Tag: Derek Dixon

UNC basketball signs first two pieces of 2025 recruiting class

The UNC men’s basketball team just got two players better in the 2025 recruiting class on Wednesday.

The North Carolina Tar Heels are no stranger to signing high-profile basketball recruits – just look at what they did in their 2024 recruiting class.

On Wednesday, UNC officially added two recruits to its roster, nabbing the first two pieces of its 2025 recruiting class.

Davidson Day School’s Isaiah Denis and Gonzaga College High School’s Derek Dixon, a pair of 4-star combo guards who should step into major roles for North Carolina during the 2025-2026 college basketball season, officially signed to continue their basketball careers in Chapel Hill.

Denis and Dixon aren’t too far removed from their initial commitments. Dixon committed to the Tar Heels on Friday, Sept. 27, while Denis committed on Saturday, Nov. 2.

At 6’5, I see Denis playing a role similar to current UNC freshman Drake Powell. Denis can either run the point or play shooting guard, but also has the height to play the 3-spot – if UNC head coach Hubert Davis elects for a smaller starting lineup.

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Dixon is a bit shorter at 6’3″, so I see him being exclusively a point guard or shooting guard. Dixon’s recruiting profile points to him being a solid perimeter shooter, so in the best case scenario, he produces at a high clip like reigning ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis.

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The Tar Heels aren’t anywhere close to being done yet in the class of 2025, as they’re chasing the likes of top recruits Caleb Wilson and AJ Dybantsa. Plenty of high school kids are still undecided – and with Hubert Davis’ track record on the recruiting trail, expect several additional high school stars to choose North Carolina as their college basketball destination.

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UNC coach Hubert Davis adds first recruit in his Class of 2025

Hubert Davis gets on the board with his first Class of 2025 commit!

The Class of 2025 has been a rough one for recruiting in the eyes of Hubert Davis. Over the past couple of months, they have lost a handful of recruits and several of them to blue-blood rivals like Kentucky.

On top of actually losing recruits, several have shifted their desires and predictions. However, UNC is still in the running for the top overall player of the year in AJ Dybantsa who was just at Chapel Hill.

Hubert Davis also just boosted his presence by getting his first recruit of the class Derek Dixon on Friday. The combo guard from Washington, D.C., is the No. 51 overall player in the class as a four-star recruit with a 247 composite of .9782.

The 6-foot-4, Gonzaga High School basketball star has been dominating this season. According to Adam Finkelstein, “He thinks and understands the game at a high level and is both efficient and versatile with the ball in his hands. He’s a very good three-point shooter, with a compact release, and yet good loft and rotation”

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Dixon will be an excellent addition to the UNC family and it also puts UNC on the map for other recruits who may have had hesitations due to the Heels’s lack of commitments to this date.

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UNC basketball lands four star combo guard in 2025 class

A big four-star combo guard has committed to the UNC basketball program.

The North Carolina Tar Heels officially have a commitment for the 2025 recruiting cycle, landing a four-star recruit on Friday afternoon.

Combo guard Derek Dixon officially pledged his commitment to the Tar Heels, ending his recruitment and picking UNC over fellow Atlantic Coast Conference foe Pitt. Virginia and Vanderbilt were also finalists in his recruitment. Dixon committed on his birthday, just weeks after taking visits to programs that were considered finalists.

But in the end, the Tar Heels won out in the recruitment and Hubert Davis now has his first commitment for the class.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Dixon plays at Gonzaga College out of Washington D.C, and had a total of 16 offers in his recruitment. He visited UNC on September 6th and then canceled a visit to Arizona the following weekend.

Dixon is ranked No. 47 nationally, the No. 6 combo guard and No. 3 player in Washington D.C. per the 247Sports recruiting rankings. Here is what he had to say about UNC in his recruitment to Dushawn London of 247Sports:

North Carolina: “They offered me earlier this summer. They’re a great prestigious program that consistently wins a lot of games and are ranked in the top-25. I’ve developed a good relationship with Coach Davis and Coach Lebo and they’re preaching they need a replacement for RJ Davis and potentially Elliot Cadeau if he goes pro.”

For North Carolina, this is a huge commitment as it gets the 2025 class officially started. Davis and his staff have other big targets still remaining and the class is not close to being finished.

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Key UNC basketball target cancels visit this weekend

The UNC basketball program may have received some great news regarding a recruit.

The North Carolina Tar Heels recently hosted four-star combo guard Derek Dixon for an official visit this past weekend as his recruitment is starting to wind down. And now a new development may lead to good things for the Tar Heels. 

On Thursday, Dixon canceled his official visit to Arizona for the weekend, making an update ahead of a decision in the coming weeks. That’s great news for the programs that have received a visit and most notably North Carolina in this recruitment.

The decision comes just a day before Dixon was scheduled to be in Tuscon, pretty much eliminating the Wildcats from his teams. Arizona was the last visit scheduled for Dixon.

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Prior to this visit, Dixon visited UNC last weekend and Vanderbilt on August 30th.

In a recent interview with ZagsBlog, Dixon revealed that he’s targeting September 27th for a decision date. That’s great news for the Tar Heels seeing that this visit has been canceled and coming off one to Chapel Hill.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound combo guard out of Washington, DC is ranked No. 51 nationally, No. 11 combo guard and the No. 2 player in Washington DC per the 247Sports recruiting rankings.

North Carolina is still seeking its first commitment for the 2025 class and landing a player like Dixon would be a good start.

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Recruit says he had ‘good’ visit to UNC basketball program over weekend

Four-star guard Derek Dixon talks about his visit to the UNC basketball program.

The first big visit weekend for the UNC basketball program is wrapped up as the team hosted recruiting targets Derek Dixon and Nikolas Khamenia.

While we have to wait to see the impact of the visits in terms of recruiting decisions, there is some good news regarding one of those targets here on Monday.

Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog wrote on Dixon’s visit as he broke it down a day after it ended. Dixon told Zagoria that he had a good visit to UNC, keeping the comment brief.

“The visit was good,” he said via Zagoria. “I like all the guys on the team, the facilities were nice and their main message was that I’m their priority and there’s a want and need for what I bring.”

The interesting part of the interview is that Dixon tells Zagoria that he is closing in on a college decision.

“[I will have] a little bit of downtime just to get with my family and make this decision,” he said Monday via text.

Now, I don’t want to say that UNC secured a commitment or anything following the weekend visit but with Dixon ready to made a decision in the near future, it has to bode well for the Tar Heels.

UNC is battling Arizona, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, and Vanderbilt to land the talented recruit who is ranked as a four-star prospect. And with UNC still seeking its first commitment in the 2025 class, Dixon could be that player that gets things started for Hubert Davis.

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Two Class of 2025 UNC basketball recruits set to visit Chapel Hill this weekend

The Tar Heels have a golden chance to land two Class of 2025 commitments this weekend.

The UNC basketball program is busy on the Class of 2025 recruiting trail, as it currently has 14 outstanding offers.

Despite Hubert Davis‘ prowess on the recruiting trail, which includes multiple site visits to see those recruits, the Tar Heels have yet to land a 2025 commitment.

Thankfully, North Carolina should take a valuable step towards securing at least two Class of 2025 commitments this weekend, as combo guard Derek Dixon and power forward Nikolas Khamenia will visit Chapel Hill on Friday, Sept. 6.

According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Dixon is the Class of 2025’s 60th-ranked player. UNC is one of Dixon’s six finalists.

Khamenia is the Class of 2025’s 28th-ranked player. North Carolina is amongst five finalists for him.

Let’s take a look at what each recruit had to say about the Tar Heels ahead of their visits:

“It’s incredible to be recruited by a school like that (UNC) – a blue blood, one of the top programs in college basketball,” Dixon told InsideCarolina’s Sherrell McMillan. “They (UNC) told me they’re going to need guards because RJ Davis is graduating and Elliot (Cadeau) could go to the NBA. (Hubert Davis) said they have guard spots open so they’re focusing on versatile guards like me who can play on and off the ball, guys who can play together.”

“They started recruiting me during the early part of my junior year,” Khamenia told McMillan. “Building that relationship with Sean May, Hubert Davis, and Brad Frederick has been good. Coach Davis and their assistants have been to a couple of my games. They continue to call and text me to build the relationship. I feel comfortable with their staff. It is easy to talk to them. They are looking for skilled guys like me and plan on using me to my strengths.”

I’m confident that UNC coaches and players will show Dixon and Khamenia the Carolina Way. Here’s to hoping for good news this weekend.

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UNC basketball hoping to secure Class of 2025 commitment with Thursday visit

Did the Tar Heels make enough of an impression on Class of 2025 combo guard Derek Dixon during Thursday’s visit?

Entering his fourth season as the North Carolina Tar Heels’ head men’s basketball coach, Hubert Davis has quickly shown his ability to recruit.

Davis’ past signees include the likes of Seth Trimble, Cormac Ryan, Elliot Cadeau, Harrison Ingram, Drake Powell and Ian Jackson, the final four of whom are 5-stars. Trimble and Cadeau return from last year’s Sweet 16 squad, while Powell and Jackson complete what will be one of UNC’s deepest guard groups in years.

Davis is already busy on the Class of 2025 recruiting front, with 14 outstanding offers. North Carolina had a 15th offer extended, but Jasper Johnson committed to Kentucky on Thursday, Sept. 5.

Also on Thursday, the Tar Heels visited another Class of 2025 recruit: 6’5″ combo guard Derek Dixon, who plays his high school basketball at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C.

With RJ Davis running out of eligibility after this coming season, plus the possibility of Powell and Jackson being one-and-dones, UNC is hoping to lock down a commitment from Dixon soon.

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Dixon, ranked 60th overall according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, averages 15.3 points per game with Team Takeover in the Nike EYBL circuit. He previously narrowed his school list to six in July, with North Carolina being amongst his finalists.

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Class of 2025 guard sets official visit to UNC basketball program

The UNC basketball program will host a talented four-star guard for a visit this fall.

Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels will be busy this fall hosting recruits for official visits. It will be a chance for the Tar Heels to impress recruits they are trying to land in future recruiting classes including four-star combo guard Derek Dixon.

The Washington D.C. native will be one of the recruits heading to Chapel Hill for a visit, as he has three visits scheduled. He will begin his trips by going to Vanderbilt on August 30th, then head to Chapel Hill on September 6th, and finally Arizona on September 13th.

He’s already taken visits to Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse in his recruitment.

Dixon recently cut his list of 16 offers down to a final six, focusing on UNC, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Syracuse, Pitt, and Virginia.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Dixon is ranked No. 60 nationally, the No. 11 combo guard and No. 3 player Washington DC per the 247Sports recruiting rankings. He’s one of several prospects in the 2025 class to hold an offer from UNC but Davis and his staff have yet to earn a commitment.

With a busy fall ahead, things should pick up for the Tar Heels on the recruiting trail starting with Dixon.

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