Growth spurt supercharges Dixon's game at Sanford

Sanford’s Mikey Dixon poses for a portrait in the Sanford School gymnasium on Monday afternoon, April 11, 2016.

Sanford’s Mikey Dixon poses for a portrait in the Sanford School gymnasium on Monday afternoon, April 11, 2016.

When Sanford boys basketball coach Stan Waterman used to see Mikey Dixon dribbling around at the Boys & Girls Club on U.S. 40 in Bear, something always stood out.

He didn’t stand very tall.

“I’ve known Mikey since he was a really young kid,” Waterman said. “He was always sort of the runt of the litter, always the tiniest guy out there, but with one of the biggest hearts.”

Dixon was 5-foot-8 when he came to Sanford and averaged 4.1 points as a freshman. But each year, he got a little taller and a little stronger. And this year, his body — and his game — blossomed.

Dixon finally reached 6-foot-2, and he took Sanford back to the top of Delaware high school basketball. The senior averaged 26.0 points per game as the Warriors won their first DIAA title in four years, and he was an overwhelming selection as the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“There’s no better way to go out, on top like that,” Dixon said. “Me and my guys were able to win it all. It’s a great feeling.”

Dover senior Jordan Allen, Mount Pleasant senior Raheim Burnett, Appoquinimink junior Myles Cale and St. Georges junior Kyson Rawls joined Dixon on the DSBA All-State first team. All put together outstanding seasons, but Dixon set himself apart.

Salesianum won the previous two state titles, led by Villanova signee Donte DiVincenzo, the 2015 Delaware Player of the Year. So Sals coach Brendan Haley knows a difference maker when he sees one, and he saw one when Dixon took over in the second quarter during Sanford’s 38-30 state semifinal win over Mount Pleasant.

“When that game switched, it was because the alpha male stepped up and said, ‘I’ve got it,’” Haley said. “It was like he said, ‘No matter what they’re doing to me, I’ll find a way.’”

Staying calm

The Green Knights threw everything but the kitchen sink at Dixon, constantly rotating fresh defenders on him and shutting off the transition game that often led to many of Dixon’s points. But the senior kept his composure, hit 9 of 14 shots and finished with 21 points.

“A lot of people who score a lot, they will start to panic if they haven’t gotten a lot of shots off,” Dixon said. “I was that guy last year and the year before. I would get kind of frustrated.

“But coming into this year, coach Waterman sat down with me and told me there are going to be games when I see box-and-ones, people face-guarding me. He told me when I see things like that, just stay calm and trust in the system. The guys will do things to get me open shots.”

St. Georges took the same defensive approach in the championship game, with about the same results. Dixon remained patient, hit 6 of 11 from the field and 8 of 9 free throws for a hard-earned 20 points in a 39-32 victory.

“He would score in bunches, and he would kind of pick his spots at times,” Waterman said. “I kind of felt like he would sort of lull his defender to sleep. And he got a lot in transition for us. There were so many different ways that he scored.”

The final was tied at 31 with 2:16 to play. Then Dixon scored eight straight points — two free throws, a driving layup, two more foul shots and a clinching breakaway dunk with 18 seconds to play.

“Early on, I was kind of quiet,” he said. “But when it was coming down to the money time, it was time to win and that’s when I had to start locking in and making plays.”

Finishing on top

It was the Warriors’ eighth state title, but their first since 2012. Sanford lost to Howard in the state final in Dixon’s freshman year, fell to St. Georges in the quarterfinals in his sophomore year and lost to Polytech in the semifinals in his junior season.

“It was really a process for me,” Dixon said. “I had to grind it out all the way until my last year, my senior year. It made it even more special and more memorable for me, just because of how I really had to work for it. It took some time.”

Dixon’s body progressed in step with his game. He inched up to 5-10 as a sophomore and 5-11 as a junior before sprouting to 6-2 this year. He could see — and feel — the difference.

“My growth spurt helped me a lot. It was a big part of my success,” Dixon said. “When I was smaller, getting some shots off could be a little more difficult, finishing at the rim could definitely be more difficult.

“But now, I can shoot over a guy. Also, I think my athleticism increased over my high school career. My freshman year, I could barely tap the rim. Now, in my senior year, I was throwing down dunks left and right on fast breaks.”

Haley took note of the annual improvement.

“Where he developed over the years was his ability to actually seek the contact when he would attack the lane, as opposed to avoiding it,” the Salesianum coach said. “The guys who are players are the guys who seek the contact and can take it with their body and still finish. This year, that’s where he really became something special.”

Hard to stop

With 6-foot-8 Jacob Walsh snagging the rebounds and winging outlet passes to Dixon, the fast break became Sanford’s most dangerous weapon.

“When the ball went up, we tried to preach to the kids, ‘Three of you need to be running back immediately,’” Haley said. “If you only send one or two back, he’s going to navigate through them. We tried to send three guys back to try to prevent those quick run-out points.”

Those easy buckets helped Dixon shoot 57.4 percent from the field, an unusually high number for a 26-point scorer.

“Our team was a little different this year. The way we play, we typically have four or five guys in double figures, around 14 or 15 points,” Waterman said. “But Mikey was such an efficient scorer.

“He was able to score at every level this year. He shot the ball really well from behind the 3-point line, he drove and attacked the basket, and he got to the foul line for eight or nine points a game.”

He also had teammates who accepted their roles.

“He really benefited from playing on one of the most unselfish teams I’ve coached in my 25 years,” Waterman said. “We had guys like Kyle Evans and Freddie Ryle who didn’t even think about shooting unless they were wide open. They really looked to get Mikey open and get him the ball.”

Off to college

Now, Dixon will take the ball to Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, a mid-major program coming off a 9-21 season. His decision puzzled some fans and coaches, who thought Dixon had shown enough to be recruited at a higher level. But Bobcats coach Tom Moore showed interest in Dixon before his growth spurt, and that made the difference.

“Bigger is not always better,” Dixon said. “Quinnipiac, I feel like coach Moore and his coaching staff did an excellent job of recruiting me, showing me love, showing how much they want me to step in right away, be an impact player. I can help change the program around and be that guy, be that piece.”

Waterman pointed out at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has hosted the thriving careers of several Delaware high school players lately, including Appoquinimink’s A.J. English (Iona), Sanford’s Khallid Hart (Marist), Sanford’s Deon Jones (Monmouth) and St. Andrew’s Austin Tilghman (Monmouth). The guard-oriented league could give Dixon a chance to shine.

“Could he play at a higher level? I think absolutely,” Waterman said. “But I think Quinnipiac is a great fit for him. … Tom Moore is a great guy, and he started recruiting Mikey early and was committed to him. He let Mikey know that he was the guy they had targeted from the first day they saw him.”

Just like Waterman, Moore could see something special in Mikey Dixon. And now, he has the height to take Quinnipiac to new heights.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.

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Delaware Sports Awards

Phillies legend Mike Schmidt will be the keynote speaker at the inaugural Delaware Sports Awards, to be held June 15 at the Bob Carpenter Center. Every Delaware varsity high school athlete who earns first-team, All-State honors during the 2015-16 school year gets a complimentary ticket. They will also be eligible for three of the five major awards to be handed out at the banquet. Schmidt will present trophies to the Male Athlete of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year, Team of the Year, Coach of the Year and Inspirational Person of the Year. Tickets are $50 and are available at http://www.delawareonline. com/hssportsawards.