Another JUCO target

Jamie Dixon is scouring the entire country for the right fit to add to his 2016 class, and his latest search took him back to California to evaluate a guard from Dayton, Oh.

That would be Crisshawn Clark, a sophomore at Canada Junior College. It is a long way from Wayne High School in Dayton, Oh., to Redwood City, Calif., but Clark is making the most of it. Now with options that he did not have out of high school, Clark could be eyeing a return to the east coast.

"My head coach in high school, Coach Trice, is great friends with my head coach in JUCO now. It is definitely a small world but that is basically how I ended up out here," Clark told Panther-Lair.com.

"Coming back to the east coast to play would kind of be amazing. For my friends and family to be able to watch the rest of my career up close would be special."

Right now, Pitt is one of the few schools offering that opportunity. St. Mary's head coach Randy Bennett visited the same time as Dixon and extended an offer, and Nevada, Cal State Fullerton, and Loyola (IL) have also offered. Utah, Houston, Oregon State, California, Oregon, Wichita State, West Virginia, and San Jose State are tracking his progress.

"The visit with Coach Dixon was great," Clark said. "They had been recruiting me for a little while because they knew of me from Ohio. He watched me practice and it was great to finally get that offer. I think what I showed in the practice helped make the decision to offer."

With a lot of high school prospects off of the board, it seems that the 6'4" shooting guard has risen to the top of the priority list for Pitt. His visit with Dixon seemed to leave quite the impression, and his recruitment will likely take shape rather quickly.

"Coach Dixon was telling me a lot about how great a school the University of Pittsburgh is," Clark said. "He said he liked how skilled I am offensively, along with my athleticism that allows me to guard 1-3. Based on what he said, I can definitely see myself fitting in perfectly.

"Coach Dixon wants me to come right in and replace the senior guard they will be losing. That means about 28 minutes or more per game, which is huge. He also said that he is giving me the first shot at their shooting guard scholarship."

Clark is a good athlete who has put up impressive shooting numbers across the board except for the foul line. His athleticism and chip on his shoulder appear to fit the model that Dixon is attempting to follow to get his program rolling again.

At the moment, Clark has a couple of visits scheduled and a decision may not be too far off.

"I am visiting Pitt on October 9th and it is an official. I will be at Loyola on the 7-9, and then I am headed straight to Pitt."