JAMES DICKEY
Assistant Coach
Bettye and James Dickey
Considered one of the top young assistants in the country, James Dickey has assisted Eddie Sutton for six years now  four at Arkansas and two at Kentucky. Razorback and Wildcat teams have compiled a remarkable 146-45 record and all have advanced to the NCAA Tournament under Dickey and Sutton's instruction.
Dickey joined the Wildcat staff in April, 1985, shortly after Sutton was named as the UK head coach. Considered an excellent on-court instructor and bench strategist, Dickey has also forged a reputation as an outstanding recruiter.
In his first season at Kentucky, the Wildcats were one of the Cinderella teams in the country, defying the odds-makers to compile a 32-4 record and advance to the Final Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The 1985-86 Cats captured the school's 36th Southeastern Conference championship with a 17-1 league record and also won the SEC Tournament title. Kentucky finished the season ranked third nationally in most polls.
Dickey joined Sutton's Arkansas staff in 1981-82 and spent two years as a part-time assistant before being elevated to full-time status for the remaining two years in Fayetteville. Arkansas compiled a 96-30 record and won a Southwest Conference championship while Dickey was an assistant. The Razorbacks competed in the NCAA tournament each of his four years there.
Dickey attended Valley Springs High School in Valley Springs, Ark. He played basketball for three years and as a senior earned All-State honors. Dickey then went to the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark., where he was a four-year letterman and a three-year starter.
After graduating from Central Arkansas in 1976, Dickey spent one year as an assistant coach at Harding College in Searcy, Ark., while working on his Master's Degree. He then spent two years as head basketball coach at Harding Academy in Searcy and in 1978 was named district "Coach of the Year" after his team won its conference championship.
After his stint at Harding Academy, Dickey returned to Central Arkansas as an assistant coach and spent two years there before moving to Arkansas in 1981.
The 33-year-old Dickey is married to the former Bettye Fiscus of Wynne, Ark.
Dickey joins Eddie Sutton in pointing the way.
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