ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla, who is calling the NIT games in New York, credits TCU men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon for waking a basketball program he described as “a sleeping giant” because of the school’s proximity to top talent in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
Fraschilla, a Dallas resident who works lots of Big 12 games during the regular season, spent nine seasons as a college coach at Manhattan (1992-96), St. John’s (1996-98) and New Mexico (1999-2002). He and Dixon have been friends for years and Fraschilla said the two talked frequently about TCU’s potential during Dixon’s 13 seasons at Pittsburgh.