TCU basketball opened its Schollmaier Arena doors a week early Friday to host a showcase that doubled as another stepping stone in the elevation Horned Frog basketball.

In Jamie Dixon’s second season as coach, he put his team on display a week before the first game against Louisiana Monroe with with a free scrimmage, three-point shootout, a dunk contest, and the chance for a student to sink a half-court shot and win $1,000 all with the comfort of free pizza for students. Jamie Dixon bobbleheads were passed out, and the first 1,000 students received a Frog Army t-shirt. This program is starting to walk the walk of a basketball school.

“It’s a start, we’re headed in the right direction, and there’s a lot of excitement about the program and the team this year,” TCU head coach Jamie Dixon said.
It’s another step in the right direction for a program that hasn’t reached the Big Dance in two decades. Yet, Schollmaier Arena was abuzz the entire from the scrimmage all the though the half-court shooting contest at the end of the night.

Students have begun to feel the difference.

“I’m from Indiana, which is known as a basketball state, and when I applied to TCU, everyone knew it wasn’t good at basketball,” sophomore political science major Patrick Spencer said. “Within the span of a year, it’s a completely different vibe, and we’re good enough to have events like this.”

In a Purple vs. White scrimmage, redshirt freshman forward Kouat Noi led the Purple team to a 60-44 victory on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Purple shot 74.2 percent from the field and was 9-of-13 from 3-point range. Freshman RJ Nembhard had 13 points and senior forward Vladimir Brodziansky scored 11. Senior forward Kenrich Williams led the White team with 17 points and five rebounds. Junior Alex Robinson had eight points and a team-best five assists.

“It’s big to see the love and passion that these fans bring to surround the TCU basketball program with,” sophomore guard Desmond Bane said.

Bane took home the slam dunk contest over freshman guard RJ Nembhard, and senior guard Kenrich Williams won the three-point contest, but the biggest winners of the night were sophomore point guard Jaylen Fisher and sophomore Jack Spooner. Read More