UH fit not right for Gillispie, but Dickey's a solid coach

James Dickey’s announcement as the new men’s basketball coach at the University of Houston--which will come Thursday according to a source with knowledge of the situation--may not ring the bell like the hiring of Billy Gillispie or Tim Floyd.

But the program will get a solid and well-respected coach, though Dickey  has not been active for two seasons.

Gillispie was the name that most-excited UH fans who are oblivious to a number of inherent problems--not the least of which is lack of competitive facilities for which there is no concrete solution in place, only a feasibility study.

Though Gillispie wants to return to coaching, it doesn’t appear Houston was the place to resume his career though he spoke with athletic director Mack Rhoades more than once about the job.

Dickey’s task at UH will not be easy.

Yet if not for an unfortunate academic scandal at Texas Tech during the 1990s when he guided the Red Raiders’ then-successful program, Dickey might have a much-higher profile.

He led Tech to two NCAA Tournament appearances from 1991-2001. His 1995-96 team that featured stars Tony Battie and Corey Carr won the Southwest Conference tournament title and the regular-season championship with a 16-0 record. The Raiders finished 30-2 after losing to Georgetown in the Sweet 16.

His 1993 team also won the SWC Tournament title.

Dickey’s successful program was eventually undermined by widespread academic certification errors that touched nine Tech teams and dated back to 1990. The news of the irregularities broke during a Red Raiders’ game in the initial Big 12 basketball tournament.

Tech’s record during the 1996-97 season was 19-9 and the team was considered likely to again be selected to the NCAA Tournament field. But the morning after the Raiders lost a first-round game to Iowa State and following a meeting of Big 12 officials at a hotel in Kansas City, Tech announced a forfeit of its 10 conference victories and withdrew from post-season consideration after it was discovered two of Dickey’s players were mistakenly certified as academically eligible.

The problems were found to be largely the result of understaffing and unqualified personnel in academic certification with little oversight or knowledgable supervision.

An ensuing NCAA investigation did not find Dickey culpable. But the NCAA took nine scholarships away from the men’s basketball team over the next four years and in essence doomed Dickey’s program to failure.

Dickey, who had turned down an offer from LSU to remain at Tech, was subsequently fired after four losing seasons under the heavy sanctions. Tech hired Bob Knight.

Dickey became an assistant coach at OSU, where he served under both Eddie and later Sean Sutton. He previously had served on Sutton’s staff both at both Arkansas (1981-85) and Kentucky (1985-89).

He served one year as assistant to now-Tech athletic director Gerald Myers before succeeding him as the Raiders’ head coach.--Mike Jones.