TCU’s Dixon: starting lineup still in flux, players challenged to step up

TCU men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon has used nine different players in his 10 starting lineups this season, with those players averaging between 12.7 and 29.9 minutes per contest for the Horned Frogs (9-1).

That rotation is subject to change, Dixon said Monday, based on what happens in the five practices before Sunday’s game against Texas Southern in Schollmaier Arena (5 p.m., FSSW).

“We’ve got a long way to go,” Dixon said during Monday’s teleconference with Big 12 men’s basketball coaches. “We’ve got to shoot the ball better. We need to make more free throws. Our rebounding defensively, the numbers are not even close to where we need to be. The big guys have got to rebound better and we’re looking at that for them.”

Dixon, a former TCU player in his first season as coach at his alma mater after 13 seasons at Pittsburgh, challenged players who desire more minutes to step up when practices resume Tuesday after a break for final exams.

“I told the guys who didn’t play as much, ‘You’ve got an opportunity over the next five days. Take advantage of it,’” Dixon said. “I don’t think we’re set as we go forward. We’re still finding ourselves and we should. We’ve got to progress.”

In last week’s 72-63 victory over Wofford, TCU forward Vladimir Brodziansky (11.3 points, 5.0 rebounds per game) got his first start of the season and guard Alex Robinson (11.1 points, 5.7 assists) got his second. No player has started more than nine games and Dixon has opened with five different lineups in the team’s first 10 games.

TCU has nonconference games remaining against Texas Southern (Sunday) and Bradley (Dec. 21) before the Horned Frogs begin Big 12 play Dec. 30 against No. 3 Kansas (9-1) in Fort Worth.

This story was originally published December 12, 2016 at 12:10 PM with the headline "TCU’s Dixon: starting lineup still in flux, players challenged to step up."