Jamie Dixon signs 10-year extension at Pitt

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Pittsburgh basketball Coach Jamie Dixon has signed a 10-year contract extension with the Panthers. According to a Pittsburgh radio report, the extension was in response to job feelers from USC, which is searching for a head coach to replace interim Coach Bob Cantu.

New Mexico’s Steve Alford, whose name has also been mentioned prominently, also received a 10-year extension this week.

Two sources have said Syracuse assistant and former Mater Dei player Mike Hopkins has interviewed for the job and former USC coach Tim Floyd said last week that he had spoken to Athletic Director Pat Haden in Arizona about the job and made the point to Haden that Floyd, though he quit USC, was never charged with any NCAA violations.

The same sources say that Memphis’ Josh Pastner, who has an Arizona background, and Shaka Smart, who took Virginia Commonwealth to the Final Four two years ago, are still in the picture. Both were eliminated from the NCAA tournament Saturday.

According to the sources, Dixon, a Southern California native whose wife is a USC grad, had the right of first refusal on the Trojans’ job but, obviously, is no longer a candidate.

Dixon had turned down the job before, when the late Rick Majerus, briefly, accepted the position.

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