When Jamie Dixon departed Pittsburgh to become head coach at his alma mater of TCU it likely turned some heads. He had been paramount to the Panthers’ success for 13 years and was now taking over a program that had not been in a completive place in recent memory. When Dixon arrived back in Fort Worth in 2016 it had been nearly two decades since TCU reached the NCAA Tournament.
Success in Fort Worth
What has followed has been an unprecedented level of success for a Horned Frogs program that has remained afloat even as the Big 12 has gotten stronger. In his decade of service Dixon is responsible for five trips to the Big Dance, nearly doubling the program’s previous total thanks to a fantastic run of success. In fact, TCU has been to four of the last five NCAA Tournaments and have had some incredible moments along the way.
The Horned Frogs have some great wins and some nice moments but this team has yet to make it out of the opening weekend of the Big Dance. While they did push Arizona and Gonzaga to the brink in 2022 and 2023 respectively, Dixon and company are still hoping for that big moment to really put the program on the map, similar to when TCU football marched to the title game just four seasons ago.
If you’re hoping that changes soon, you might be in luck with what Dixon and his staff are cooking in Fort Worth. Losing David Punch to Texas was far from ideal, but the Horned Frogs return four significant weapons from last season, notably getting forwards Xavier Edmonds and Micah Robinson back on the court. Junior guards Brock Harding and Tanner Toolson are both back for their senior years as well and let’s not act like there aren’t reinforcements.
Not too busy of a spring for Dixon
TCU doesn’t have a really big transfer class but it’s a solid crew of players including 6-10 Luke Bamgboye. The former Texas Tech forward didn’t get a ton of run last season because of JT Toppin but projects as a fantastic big man in the right system. The Horned Frogs also added the services of DJ Thomas, who showed signs of great potential as a freshman at West Virginia, but it’s not just former Big 12 players in this class. Gavin Sykes averaged 19.4 points a game as a freshman at Long Beach State and will hope to carve out a scoring role in this system.
Throw in a few JUCO players and other returners and TCU has a roster that can make some noise this season. Nobody is going to look at this crop of talent and expect them to win the Big 12 but these Horned Frogs can absolutely play a role in how the conference title develops. There are a number of programs in this conference still rebuilding or finding their footing and it could really be time for a big step forward for the Horned Frogs.
Do you think this is the year that Dixon and company can finally make a deep Tournament run, perhaps making the program’s first Sweet Sixteen in nearly sixty years?
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