TCU Basketball: Horned Frogs season review

TCU basketball had another poor showing in Big 12 play, which got Trent Johnson booted out the door.

Yes, there will be a new face squatting on the sidelines in Ft. Worth next year after Trent Johnson managed to go just 8-64 in Big 12 competition over four years.

In his place, is Jamie Dixon from Pittsburgh.

TCU finished 2-12 in Big 12 play (last) and 12-26 overall. They actually had a respectable 8-4 record in non-conference play before crashing back to Earth. The Horned Frogs managed to beat Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech for their biggest wins. TCU was competitive in the vast majority of their contests, but just didn’t have enough talent to get over the proverbial hump for more victories.

TCU received zero postseason awards and no player was named to an All-Big 12 team of any sort. They finished below their preseason rankings as well. This season was a massive disappointment by almost any standard you want to use.

Final Season Grade: D

So, what’s next in Ft. Worth?

Players Gone:

F – Devonta Abron (4.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

The lone graduating senior put up decent numbers, but only averaged 12.2 minutes and didn’t play in every one of the team’s games. His real contribution was senior leadership for all the good that it did the team through the season. It’s just a shame that Abron had such a poor run during his college career.

Players Returning:

G – Chauncey Collins (12.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg)

G – Malique Trent (11.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.1 spg)

G – Michael Williams (4.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.6 apg)

G – Brandon Parrish (8.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.3 apg)

F – Chris Washburn (6.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 spg, 1.0 bpg)

F – Karviar Shepherd (7.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg)

F – JD Miller (6.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg)

F – Vladimir Brodziansky (9.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg)

The good news is that 94% of the team’s scoring returns. The bad news is that this offense was among the most the most anemic in America, averaging just 67 points as a unit.

There is still some solid potential here in the right hands. Trent, Washburn, and Brodziansky are all good defenders and combine with the shooters Collins and Parrish to form a decent core. Add in the bruisers Miller and Shepherd and you have a team that might develop enough to win three or four games in a Big 12 that loses a ton of star power going into next year.

Who’s new:

G – Josh Parrish (6’5″, 190 lbs)

G – Alex Robinson (6’1″, 175 lbs, transfer from Texas A&M, former ESPN 100 recruit)

Parrish is the lone freshmen coming in and might be asked to sit for a year to develop, even with good size as a combo guard. The real prize here is former 4-star guard Robinson, who left Texas A&M midseason to transfer to TCU. He might just slide into the starting point position and give the Horned Frogs a decent trio along with Collins and Trent. Even if he doesn’t play a big role in year one, he is likely TCU’s point guard for the future.

TCU might get aggressive on the transfer market, but there hasn’t been too many rumblings on that front so far.

The outlook is only marginally better for ’16-17 than it was the past season. That optimism is 100% due to the coaching change, bringing in the TCU alum Dixon.

The former Pitt Panther had good success at his previous school and developed several big men into NBA players. It will be interesting to see what he can do with guys who have potential, but have turned that potential into little success. The ceiling for next season is probably 3-5 wins with no postseason. Bigger jumps in performance and recruiting will start to flow in 2017-18 and beyond.

Final Numbers to know:

96% – the proportion of minutes that returns to Ft. Worth. The stable roster means that most of the key players have another full season to gel under their new coach. The two newcomers will have to fight through multiple incumbents at their positions, but slot in nicely for future seasons if this year doesn’t present the opportunity.

150 – the number of rebounds collected by Brodziansky in his first season with the team. If Dixon can get some quality time to help the Slovakian forward grow, then this guy might turn into a third or second-team All-Big 12 performer eventually. He is certainly one of the craftier posts even now.

Next: Busting Brackets too soon top 25

73% – Jamie Dixon’s winning percentage. The TCU alum had a nice 13 year run in Pittsburgh. He made the NCAA tournament in 11 of those years and sent multiple players to the NBA. If he can get anywhere close to his career winning numbers at his new school then the Horned Frogs will have made a great hire.

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