In his six years as head coach of the men’s basketball team, Neil Dougherty posted one winning season and was unable to successfully transition from career assistant coach to head of the Horned Frogs.

TCU gave him the opportunity to make the change, but six seasons later it still seemed like Dougherty never did.

This is why TCU’s latest hire of Jim Christian makes so much sense for a floundering program.

This time, TCU went a with dose of experience.

In Christian’s six years as head coach of Kent State University, he recorded six 20-win seasons, leaves the Mid-American Conference with its highest winning percentage and reached the 2008 NCAA tournament as a No. 9 seed.

TCU took on a coach it not only feels is an up-and-comer with great potential, but is also an experienced head coach.

Christian brings two key ingredients to any successful program – ingredients TCU was missing during the Dougherty era. Christian’s teams win consistently and have had the opportunity to continue winning beyond the regular season.

The Horned Frog basketball program had one of its more successful eras before Dougherty took over under former head coach Billy Tubbs, whose career before coming to TCU featured deep runs in the NCAA tournament.

Although Christian has yet to go as far as Tubbs in the postseason, he brings the knowledge of what it takes to get there. His six seasons with Kent State featured five extensions into tournaments.

At his introductory press conference, Christian explained he was still figuring out how the Horned Frog hand sign worked.

Christian might not be ready for the hand sign, but he is ready to lead the team to the next level.