By: George Ahearn

TCU fans are undoubtedly still recovering from their decimation in the national championship at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs, despite recording one of their best seasons in program history.

However, I am here to provide TCU fans with some hope – even immediate hope – although it may seem bleak at the moment.

TCU basketball has not enjoyed the success that they envisioned when they hired Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon back in 2016 – to his alma mater, no less. In six seasons, Dixon has led the Horned Frogs to the NCAA tournament only twice – in 2018 and last season in 2021.

This year, Dixon has the Horned Frogs building off the momentum created in last season’s NCAA tournament. TCU sits at no. 14 in this week’s AP poll and has put together an impressive 14-3 record, despite playing in the nation’s toughest conference – the Big 12.  

TCU showed flashes of the progress and the vision Jamie Dixon brought to TCU in ‘16 during the 2022 NCAA tournament. The Horned Frogs came into the tournament as a nine seed – matching up against eight seed Seton Hall. TCU ran all over the Pirates – defeating them 69-42.  The score disparity between two teams assumed to be on relatively even playing fields gave us a glimpse of the potential TCU held, and still holds.

After advancing to the second round, TCU squared up with no. 1 seed Arizona. The Frogs came into their second-round matchup with a little bit of magic – and a lot of swagger – and they needed it all to compete with one of the nation’s best – Arizona.

Led by sophomore guard Mike Miles Jr., TCU gave Arizona everything they could handle, with the game sent to OT after a deep Bennedict Mathurin three-pointer caught nothing but net. Eventually, TCU lost 85-80, but the Horned Frogs finally created some momentum that they could build off of for the following season; but, even more importantly, they returned nearly their entire rotation.

The only outstanding questions were surrounding Mike Miles’s future and whether he would return to school or head off to the NBA. In the end, Miles returned to Fort Worth for his junior season – leaving plenty of promise for what the Horned Frogs’ season would hold in 2023. 

Now – a couple weeks into conference play – the Horned Frogs are strongly in the bracket predictions and have hopes of a Big 12 regular season and conference tournament title. With outstanding athletes throughout their rotation, they run more fluently and more efficiently than any team in the nation, and turning the ball over against them only ignites them more.

They are balanced throughout their roster – and while Mike Miles Jr. is the quintessential “guy” – they have an array of players capable of stepping up to make a big play.

Big man Eddie Lampkin Jr. (6’11, 263 lbs.) is one of the biggest – literally and figuratively – forces in the entire nation in the interior, and his toughness inspires his teammates game-in and game-out. Small forward Emmanuel Miller has elevated his play in his second year with the program, as the former Texas A&M transfer averages just shy of 15 ppg for the Horned Frogs and is a force on both sides of the ball – most notably in transition.

Jamie Dixon has finally gotten all of his recruits and developed them in a system of his own; in short, he has the Horned Frogs firing on all cylinders. I encourage – if not beg – everyone to sit down and watch TCU play basketball.

The only way I can describe it is as such: beautiful, controlled AAU basketball.

They play basketball like a track meet, yet they still have the composure to make the correct decisions on the court. It’s a type of basketball that can give any team in the nation fits – ask Kansas State, who recorded 20 turnovers against the Frogs. TCU basketball is a thing of beauty, and I would not be surprised to see them make some serious noise in March.