Pittsburgh a real home to Dixon

Constant judgement is part of the business for Jamie Dixon. Every substitution, every play… Constant judgement is part of the business for Jamie Dixon. Every substitution, every play call, everything is critiqued and outside opinions are most often formed by what the scoreboard reads or where his team lies in the polls.

He is a head coach at a Division I basketball program, and he is always under a white-hot spotlight — but a part of who Jamie Dixon really is seems to get lost in the sea of criticism.

Some of the students at Pitt swam through the rough waters and found a side of Dixon that only his players and friends have seen.

Following a speech and a shooting contest in mid-January during the Oakland Zoo Appreciation Night at the Petersen Events Center, students freely walked onto the court to get autographs from the players and coaches.

Dixon was busy with the pen, but it wasn’t just sign, smile and walk away for him.

He had questions.

“You keeping your grades up?” he asked a student.

The student responded with “Yes, sir.”

Dixon expressed this same interest in all the students. Why? Because he cares. In his office at the Pete, there are framed pictures hanging on the wall detailing great moments in Pitt basketball that have occurred during his six years at the University, but there is one that stands out the most.

It’s a photo of Julius Page and Jaron Brown in their black graduation gowns.

There’s no action, no drama. It just captures a story of success, along with the reason that Dixon is in the business.

“I’m in it to see guys improve and see a team come together and get the most out of what they have and just to see guys get better as players, as students and as people,” he said of his role as a teacher, not just a coach. “I think it’s all about improvement and to me that’s the most important thing. I think making them aware of the opportunities that are presented to them is a big part of it. Sometimes kids don’t realize how great of an opportunity they have. Making them aware of that is a big part of it.”

Last spring, Chevon Troutman and Mark McCarroll stood on the floor of the Pete with thousands of other students and received their diplomas. Junior point guard Carl Krauser, an academic senior, will be graduating soon and he owes a lot to the man he calls “coach”.

“He’s like a mentor to me, he’s been real big in my life,” Krauser stated firmly. “He’s been everywhere, kind of like a father figure to me.”

Krauser added that he can go to Dixon any time he needs help. He makes sure that Krauser and all his players have everything they need to be a success.

“I will say, he is a classy guy,” Krauser said. “He’s a great guy to just be around.”

A father of two, Dixon has made that impression on several players and students at Pitt — a place he calls home.

“To me, Pittsburgh is my home,” he explained. “I’ve been here six years. Since high school, I haven’t lived anywhere that long. I got married here, my children were born here.”

Prior to his arrival in Pittsburgh, Dixon was a modern day nomad. From city to city he moved, stretching the entire continental United States from the Bronx, N.Y. to Hollywood, Calif., where as a child, he acted in commercials. He was featured in advertisements for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Volvo and Rice Krispies, among other things. But don’t plan on finding any copies of these advertisements on tape.

He said some media outlets tried to track them down, but since there’s a large fee to get copies, they gave up really quickly.

“It’s a good thing,” Dixon said, adding a smile.

Also, as a kid growing up in Hollywood, he found a sports hero in Pittsburgh Pirate Roberto Clemente, who was featured on a poster that hung on Dixon’s bedroom wall.

“As a kid, my first sports recollection was the World Series in 1971,” he said.

Not a bad choice for a first sports memory. The Pirates won the World Series with a 2-1 game seven victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Clemente smacked a home run in the game and was named the series’ Most Valuable Player.

Like his childhood hero, Dixon is now collecting awards. Last year, he was named Coach of the Year in his first season as Pitt’s head coach, posting a 31-5 record and winning the Big East regular season title — the first coach to ever manage the feat in his first year.

He recorded his 50th victory this season with a blowout win at Boston College on Feb. 28. He now has 51 wins to his credit, but he quickly redirects the spotlight to where he thinks the credit is due — his players.

“Any coach that has had some success has had some good players,” he said. “That’s definitely the care here. I think we have very good players, I feel very fortunate to have the players we have.”

The players and the University are just as fortunate to have him, as well.