Dixie State looking to move forward

ST. GEORGE — Change is in the air at Dixie State College, with the school's athletic department gearing up for the move to NCAA Division II. Men's basketball coach Jeff Kidder, who won 218 games over eight years at the junior college level, made it clear he doesn't want to be part of that change by taking the head coaching job at Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College in early April.

"The timing was right for me," Kidder said. "Indian Hills actively pursued me. I wasn't really looking. It was a tough decision, but (Dixie) President (Robert) Huddleston's leaving was a big factor as well."

The coach's announcement capped a tumultuous season for the Rebels. Expected to contend for the Scenic West Athletic Conference title, Dixie State finished in the middle of the pack and was ousted in the first round of the Region 18 tourney by the College of Eastern Utah. The Rebels finished 19-12 overall, the first time in eight years under Kidder that they did not win 20 games.

"It's extremely disappointing," Kidder said after the loss to CEU. "The effort was there. We just didn't execute when we needed to. That's been a problem all year."

So while Athletic Director Dexter Irvin and the rest of the Dixie State staff prepare for a jump up to D-II, they also have to find a new leader for the basketball program.

"We have a lot of candidates, a large pool to choose from," Irvin said.

"They include Division I assistants, Division II head coaches and assistants and junior college head coaches, among others. We want to make sure we get the right man for the job."

The Rebels faltered due to inconsistency in 2004-05. Sophomore guard Jason Petrimoulx (from Las Vegas), dubbed "the best two-guard in America" by Kidder in the preseason, averaged 15 points and five rebounds a game, but shot just 43 percent from the floor and averaged nearly three turnovers a game.

The trio of Brazilians expected to take the conference by storm, 6-foot-10 Hatila Passos, 6-10 Fabio Nass and 6-9 Renato Paz, were disappointing, at best.

Passos, a force on the low blocks, averaged 11 points and seven boards a game, but struggled with foul trouble and free throws. Nass, a big man with a soft touch, never could find his outside shot. And Paz, a project, played just six minutes a game.

Brad Roundy (Emery High) was Dixie State's lone return missionary. He battled foot problems most of the year, but contributed late with five points and four rebounds a game.