RABBITTOWN — If anyone over the past quarter-century has been synonymous with East Hall basketball, it’s Joe Dix.
Dix was part of the program for 22 seasons, including head coach for 14 seasons. During his time as the right-hand man to legendary coach Seth Vining and then head coach beginning in 2005, Dix was instrumental in helping the program amass an astounding 374 wins, six region titles, playing in six state championship games, and winning three titles (2001, 2003, 2005). The Vikings were truly one of the state powerhouses during that stretch of time.
But in 2018, Dix left the Vikings to try and turn around a dormant Collins Hill program that had not won a playoff game since 2001. He did just that, winning 56 games with three state playoff appearances, including a quarterfinal run in Class 7A, the first for the Eagles since 1998.
However, the pull of the Black and Gold apparently never truly left. Dix and East Hall announced on Tuesday that they would reunite as Dix will take back the program that has seemed a bit off since his departure.
“East Hall is probably the only program I would have left Collins Hill for,” Dix said about an hour after he told his Eagles squad on Tuesday that he was headed back to Hall County.
“That was a very tough decision (to leave Collins Hill) and an emotional meeting with those guys. When (East Hall coach) Tommy (Yancey) decided to take the job at Habersham Central, I admit I was intrigued when the East Hall job became open. We’ve never left the area; we still live in Flowery Branch. And now that my son is about to go into middle school, I’ve been thinking about how I can spend more time with my family.”
Still, Dix was not the one to make the first move.
“East Hall called and asked if I was interested,” he said. “I really hadn’t thought that much about leaving Collins Hill. I was very content there and we had built the program back into being competitive every season. But the commute down there was getting tougher and tougher, and I was away from home a little more than I wanted to be.
“But with other factors involved, it just seemed that if I was going to try and regain some time with the family, this was probably the time to make the move. I’m very excited about coming back. You don’t get this kind of opportunity very often in life.”
Unlike in 2005 when he was promoted from assistant to take the reins of a team he helped build, he will be practically flying blind with the current makeup of the Vikings.
“I watched part of one (East Hall) game in the last four years. I only saw that one because I came to watch the girls game that night,” Dix said. “I was very intentional in trying to stay away to allow the new coach that came after me to let him build things in how he saw fit. So I really don’t know much about how things went the last few years other than their record.”
The Vikings finished 16-9 in the 2021-22 but did not make the playoffs in Class 4A. In fact, they haven’t made the playoffs since 2019, their longest stretch without a postseason appearance since a six-year drought from 1976 to 1982.
The winning record under Yancey was their first since Dix’s last season in Rabbittown (17-12). With his return, Dix will be the fourth coach of the Vikings since that 2017-18 campaign.
Key players from the recently completed season -- Christian Torres, Clete Cooper, and Luke Barton -- all graduated. Among the leading scorers from last year, just rising seniors C.J. Agborsangaya and Levi Holtzclaw return.
“I thought Tommy (Yancey) did a great job this year. They won Lanierland and had the program moving in the right direction. I watched my first film of last year’s team just the other day so right now we’ll just try to evaluate and see how we can build on what Tommy and his staff did last year.”
As for a staff, Brody Langston, a former player under Dix and an assistant with the Vikings last season, will return. The rest will be a “fluid situation” Dix said.
New and younger fans of Hall County basketball may not remember Dix’s patented jacket removal -- and sometimes toss -- at the first sign of disapproval with his team. Always a crowd favorite. Or his larger-than-life smile, his positive outlook, and his ability to get just about every ounce of talent from his roster.
But the older fans know that watching Dix perform on the sideline was almost as entertaining as the games themselves.
“I haven’t changed much on the sideline,” Dix admitted with a laugh. “It’s just who I am when I’m on the floor coaching. I give everything I have for the kids.”
(Bo Wilson contributed to this story.)
