Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
James Dickey, who has spent more than a decade as a head coach at the Division I level, has returned to Oklahoma State as an assistant coach under Travis Ford.
A tireless worker, Dickey has 30 years of Division I coaching experience, including stops at Arkansas, Kentucky, Texas Tech and Houston, as well as Oklahoma State. He has a vast knowledge in the development of players and has been instrumental in recruiting and landing some of the best players in the country.
"I've known Coach Dickey for 25 years going all the way back to when he recruited me at Kentucky and I have always respected and been impressed by the kind of person and coach that he is," Ford said. "I've enjoyed renewing our relationship the last couple weeks. He brings incredible experience, knowledge and familiarity with this area and with OSU. I'm excited about him helping us reach the next level."
Dickey returns to OSU after a four-year stint as head coach for the Houston Cougars. While at UH, he guided the Cougars to three wins over top-25 teams in 2013-14, which was Houston's highest total since the 1983-84 season. He also led the Cougars to a 20-13 record in 2012-13 to mark the program's first 20-win season in four years.
"I'm excited and honored and want to thank Coach Ford for the opportunity to join his staff. I have followed his playing and coaching career and have great respect for who he is and what he's accomplished," Dickey said. "I'm thrilled about returning to Oklahoma State and living in Stillwater. My family is here and this is a great place to live and work. Cowboy basketball is special and has a knowledgeable, passionate fan base and a very loyal, enthusiastic student body. It will be exciting to be back in historic Gallagher-Iba Arena. Coach Ford has a tremendous staff which I look forward to being a part of as we build on the great tradition of OSU basketball."
Dickey served as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State from 2002-08 under the guidance of both Eddie and Sean Sutton. During that time, he was heavily involved in developing future NBA talent, including Tony Allen, Joey Graham, Stephen Graham, John Lucas and Ivan McFarlin. James Anderson, who is currently in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers, was recruited to OSU by Coach Dickey.
Prior to his initial arrival in Stillwater, Dickey spent 10 seasons as head coach at Texas Tech, where he began his head coaching career in 1991 and, despite being picked to finished last in the Southwest Conference in his inaugural season, the Red Raiders finished fifth at 6-8 in the league standings. Dickey earned well-deserved honors for his team's turnaround performance, and was named consensus SWC Coach of the Year, as well as NABC District Coach of the Year.
In his second year at Tech, Dickey's status grew as the Red Raiders put together an impressive three-game run in the 1993 SWC Postseason Classic. The untimate victory came in the championship game as Tech defeated Houston and earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. It marked Tech's first venture to the NCAA Tournament since 1986.
During the 1995-96 season, Dickey's squad won a school-record 30 games, including an 18-0 mark in Southwest Conference play. The Red Raiders swept through the final SWC regular season and the SWC Postseason Classic and lost only two games on the court during the season. Texas Tech advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in the program's history. It took Georgetown and Allen Iverson to stop Tech's 23-game winning streak. During the season, the Red Raiders jumped into the top 10 for the first time in school history, finishing eighth in the Associated Press poll and 10th in the CNN/USA Today Coaches' poll.
Dickey first got into coaching when he joined the staff at Harding College in Searcy, Ark., for the 1976-77 season. He earned his master's degree during that stint with the Bison program.
From there, Dickey accepted his first head coaching job, taking the reins at the local high school, Harding Academy. 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.
Following the 1980-81 season, Dickey accepted an offer from Coach Sutton to join the Arkansas Razorbacks' staff. Dickey worked at Arkansas for four seasons and helped lead the Razorbacks to a cumulative mark of 96-30. The Hogs put together four-straight NCAA appearances and won the 1982 SWC regular season and postseason titles.
Sutton accepted the head coaching job at Kentucky after the 1984-85 campaign, and Dickey also made the move to Lexington. The duo helped lead the Wildcats to an overall record of 90-40 in the next four seasons. Kentucky went to the NCAA Tournament three times during that span, including an Elite Eight appearance in 1986. Kentucky was ranked third in the final AP poll and fourth in the Coaches' poll.
Dickey got his first collegiate head coaching opportunity after the 1990-91 season. Dickey was named Tech's 11th head coach on April 10, 1991, after serving as an assistant for one season.
Coach Dickey had five players achieve NBA status during a four-year span, all since the 1995-96 season. Cory Carr, Tony Battie, Mark Davis, Darvin Ham and Jason Sasser all made an NBA roster. Battie became the first Red Raider selected as a lottery pick in June of 1997, when the All-America center was taken with the fifth pick overall by the Denver Nuggets.
Academics are important to Dickey as well, as evidenced by his graduation of 17 seniors during his tenure at Tech.
