Villanova’s Dixon declares for NBA Draft

Vllanova forward Eric Dixon declared for the NBA Draft on Saturday.

The Abington native made it official on social media. Already a five-year collegian, having redshirted as a freshman in 2019-20, Dixon opted not to use his COVID year of extra eligibility. He thanked both of his Villanova coaches, Jay Wright and Kyle Neptune, in the letter Saturday.

“Thank you to my family, friends, and fans for supporting me and believing in my ability every step of my career,” Dixon said. “There were times where I may have ever doubted myself, but the conversations and messages from all of you got me right back on track. …

“I’m not sure where I would be without all the love that surrounds me. As a young kid from Abington, Pennsylvania all I ever wanted to do was make my hometown proud.”

Dixon improved at every juncture of his Villanova career and extracted the absolute most out of his physical ability. Always undersized in the paint at 6-8 and 255 pounds, he started all 106 games the last two years for the Wildcats. As a senior, he averaged 16.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, the most consistent scorer for an inconsistent squad that missed the NCAA tournament for a second straight year.

Dixon averaged 15.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game as a junior in 2022-23. He supplied 11.8 points and 5.7 rebounds for his 127-game career.

Dixon has diversified his game. He was an 86.2 percent shooter from the free throw line as a senior. He went from shooting 48.6 percent on 35 3-pointers in 202122 to 34.6 percent on 159 attempts this year. Dixon shot 49.2 percent from the field last year, that number dipping to 46.5 percent this year given the greater load on his shoulders.