Thibodaux consultant to lead LMOGA offshore committee
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Return of the Pros: Fakier Open begins today at Ellendale CC
April 22, 2014
For the second-straight spring, the Vandebilt Catholic girls’ basketball team is looking for a new coach.
An anonymous source close to the Lady Terriers’ program confirmed this morning that first-year coach Katrell Dixon has been informed by administration that he will not be with the team in the 2014-15 season.
Vandebilt Catholic administration has not been reached to publicly confirm Dixon’s dismissal. But the school has advertised the job as vacant on the LHSAA’s classifieds section, a sure sign that Dixon is no longer with the team.
Dixon’s career with the Lady Terriers will end after a 13-15 season and a first-round playoff exit.
“It’s final,” the source said. “He knows he’s not going to be back. The school is collecting applications to find its new coach.”
For Dixon, his 12 months at Vandebilt did not go as expected.
The outgoing girls’ basketball coach replaced legendary Lady Terriers’ coach Kathy Luke last spring following a week-long court battle and eventual Vandebilt forfeiture from the Class 4A State Semifinals to cap the 2012-13 season.
But instead of jump-starting Vandebilt back to prominence, Dixon’s lone Lady Terriers’ team struggled to find firm footing.
Vandebilt hovered around the .500 mark for most of the season, failing to win the district championship for the first time in several seasons.
The Lady Terriers were beaten by double digits a total of 10 times in the campaign – seven of those defeats coming by 20 points or more.
The team’s first-round postseason exit marked the school’s earliest playoff loss in several seasons.
It is not yet known when the school aims to hire Dixon’s replacement, but on the LHSAA advertisement, it specifies that the candidate must be willing to coach a second sport.
But the Vandebilt coaching position will likely draw interest across the state, as the Lady Terriers are known across Louisiana as one of the top girls’ basketball programs in Louisiana.
Stay tuned to www.tri-parishtimes.com for more details as the story unfolds.
Former Vandebilt Catholic girls’ basketball coach Katrell Dixon smiles during a photo-shoot while he was a teacher in Baton Rouge. After one season with the Lady Terriers, Dixon has been replaced as the school’s head girls’ basketball coach.
