Wildcats get committment from Abington’s Dixon
ABINGTON » As the video rolled to an end, Eric Dixon threw down a reverse dunk on one of the well-worn rims at Crestmont Park, landed and unzipped his sweatshirt to reveal a Villanova shirt underneath.
The Abington junior forward is now off the market, announcing his verbal commitment to the national champion Wildcats at Abington High School Tuesday afternoon. The 6-foot-7 forward, a highly touted basketball recruit, whittled down 14 offers to a final four of Villanova, Virginia, Seton Hall and Louisville prior to Tuesday’s announcement.
Still, it was an agonizing decision for Dixon, who only settled his mind a few days ago.
“This weekend really cleared my mind up as to where I was going,” Dixon said. “It’s a great basketball program, a great coaching staff and great players but it came down to off the court stuff. Usually where you go to college, that’s where you’re going to stay the rest of your life and I love where I live, I love where I’m from and there was no reason to go states away when the best in the country, arguably, is 40 minutes away.”
This past winter, Dixon helped Abington capture its second straight District 1 Class 6A title, scoring 25 points in the district final win over Plymouth Whitemarsh. He averaged 24 points per game this past season, scoring his 1,000th point early in the campaign and ending the year with 1,616 career points, good for third all-time in program history.
While he still has a senior season to play at Abington, Dixon would be the third local player to give a commitment to the Wildcats in the past three seasons. Archbishop Wood’s Collin Gillespie and Neumann-Goretti’s Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree were both key reserves for Villanova this season as freshmen.
Dixon’s final four came down to the programs and coaches that stayed the most in touch with him during the season. New Louisville coach Chris Mack had been after Dixon while at Villanova and carried that offer over when he accepted the Cardinals’ job once the season ended. Dixon visited Villanova, Virginia and Seton Hall and while he didn’t get a chance to visit Louisville, Dixon felt comfortable enough with Mack and his staff to keep that an option.
“Over the season, these were the four schools that kept in touch with me and I felt like if they were keeping touch with me during a busy basketball season during their busiest schedule, I knew I must be important to them,” Dixon said. “The coaches, I came to know them a little bit more and that was the decision I came to.”
Dixon’s father, Eric Dixon Sr, said he watched more college basketball than ever this past season adding that every time a new school offered, they would watch that team any time they were on TV. The younger Eric was watching analytically, knowing whatever team happened to be on would look very different in two years when he arrived on campus.
He said Villanova’s win in the national title game had no sway on his decision and he watched games looking for styles and schemes specific to each team that would allow him to be successful on the court but also off of it. Dixon said he wants to major in business or accounting and pursue a CPA.
“It was harder than people think,” Dixon said. “These are dream schools for kids so to say no to three of them, it was a hard decision.”
Dixon said all the Villanova coaches told him was they wanted him to come and be a basketball player. The opportunity is there for him to play as a freshman, as long as he puts in the work which Dixon said includes slimming down and getting a bit quicker. They aren’t shoehorning him into one position.
“It’s going to be about how much better I get,” Dixon said. “I would like to play my first year, obviously but in terms of minutes, shots, I couldn’t care less. Just to be on the floor for a national program would be cool.”