By ADAM ZAGORIA
Derek Dixon, the four-star combo guard from Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C. and Team Takeover, committed to North Carolina on Friday.
Ranked the No. 6 combo guard in the 247Sports.com Composite, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Dixon chose the Tar Heels over Virginia, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt. He visited Chapel Hill earlier this month.
“I will be committing to the University of North Carolina,” he told ZAGSBLOG ahead of his public announcement. “It felt like the right fit for me because of my relationship with the staff, especially Coach [Hubert] Davis and the type of person that he is, and at the same time the fit and opportunity basketball-wise were there for me.”
As for what skillset he will bring to the Tar Heels, Dixon said: “I’m someone who is versatile who can play with or without the ball in his hands. I can handle the ball, pass, score from all three levels, and am a good shooter. I’m someone my teammates like and will do anything to win.”
Gonzaga coach Steve Turner told ZAGSBLOG North Carolina is getting an elite shooter.
“His super-strength is his ability to make shots,” Turner said by phone. “I think he’s one of the most elite shooters in the country, regardless of class, and I think that’s something he will bring to the table immediately.
“What he’s been able to do the last couple of years, playing on the ball and understanding how to make other guys better, will be the other asset that I think will be great because it makes him such a dual threat. He makes all the right passes, he know how to find guys and make other guys better.
“And with his ability to shoot it makes him a dual threat.”
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Derek Dixon has committed to UNC
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Turner added: “His area of growth is the physicality. It’s a different level playing against much older guys and better athletes than you’re seeing every night in high school.”
Dixon is the fifth Gonzaga player in the Class of 2025 to commit Division 1, following Nyk Lewis (Xavier), Alex Touomou (Harvard), Will Harper (Richmond) and Christian Gurdak (Virginia Tech).
He said he plans to recruit Nik Khamenia to the Tar Heels. The 6-8 forward from Harvard-Westlake (CA) has a top five of Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, North Carolina and UCLA.
“For right now I know I’m gonna reach out to Nik Khamenia who I spent time with on our visits there,” Dixon said.
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