Pitt coach Dixon has not forgotten his isle roots

He once saved two passengers in an overturned car trapped against the guardrail of an interstate highway, then carried about his business.

As a guard at TCU, he once made a 35-foot shot at the buzzer to beat Texas and take the Southwest Conference championship, maybe because it’d be more dramatic that way.

He appeared in commercials in his youth ranging from Rice Krispies to Volvo to KFC, and is still a card-carrying member of the Screen Actors Guild, just in case he’s needed.

Jamie Dixon just might be … the Most Interesting Coach in the World.

And the interest is local. Dixon is back in the islands, with his powerful Pittsburgh Panthers in tow. For the first time in his 12 seasons as a head coach, Dixon takes the court against Hawaii, the program he assisted in the 1990s under former coach Riley Wallace. UH and Pitt meet up at Wailuku’s War Memorial Gym at 7 p.m. Friday as Pitt gears up for the EA Sports Maui Invitational a few days later. The UH-Pitt game will not be televised.

Since working in Manoa in two separate stints totaling three years, Dixon, 49, has enjoyed immense success as his own man at Pitt, which recently transitioned from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference. In piling up wins like few others, Dixon has been named national coach of the year by various publications in three seasons.

He never forgot his roots, however, and makes sure to return to the islands every summer and reconnect with old friends. His wife, Jacqueline, is from Oahu.

The roster spot accorded to sophomore walk-on Joshua Ko, a Kalaheo graduate, is further testament to his enduring island ties.

"It’s a special place to me," Dixon said. "I love UH. UH was the first place to give me an opportunity, give me a job.

"I have great friends there, enjoy it with my family. … I had a great experience there, a great time, and I just look at it as being a place I always want to continue to return to and feel like it’s a second home for us."

Jamie and Jacqueline met during his first stint at UH, in 1992-94, when he helped guide Trevor Ruffin, Jarinn Akana and Kalia McGee to the 1994 NCAA Tournament.

"He was a very good shooter, ball-handler and all that, and knew the game really well," Wallace recalled. "He’d take them out, work with them and shoot with them, and he could beat ’em all. Even Trevor. He had the same abilities they had, or better. And so that gained him respect right there in listening, and improvement."

But he was a third assistant with a $12,000 salary and couldn’t recruit by rule, so he joined Ben Howland’s staff at Northern Arizona for four years and stayed in touch with Jacqueline long distance.

When he came back to UH from NAU as a full assistant for the 1998-99 season, he and Jacqueline were engaged and bought a place in Hawaii Kai. But Howland was offered the Pitt job and came calling again — he wanted Dixon as his right-hand man.

"(I) kind of was set on staying in Hawaii," Dixon said. "We were comfortable. Jackie had a good job. We had to make a choice. Thankfully she supported me and we moved here to Pittsburgh."

When Howland departed for UCLA in 2003, the well-liked Dixon was named his successor at Pitt despite the relative youth of his mid-30s.

In his first year leading his own program, he became the first rookie coach in the Big East to win the regular-season title and conference coach of the year honors.

Once fully bought into the island culture, the North Hollywood, Calif., native is all in in the resurgent city of Pittsburgh. He and Jacqueline have raised two children there, Jack and Shannon. He recently signed a massive 10-year extension, locking him in through 2023.

Why? Under Dixon, Pitt has achieved a near-endless heap of superlatives. It is a national top-five program in winning percentage over the past 13 years. It’s made the NCAA Tournament in 10 of the past 11 seasons, including as a No. 1 seed in 2009 and 2011. He set the NCAA record for wins at a program through eight seasons with 216 (an average of 27 per season). It goes on and on.

The team has captivated the city, which does not sport an NBA franchise. The Panthers sell out every home game, with a waiting list for tickets Dixon said is in the thousands.

"I think it’s a lot of things," Howland said of the reason for Dixon’s sustained success. "No. 1, he’s as hard a worker as there is in the business, period. His commitment to his team and his job is second to none, period. … if there’s any one thing Jamie does better than anybody, it’s being an evaluator of talent."

Perhaps most of all, colleagues and old friends laud him for his genuine personality.

"Jamie is about as quality a human being, as is his wife, Jackie, as anybody you’ll meet," Howland said.

Wallace stays in touch with him regularly.

"He really has great respect for the University of Hawaii," Wallace said. "He’s always talking (about it), and he wants to see them do well."

Dixon didn’t want to say much about the Rainbow Warriors’ recent upheaval. Former coach Gib Arnold, with whom Dixon arranged Friday’s game, was fired on Oct. 28. The program is still under NCAA investigation.

He’s quick to credit Wallace, though.

"I really think that Coach Wallace had a good relationship with the community, with how he did things and how he treated people," Dixon said. "I still think him … coaching there for 20 years is one of the great accomplishments in college basketball. Events in recent weeks have only re-established that, reinforced that."

This year’s Panthers have dealt with their share of injury troubles. Senior guard Cameron Wright is out with a broken foot. Forward Durand Johnson is suspended for the season. But Pitt is still deep and talented. Sophomore forward Michael Young has led the Panthers with 13.5 points per game in wins over Niagara and Samford to start the season.

UH plays Pitt on a quick turnaround after beating Hawaii Hilo 89-71 on Wednesday at the Stan Sheriff Center. Point guard Roderick Bobbitt posted the second triple-double in program history in the victory, while forward Aaron Valdes is coming off a career-best 31-point performance.

Hawaii last played at War Memorial Gym in 2011, beating North Carolina A&T 65-57.