to leave all that was stopping him was the tax hit he was going to take. We all know he wanted out , maybe he even saw that the next couple years here were going to be much worse than his first two. But I blame the greed on Dixon, not TCU. The administration has worked too hard to make TCU a destination coaching stop not a stepping stone. Bending over backwards to let a guy out of a contract sends a bad message IMO. Again, if Dixon really wanted LA we would never stop him. His love of $$$$ was more important to him.

And because of $$$$ we are stuck with him for another year or two. Like you I gave up my season tickets before this year. Tickets I have had since 1982. I have seen a LOT of bad basketball in that time. But I have never seen so much Frog talent play such bad basketball. This isn't like Moe, or ND or JC where you knew as soon as you watched warms ups the frogs had no chance. This team has talent some of the other coaches would have killed for. This talent is just being wasted under Dixon.

Maybe we strike lightening in a bottle, the lights come on and we make the tourny next year. I would LOVE nothing more than to regret my decision to not renew my tickets. Hope springs eternal.

 

[JogginFrog]

I agree that Killer is the best we have ever had. He did three things really well - coached fundamentals, taught a match up zone defense that gave us a chance in every single game and maybe most importantly he could put together a team where all the pieces fit. His squads pure athletic abilty was not even in the same zip code as Dixon's teams but everyone knew there role, bought into the system and played as a team.

Had the privilege to write an article on Killer's 1987 SWC champs for a campus publication. Every player I interviewed (including Dixon) volunteered a quote about each player knowing his role. It was coach-speak, for sure, but it was clear how important that was to Killingsworth and how fully the team bought into the concept.

 

[Showtime Joe 2.0]

Killer was indeed the best coach we've ever had. But I always thought his retirement from the game was rather timely given two innovations adopted by college basketball late in his career: 1) the shot clock; and 2) the three-point shot. Both of those rules changes made it more difficult for coaches like Killingsworth who relied on zone defenses and preferred more patient and deliberate offensive schemes. Poor Killer. The game was about to pass him by and I think he knew it. May he continue to rest in peace and thanks for the great memories of the Killer Frogs!

 

[Virginia Frog]

This isn't like Moe, or ND or JC where you knew as soon as you watched warms ups the frogs had no chance. This team has talent some of the other coaches would have killed for. This talent is just being wasted under Dixon.

So unflattering. If I was the coach and someone said this about me (and my job), I'd find a corner and bawl.

Maybe JD needs to re-assess or maybe he just doesn't have the skill to fuse his talent to max advantage. Whatever it is, JD's days are numbered at TCU it appears. I'm sorry for him, TCU and us fans.

 

[TRF51]

I would be okay if half the roster didn’t come back because they obviously cannot play at this level. I think PJ has some talent but we don’t take advantage of what he can do. Dixon needs to be more selective of who he offers a scholarship. I would be even more okay if Dixon didn’t come back. For those of you who say who are we going to bring in, I say does it really even matter? With what he is being paid we can bring in a new up and comer who might actually run an offense that averages more shot attempts and less turnovers. Maybe someone who could get the best out of the players he has.

 

[SuperBarrFrog]

Less than ideal.

 

[wilson912]

I thought Dixon recruited Bane?

He did and fisher

 

[Big Frog II]

Dear Jamie,

I love ya, but you must get this team turned around next year. After a great start your first two years, I felt we were headed in the right direction, and then everything went South. Whatever it was you need to get that fire back in your belly and in this team's as well. We were fun to watch those first two years, but now it's like watching paint dry. I know you can do it, but time is of the essence. You have a young team that has no direction and no point guard. You simply must fix those problems. I'm counting on you.

Sincerely,
Big Frog II

 

[TRF51]

Dear Jamie,

I love ya, but you must get this team turned around next year. After a great start your first two years, I felt we were headed in the right direction, and then everything went South. Whatever it was you need to get that fire back in your belly and in this team's as well. We were fun to watch those first two years, but now it's like watching paint dry. I know you can do it, but time is of the essence. You have a young team that has no direction and no point guard. You simply must fix those problems. I'm counting on you.

Sincerely,
Big Frog II

His players suck and they will all be back next year. He obviously has done nothing to make his bad players better aside from maybe RJ, the walking turnover. We only have 1 recruit coming in next year. This team will be the exact same next year.

 

[wilson912]

His players suck and they will all be back next year. He obviously has done nothing to make his bad players better aside from maybe RJ, the walking turnover. We only have 1 recruit coming in next year. This team will be the exact same next year.[/QUOTE]

we’re in a bad place but you would have to not watched the last four years to not see that RJ has improved tremendously. RJ is not a point guard plain and simple. He’s a wing and that’s where he needs to be next year. Point guard to help Miles is crucial this off season as well as someone to bring what JD Miller brought (grit, effort, rebounding, defense etc). Many needs , much to be done.