Inside The Panthers

Pitt Basketball in Close Battle for Top Recruit

The Pitt Panthers are in a close battle with an ACC powerhouse for a four-star recruit.

Dominic Campbell

Pitt Basketball Head Coach Jeff Capel and Recruit Derek Dixon
Pitt Basketball Head Coach Jeff Capel and Recruit Derek Dixon /

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are working to land a number of basketball recruits in the Class of 2025 and are close to landing one of the best in the country.

Derek Dixon, who plays for Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., is one player that has Pitt on his shortlist of six schools, but a recent report indicates he views them higher than most of his finalists.

Jamie Shaw of On3 reported that Pitt is battling it out with ACC foe North Carolina for his commitment. He visited Pitt on an unofficial visit last October and an official visit on April 12 and recently took an official visit to North Carolina this past weekend on Sept. 6.

Dixon also planned to take an official visit to Arizona this weekend, and Shaw says that if he goes on it, that it will serve as one to watch in his recruitment going forward.

"The two programs I am hearing the most about, coming out of the UNC visit, are Pittsburgh and UNC," Shaw wrote. "I am told that both visits checked all the necessary boxes. One source close to the recruitment told me recently that if he takes this next Arizona visit it will be worth watching."

Dixon also has Syracuse, Virginia and Vanderbilt in his top six schools, and took official visits to each school last fall, April 12 and Aug. 30, respectively.

He spoke to Adam Zagoria and Sam Lance of Zagsblog.com and put down Sept. 27 as his commitment date.

“They have been recruiting me the longest and I’ve built a great relationship with their coaching staff," Dixon said to Joe Tipton of On3 on Pitt after he announced his top six schools on July 30. "They have that program moving in a positive direction and think I can step in and keep moving it forward.”

247Sports rates him as a four-star, the third best player in D.C. No. 11 combo guard and the No. 60 overall recruit in his Class, respectively. On3 has him at No. 2 in D.C., No. 10 point guard and No. 71 in the country, while Rivals ranks him at No. 16 combo guard and No. 68 in the United States.

Dixon held offers from other teams in ACC schools in Cal, Miami and Virginia Tech, Big East schools in Providence, and Xavier, Big Ten schools in Iowa, Maryland and Penn State, Big 12 schools in Kansas State and West Virginia, A-10 schools Fordham, George Mason, George Washington and Saint Joseph's, plus East Carolina, Bryant, Mississippi State and Norfolk State.

Dixon is an exceptionally talented guard. He possesses great shooting range and dribbling skills, as well as the ability to drive through contact to score at the rim and good vision to find his teammates for easy baskets.

He also played for Team Takeover on the Nike EYBL Circuit this past summer, while averaging 13.9 points, 3.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds at Peach Jam in Augusta, S.C. from July 13-21.

Dixon is one of a few recruits that has Pitt in their top schools. This includes five-star guardMeleek Thomas (Top 7), four-star guards Isaiah Denis and Amari Evans (Top 10), three-star guardOmari Witherspoon (Final 3), four-star wing Davion Hannah (Top 9) and four-star forward Niko Bundalo (Top 8).

Witherspoon also has a commitment date set soon for Sept. 11, where he'll announce his commitment between Pitt, Maryland and Vanderbilt.

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Dominic Campbell

DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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