Inside The Panthers

Pitt Basketball Predicted to Miss Out on 2025 Target

Pitt Panthers basketball is predicted to miss out on a Class of 2025 target.

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 have worked hard this offseason to bolster their Class of 2025, but one target may choose to go elsewhere.

Derek Dixon, a four-star guard who plays for Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C. will decide where he'll spend his next four years with his commitment decision coming on Sept. 27. He has four schools to choose from including Pitt, North Carolina, Vanderbilt and Virginia.

Colby Giacubeno, who works for InsideMDSports, part of 247Sports, put his "Crystal Ball" prediction that Dixon will commit to UNC. His crystal ball is medium confidence with a rating of six.

Giacubeno is a perfect 20-for-20 in the Class of 2025 and 134/142 (94.37%) all-time. He also predicted that four-star guard Omari Witherspoon, who plays for St. John's College in Washington, D.C., would commit to Pitt and he did.

Jamie Shaw of On3 reported that Pitt and North Carolina were the two schools battling it out for Dixon's commitment. He took an unofficial visit to Pitt last October and an official visit on April 12 and he took an official visit to North Carolina on Sept. 6.

"Over the past week, UNC has picked up a lot of momentum from the sources I have talked with,"Shaw wrote."It is also worth mentioning that I did have one source tell me that Pittsburgh still feels they are in it."

Dixon recently cancelled a visit to Arizona set for Sept. 13 and took official visits to Syracuse, Virginia and Vanderbilt during last fall, April 12 and Aug. 30, respectively.

“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 the second best player in D.C. No. 11 combo guard and the No. 52 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. 44 in the United States. All three sites have him as a four-star.

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.

Two other Pitt basketball targets have their commitment dates set as well. Four-star guard Isaiah Denis of Davidson Day School in Davidson, N.C. has Pitt in his final seven schools and will commit on Nov. 2. Four-star wing Amari Evans, who played for Bishop Canevin in Pittsburgh and is now with Overtime Elite in Atlanta, will pick between Pitt, Tennessee and Xavier on Nov. 1.

Pitt is also in the top schools for five-star guard Meleek Thomas (Top seven) and four-star forwardNiko Bundalo (Top eight).

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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