The Players’ Tribune: ‘Back to Where it Started’

When I was coming out of high school, recruiting rankings didn’t exist. That didn’t matter much anyhow, because I wouldn’t have had any stars next to my name. I was just a kid from California with oversized ambitions and undersized athleticism. Like a lot of teenagers at that age, I didn’t have a firm grasp on life. But what I did understand is that I had a passion for the game of basketball. I wanted to be around it any way that I could. But to pursue it professionally, I knew I’d need to attend college, something nobody in my family had ever done.

All I needed was an opportunity — a way in.

That’s what TCU offered me.

Late in the summer after I graduated, right before school started, TCU offered me a scholarship when nobody else would. They took a chance on me, and I never forgot it. My experiences there served as the launching point for what would become a career that’s taken me around the world — from New Zealand to Hawaii to Pennsylvania and beyond.

And now, it’s time for me to return to where it all started. …

Read the rest at http://www.theplayerstribune.com/jamie-dixon-tcu-pitt-basketball-coach/