TCU’s Dixon on pace for fastest coaching start in program history

Three games and three victories into his inaugural season at his alma mater, TCU men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon already is on the cusp of making program history.

Dixon, a former Horned Frogs player, can post the fastest start to his TCU tenure of any coach in school history by knocking off Illinois State in Monday’s matchup at Schollmaier Arena (5 p.m., FSSW).

The Frogs are 3-0 under Dixon. None of the 21 individuals who preceded Dixon as TCU coach made it to 4-0 in their debut seasons.

The only others who reached the 3-0 mark before falling in their fourth games were Billy Tubbs (1994-95), Moe Iba (1987-88) and Matty Bell (1923-24).

Buster Brannon, who holds the school record for career victories with 205, lost his opening game at TCU during the 1948-49 season. Jim Killingsworth, who led TCU to back-to-back Southwest Conference titles during Dixon’s tenure as a player, went 1-0 before losing his second game during his debut season in 1979-80.

Dixon, 51, has been encouraged by the team’s progress in the first three games after several key players missed multiple preseason practices.

“I feel like it’s starting to come together here, piece by piece,” Dixon said after Friday’s 79-60 victory over Jacksonville State. “We still don’t have the rhythm we want. But the energy’s good. The attitude’s good.”

The list of healthy players also is expanding. Two veteran guards, junior Kenrich Williams and senior Michael Williams, made their season debuts in the victory over Jacksonville State.

That means Dixon finally has seen each of the returnees he inherited from last year’s roster take the floor in at least one game. Combined with the influx of newcomers Dixon has brought to the program, led by freshman guards Jaylen Fisher (10.3 points, 6.3 assists per game) and Desmond Bane (team-high 15.0 points per game), the Frogs enter Monday’s game with a chance to give their new coach a fresh place in program history.

For Kenrich Williams, a Waco native who played one season at New Mexico Junior College, the wait to take the floor was pronounced because he missed last season while recovering from microfacture knee surgery in September 2015. The 6-foot-7 guard scored nine points in 20 minutes of action in his first appearance in a TCU uniform since the 2015 Big 12 postseason tournament in Kansas City, Mo.

“It was really good to have Kenrich back. I think he’s going to be a really good guy for us all year, with his impact on the glass and his ability to defend,” said guard Brandon Parrish, a senior from Arlington Seguin who is averaging 14 points per game. “That’s going to lead us to being the best team that we can be.”

This story was originally published November 20, 2016 at 5:49 PM with the headline "TCU’s Dixon on pace for fastest coaching start in program history."