TCU Basketball: How much pressure is Jamie Dixon under heading into 2021-22?
Final Verdict
After thoroughly reviewing Jamie Dixon’s coaching resume, I can confidently say that he is under a tremendous amount of pressure entering the 2021-22 season. Think about it like this, TCU hired Dixon because he showed that he could win consistently, not because he was an inexperienced coach who had the potential to succeed at the Power 5 level. Now, you could try to argue that Dixon has already earned the right to stay at TCU for at least 4-5 more years (based on his overall performance at the school), but your argument would be flawed.
South Carolina’s current head coach, Frank Martin, doesn’t have an NIT championship under his belt (like Dixon does at TCU) and has only taken the Gamecocks to the NCAA Tournament once in nine seasons (he is heading into year 10), but Martin has the luxury of saying that the Gamecocks made a memorable NCAA Tournament run in 2017 under his leadership. The expectations for South Carolina in the 2017 NCAA Tournament were fairly low, but Martin and the 7th seeded Gamecocks shocked the world by taking down four opponents and advancing to the Final Four for the first time in school history.
How did TCU fare during their lone trip to the NCAA Tournament under Dixon in 2018? Well, the Horned Frogs were awarded a No. 6 seed by the NCAA Selection Committee, but they struggled to dissect Syracuse’s 2-3 zone in the Round of 64 and ultimately fell to the Orange 57-52. Dixon can choose to cling to his one NCAA Tournament appearance at TCU if he wants to, but he should remember that time is running out for him to turn things around in Fort Worth.
Yes, I understand TCU is projected to finish 8th in the Big 12 this season, but I have a feeling that the Horned Frogs will need to overachieve big-time in order for Dixon’s seat to cool off.
Next. Big 12 preseason power rankings for 2021-22. dark
To put it simply, Dixon will have an extremely difficult time convincing Jeremiah Donati (TCU’s athletic director) that he is the right man for the job if he fails to return to his winning ways in 2021-22.