TCU Men's Basketball is Quickly Trending Up

When TCU hired Jamie Dixon to be the next head coach of TCU men's basketball, it was like a fire had been lit under the program. Excitement from the fans reached peak levels almost instantly, and the buzz around the program hasn't worn off.

Now, Dixon has started to pull his staff together, and offers are going out to top recruits all over the country. Let's take a look at how the staff is coming together, who they've brought into the fold so far, and a few key recruiting names to keep an eye on this summer.

The Staff

It's clear that Dixon's priority for his coaching staff is bringing in a mix of elite recruiters with guys who know how to recruit in Texas. He's done a phenomenal job so far, even with his recent miss on Houston legend John Lucas' son, Jai Lucas, deciding to take a promotion to stay at the University of Texas.

Here's a glance at the staffers Dixon has brought in to this point.

David Patrick - David Patrick was most recently at LSU, where he worked tirelessly to recruit two top 5 classes to the Tigers in the past three seasons (No. 3 in 2015, No. 5 in 2013). Patrick is best known for recruiting Ben Simmons to LSU. Simmons is Patrick's godson, so that probably had a bit to do with that. However, outside of Simmons, Patrick has shown an ability to bring top talent into a program, and if he can do the same with the Frogs, he'll be a hero.

Ryan Miller - Ryan is the brother of long-time NBA player Mike Miller, but that's not the most impressive thing about him. Miller was named one of the top five recruiters outside the Power 5 last season, as he helped bring the No. 5 and No. 11 recruiting classes in the country to UNLV in 2014 and 2015. Miller and Patrick will immediately become one of the better recruiting duos in the Big 12, and they've hit the ground running insofar as getting offers out to big names across the country (more on that in a minute).

Miller has worked under John Calipari, Steve Alford, and Tony Barbee, so he's been shaped by some seriously great coaches throughout his career, and he'll have the opportunity to impart some of that knowledge, as well as pick more up, while working with Dixon and Patrick.

Corey Barker - Barker comes by way of Louisiana Tech, and he brings with him close ties to the DFW and Houston areas, areas that will be critical for TCU to recruit well in. He managed to recruit four Texas players to Louisiana Tech, all from the DFW area (Duncanville, Dallas, and Garland).

The Commits

Josh Parrish, SF, 3-star - Signed LOI

Parrish is the younger brother of current TCU guard Brandon Parrish, and he signed his Letter of Intent back in November. Then-TCU head coach Trent Johnson commented on Parrish's ability to play multiple positions on the perimeter and noted his aggressive and physical style of play.

TCU will absolutely benefit from a versatile player like Parrish, who sounds like a shorter version of Kenrich Williams.

Alex Robinson, PG, Texas A&M Transfer

Robinson was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school in 2014, and was rated as the No. 13 point guard in the 2014 class by 247Sports.com. After a freshman year at Texas A&M that saw him average 5.2 points and 2.6 assists in 18.8 minutes per game, Robinson decided to transfer to TCU.

Jaylen Fisher, PG, 4-star - Verbally Committed

Fisher's commitment is a sign of two things. First, it's a sign that Jamie Dixon has hired the right staffers to bring in the talent necessary to turn the program around. Fisher originally committed to UNLV, where Ryan Miller was an assistant coach. When Miller left the Rebels, Fisher decommitted, and just barely a week after Miller's hiring was announced by TCU, Fisher committed to the Frogs.

Second, it signals that some kids aren't afraid to take a chance on a struggling program if they see potential/the ability to make a name for themselves.

He noted on Twitter that over 20 programs reached out to him after his decommitment on April 28th, meaning that his relationship with Miller was strong enough to overcome the pursuit of 20 other schools. With Fisher and Robinson now in the mix at point guard, a position that was arguably the first or second biggest weakness on the team in 2015-16, will now be a strength this season.

Offers

Here's a list of offers that are out right now. I put this together the best I could, based on tweets/retweets from the recruits and the list from Verbal Commits. All rankings come from 247Sports.com.

2016

Michael Bibby, PG, 3-stars, 6'3", 175lbs, Phoenix, AZ

Other Offers: Gonzaga, Memphis, Oregon, USC, etc.

Marques Bolden, C, 5-stars, 6'11", 250, Dallas, TX

Other Offers: Kentucky, Duke, Oklahoma, Kansas, etc.

Jordy Tshimanga, C, 3-stars, 6'10", 230lbs, Granby, MA

Other Offers: Boston College, Minnesota, Nebraska, Arizona, Arizona St., Pitt, Baylor, LSU, SMU, Oklahoma St., etc.

2017

Trae Young, PG, 5-stars, 6'1", 170lbs, Norman, OK

Other Offers: Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, Oklahoma, Stanford, Oklahoma St., SMU, Virginia, Texas Tech, etc.

C.J. Roberts, PG, 4-stars, 6'2", 178lbs, North Richland Hills, TX

Other Offers: Alabama, Baylor, Illinois, LSU, SMU, Virginia Tech, etc.

Jade' Smith, PG, 3-stars, 6'2", 160lbs, Oakland, CA

Other Offers: Montana, Nevada, New Mexico St., San Diego St., San Jose St.

Nate Pierre-Louis, PG, 3-stars, 6'3", 170lbs, Jersey City, NJ

Other Offers: UConn, SMU, Creighton, Iowa State, Georgetown, Texas Tech, etc.

Kaleb Fitzgerald, PG, 2-stars, 6'0", 180lbs, Palm Beach, FL

Other Offers: Chattanooga, Virginia Tech, San Francisco, North Carolina-Greensboro.

Jordan Goodwin, SG, 4-stars, 6'2", 185lbs, Belleville, IL

Other Offers: Illinois, Illinois St., Missouri, Purdue, Michigan St., Texas, Texas A&M, etc.

R.J. Nembhard, SG, 4-stars, 6'3", 170lbs, Keller, TX

Other Offers: New Mexico, Oklahoma, SMU, Oklahoma St, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, etc.

Jay Jay Chandler, SG, 4-stars, 6'4", 171lbs, Katy, TX

Other Offers: Oklahoma, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama, Baylor, LSU, Michigan, North Carolina, SMU, etc.

Sasha Stefanovic, SG, NR, 6'4", 195lbs, Crown Point, IN

Other Offers: Ball St., Brown, Xavier, Illinois St., etc.

Jarrett Culver, SG, NR, 6'5", 170lbs, Lubbock, TX

Other Offers: Texas Tech, UT-Arlington, Illinois, Oklahoma St., Texas A&M, etc.

Galen Alexander, SF, 4-stars, 6'6", 215lbs, Breaux Bridge, LA

Other Offers: LSU, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Texas, Memphis, Vanderbilt, etc.

Greg Floyd Jr., SF, 3-stars, 6'7", 185lbs, Las Vegas, NV

Other Offers: Memphis, New Mexico, Pitt, San Diego St., New Mexico, Baylor, Cal, Oklahoma, etc.

Savion Flagg, SF, NR, 6'6", 190lbs, Alvin, TX

Other Offers: Creighton, Stephen F. Austin, Texas, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, etc.

Isaiah Jasey, PF, 4-stars, 6'9", 220lbs, Killeen, TX

Other Offers: Texas, Baylor, UConn, Oklahoma, Houston, etc.

Everett Ray, PF, NR, 6'7", 215lbs, Addison, TX

Other Offers: Boise St., Houston, Brown, Yale, Princeton, Tulsa, etc.

2018

Antwaan Jones, Jr., SG, 4-stars, 6'5", 190lbs, Tampa, FL

Other Offers: Rutgers, South Carolina, South Florida

Michael Devoe, SG, 3-stars, 6'3", 165lbs, Orlando, FL

Other Offers: Miami, USC, UMass

Jacobi Gordon, SF, 4-stars, 6'6", 205lbs, Houston, TX

Other Offers: N/A

Jaedon LeDee, SF, 5-stars, 6'7", 195lbs, Houston, TX

Other Offers: Kentucky, Arizona, Kansas, Alabama, Baylor, Texas, Tennessee, etc.

Chris Smith, SF, 4-stars, 6'7", 190lbs, Fort Worth, TX

Other Offers: Kansas

Emmitt Williams, PF, 4-stars, 6'8", 200lbs, Lehigh Acres, FL

Other Offers: LSU, Louisville, Vanderbilt, etc.

Grayson Carter, PF, 3-stars, 6'8", 200lbs, Dallas, TX

Other Offers: Texas, Texas A&M, SMU, Iowa State, etc.

Robert Brown, PF, 3-stars, 6'8", 215lbs, Duncanville, TX

Other Offers: Louisiana Tech, SMU, UT-Arlington

2019

Tyger Campbell, PG, 2-stars, 6'0", 160, La Porte, IN

Other Offers: Alabama, Illinois, Michigan St., New Mexico, Ole Miss, etc.

Akol Mawein, PF, 2-stars, 6'8", 200lbs, Australia

Other Offers: N/A

Potential Transfers

Daniel Giddens, C, 4-stars, 6'10", 235lbs, Ohio State

Also Considering: Georgia, Alabama, Pitt