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“When I came back from the camp, (TCU coach Jamie Dixon) told me that I had a real shot at being an NBA player, and it shocked me a bit,” Bane told The Athletic. “I had never really thought of myself in terms of that. When I committed to TCU, I thought it would be the long road and I would be an upperclassman before I played, and I was OK with that.” Bane’s comfort with the long road and putting in the work is a common thread in his story. He found a kindred spirit in upperclassman Kenrich Williams (“I never seen anybody work as hard as him”), who now plays for the Thunder, and followed his example. By his junior year, Bane was one of the best 3-and-D guys in college basketball.
On the most recent episode of “The Sidelines Podcast,” FS1 college hoops insider Evan Daniels welcomed Jamie Dixon, Adams’ former coach at Pitt, to the show, and one of the main talking points was Adams. Born in New Zealand and the youngest of 18 siblings, Adams definitely has an interesting background. And it was thanks to Dixon’s connections to Adams’ family that he was first discovered (the full audio is above): “I knew his brothers, played against his brothers, played with his brothers, down there believe it or not. He had some brothers who were substantially older than him, and that’s how I knew about him. And his coach was also a guy I played with, so yeah, it was all about the relationship, knowing him and knowing his brothers.
(Steven) Adams told reporters after Pittsburgh's loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament that he had no intention of declaring for the draft. That jibes with what we've been hearing, which is that he'll spend at least one more year under Jamie Dixon's tutelage at Pitt.
Time is ticking to find Johnson's replacement. Joe Alleva is on the clock to find LSU's fourth head coach since 1972. Names such as Johnny Jones, Randy Livingston, Reggie Theus, Jamie Dixon and Scott Drew have been thrown around, but only Alleva knows his true target.
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Will that be the only flirtation with a college coach in the NBA this offseason? Have we entered an era where college coaches may not venture into the NBA because for the high- level coaches the money won't be much of a difference? Possibly. "If it's based on money, I'm not sure coaches will make that transition, especially if they like where they are," Romar said. "The guys that make that type of NBA money are already established." It seems NBA teams are now seeking the coaches who have been players or assistants, like Mark Jackson or Dwayne Casey. "I just don't see it happening," said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon of elite college coaches making the jump. "I think the NBA will continue to recycle guys unless it's a former college guy like Kelvin Sampson."
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