If Jamie Dixon is the next UCLA basketball coach, these should be his first steps

Jamie Dixon knows Southern California. He was a star guard at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in the 1980s. He was an assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara. He has traveled to the area for years while coaching at Northern Arizona, Pittsburgh and TCU.

If UCLA can pull him away from TCU and negotiations appear to be underway, he’d be ready to hit the ground running as a recruiter.

His first priority should be to land Sierra Canyon guard Cassius Stanley, who smartly delayed his college choice while waiting for the college landscape to be clear and certain. He had previously announced UCLA, Oregon and Kansas were his finalists. Stanley is coming off a spectacular senior season in which he led Sierra Canyon to the state championship and demonstrated talents far beyond dunking.

Dixon trained under former UCLA coach Ben Howland, who made his first priority as Bruins coach in 2003 to get a commitment from Jordan Farmar out of Taft High. It worked out well.

Of course, there are other coaching priorities, such as finding out who wants to return to UCLA. Jaylen Hands’ decision will be huge. If he doesn’t return, then the Bruins should look at a grad transfer, such as Max Hazzard, who announced he could leave UC Irvine. His grandfather, Walt, is an all-time UCLA great.

Dixon should also use his ties to his alma mater, Notre Dame, to pick up the recruiting on top senior to be Ziaire Williams. And he should make sure that Sierra Canyon freshman Amari Bailey understands UCLA still wants him after he earlier committed to Steve Alford.

Dixon has considered coming back to Southern California in the past when USC had openings. The UCLA job would be challenging but he possesses the qualities to succeed. He has integrity, strong local ties and a track record of competence. Of course, it all comes down to getting players who will buy in. He’ll have to figure that out in a very pressure-filled situation. The 11 national championship banners at Pauley Pavilion are always a reminder that fans want excellence.

Sign up for our daily sports newsletter »