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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Houston Cougars to Name James Dickey as Coach


Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By MIKE JONES
jjones@star-telegram.com

James Dickey will be announced Thursday as the new men’s basketball coach at the University of Houston, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Dickey brings experience and a solid reputation as a skilled coach, if not the impact of some of the other candidates interviewed during the past 10 days — including former UTEP, Texas A&M and Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie, and Tim Floyd, who was hired at UT-El Paso this week.

Dickey led Texas Tech to two NCAA Tournament appearances from 1991-2001, including the 1996 team that featured Tony Battie and Cory Carr.

That team won the Southwest Conference crown with a 14-0 record and finished 30-2 after losing in a Sweet 16 matchup with Georgetown.

Dickey’s program was eventually undermined by an academic scandal that touched several Tech teams and broke during a Red Raiders’ game in the initial Big 12 tournament.

Dickey was not personally found culpable, but the NCAA took nine scholarships away from Tech over the next four years. After four losing seasons, Dickey was fired and Tech hired Bob Knight.

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