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James Dickey
A veteran of multiple NCAA Tournaments, James Dickey begins his second season at the University of Houston in 2011-12. Dickey was introduced as the University of Houston men's basketball head coach in April 2010, becoming only the eighth coach in the history of the Houston program. As a head coach at Texas Tech (10 years) and Houston (1 year) or in an 18-year career as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Kentucky, Arkansas, Central Arkansas and Harding College, he mentored 25 players who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA), competed in 12 NCAA Tournaments and earned six conference or district Coach of the Year awards. Under his guidance, Texas Tech captured three regular-season or tournament championships during his career, including a sweep of both titles in 1996. With such a rich history of success, both on and off the court, Dickey quickly impressed University and Athletics administrators.
"The more people I spoke with during our coaching search, the more good things I heard about James, his character and the quality of program that he leads. Winning basketball programs, with first-class student-athletes on and off the court, have followed James throughout his career, and that is certainly no coincidence," Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades said. "He is an exceptional leader and mentor of young men. We are excited to have James lead our basketball program, and we welcome him, Bettye, Lauren and Jared to our Cougar family." Before joining the Cougars, Dickey spent two seasons caring for his family, working with his son's basketball team and serving as a volunteer assistant coach at Stillwater High School in Oklahoma.
Despite such a late start in so many areas, Dickey and his assistant coaches led the Cougars to 12 wins, including a 76-71 upset of No. 19/18 UCF in Hofheinz Pavilion, in 2010-11. Forward Maurice McNeil was honored as the league's inaugural Player of the Week that season, while orward Alandise Harris was recognized as the C-USA Freshman of the Week later in the campaign. Dickey also helped lead guard Zamal Nixon, competing in his final season with the Cougars, to a spot on the C-USA All-Defensive Team and a 92.2 free throw percentage, third highest in the nation. Following his first season, Dickey and his staff compiled an award-winning recruiting class with seven players who will be competing in their first seasons with the Cougars in 2011-12.
After leading Texas Tech to a 15-14 record and fifth place standing in his first season, he was honored as the 1992 Southwest Conference Coach of the Year and the NABC District Coach of the Year. Many preseason polls picked the Red Raiders to finish last in the league after four consecutive losing seasons. During his second season, Dickey led Texas Tech to a 15-11 regular-season record entering the SWC Classic. Playing as the No. 5 seed, the Red Raiders reeled off back-to-back wins against Baylor and TCU and then enjoyed an 88-76 win over Houston in the title game to win the tournament championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament. Two years later, the Red Raiders competed in the NIT after finishing second at the SWC Classic, which included a semifinal victory against the Cougars. Midway through that season, Dickey guided the Red Raiders to wins in 13 of 14 games. The Red Raiders enjoyed the greatest season in school history during the 1995-96 campaign. After starting the year 7-1, Dickey led Texas Tech on a 21-game winning streak that did not end until a loss to Georgetown in the Sweet 16. Dickey led the Red Raiders to the Dr. Pepper Southwest Postseason Classic championship with three straight wins against Texas A&M, Rice and Texas. From there, the team slipped past Northern Illinois 74-73 in the NCAA Tournament First Round and dominated perennial power North Carolina with a 92-73 win in the Second Round. In 1996-97, Dickey led the Red Raiders to a 19-9 record with wins in 12 of the first 15 games. The Red Raiders capped the year with wins in four of their last five games.
In six seasons with the Cowboys, Dickey was a part of six postseason teams, including his first three teams there that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Joining the Cowboys for the 2002-03 season, Dickey helped lead the team to a 22-10 record and the NCAA Tournament Second Round. In 2003-04, Oklahoma State swept the Big 12 regular-season and Tournament championships on the way to a 31-4 overall record. During the NCAA Tournament, the Cowboys won each of their first three games by at least 12 points. With a 64-62 win against Saint Joseph's, Dickey and the Cowboys advanced to the Final Four, falling 67-65 to No. 4 Georgia Tech. In 2004-05, Dickey guided the Cowboys to a 26-7 overall record and the program's third straight NCAA Tournament appearance during his tenure. Oklahoma State won 13 of its first 14 games to open the season and advanced to the Big 12 Tournament championship game before falling to Texas Tech. The Cowboys then reeled off wins against Southeastern Louisiana and Southern Illinois to advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. During his final three seasons, Dickey helped lead the Cowboys to three straight NIT berths, including a 22-13 record in 2006-07.
From there, Dickey accepted his first head coaching position, taking the reins at the local high school, Harding Academy. He served as the school's head coach for two seasons, compiling a 43-36 mark and leading his squad to the conference title in 1978. For his and his team's impressive efforts, he was honored as the conference's Coach of the Year following that campaign. His first step into the collegiate ranks was a return engagement to his alma mater at Central Arkansas. He was an assistant in the Bears program for two seasons (1979-81), helping the school to a 33-29 record during that time. Following the 1980-81 season, Dickey accepted an offer from Sutton to join his staff at Arkansas. He worked at Arkansas for four seasons and helped lead the Razorbacks to a 96-30 combined record, including four straight 20-win seasons. The Hogs made four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and won the 1982 Southwest Conference regular-season and tournament titles. In his first season with the Razorbacks in 1981-82, Dickey helped lead the team to the Southwest Conference regular-season championship with a 23-6 overall record and 12-4 mark in league play. In 1982-83, the Hogs compiled an impressive 26-4 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to Louisville. One year later, the team assembled a 25-7 record, including a 14-2 mark in SWC play for the second straight season, before falling to Virginia in overtime during the Second Round. In his final season at Arkansas in 1984-85, Dickey guided the Razorbacks to a 22-13 record. Arkansas advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round with a 63-54 win against Iowa. When Sutton accepted the head coaching job at Kentucky after the 1984-85 campaign, Dickey also made the move to Lexington. The duo helped lead the Wildcats to a 90-40 overall record during the next four seasons with three NCAA Tournament appearances during that span. In his first season with the Wildcats in 1986, Dickey helped lead Kentucky to a 32-4 record, including a 17-1 mark in the Southeastern Conference. The Wildcats swept the SEC regular-season and tournament championships and advanced to the Elite Eight. Following that season, Kentucky finished with final rankings of No. 3 and No. 4 in the Associated Press and coaches' polls, respectively. In 1988, Dickey played an important role on a Kentucky team that went 25-5 and won the SEC Tournament championship. During the NCAA postseason, the Wildcats rattled off back-to-back wins against Southern and Maryland before falling to Villanova in the Sweet 16. Dickey earned his first collegiate head coaching opportunity when Texas Tech head coach Gerald Myers stepped down after the 1990-91 campaign. He was named Texas Tech's head coach on April 10, 1991, after serving one season as an assistant coach with the Red Raiders.
They have a daughter Lauren Brooks and a son Jared Allen. WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT James Dickey "Everyone has only had wonderful things to say about Coach Dickey. He is a great coach, an outstanding recruiter and an inspiring role model for our student-athletes." Dr. Renu Khator, University of Houston system chancellor/University of Houston president
James Dickey AT A GLANCE Full name: James Allen Dickey Hometown: Valley Springs, Ark. Birthdate: April 2, 1954
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