Villanova Basketball 2020 Player Recap: Eric Dixon

The Breakdown

A local product out of Abington High School, Eric Dixon was the first commit in a loaded 2019 recruiting class for the Villanova Wildcats.

A four-star prospect, according to 247 sports, Dixon averaged 27.6 points per game in his final high school season and became the first-ever Abington player to eclipse the 2,000-point career mark.

Unfortunately for Dixon, his official collegiate debut was put on hold, as he redshirted this past season.

In an unofficial glimpse of Dixon, the only public display outside of closed practice doors, our own Brendan Reilly wrote this about the 6-foot-8 forward at the Blue-White preseason team scrimmage:

“The last note I wrote down from the scrimmage read simply “I don’t know how you keep Dixon off the court.” He may not have shown up in the scoring column, but this guy did everything you need someone to do to win games. He rebounded with tenacity, he made quick decisions with the ball, he didn’t force anything but rather let his game come to him. He’s a really talented player that has range to the arc but the body and shoulders to knock people around inside. It’s not hard to see why the coaching staff loves this guy. On defense he looked really good, especially guarding Robinson-Earl. He was talkative on the court, active in the passing lanes, and attacked the boards on both ends. He still needs some work on his inside game, but watch out if he gets a head of steam behind him.”

Looking Ahead

Can Dixon be the next Villanova basketball player to simply profit off of a redshirt year?

The narrative has been well-documented, but the Wildcats do have a tremendous streak going of players excelling post-redshirt.

Jay Wright seems to think he’s primed for a big year.

“Eric Dixon, we love this dude,” Wright said in a conference call earlier this week. “Man, he’s a good basketball player. I think he’s going to help us next year. He really had a beneficial redshirt year. He is a low post player like we haven’t had.”

In that same conference call, Wright said that he’s expecting big things from Dixon, Bryan Antoine, and Chris Arcidiacono in that class.

The footage on Dixon from high school seemed to show a dynamic big man, with great footwork down low and excellent touch around the rim. He has an arsenal of moves to create separation or bully his way inside. His highlights get even more impressive when you see him knock down threes with relative ease.

However, who truly knows how far he’s evolved his game since then. When you factor in a year of John Shackleton’s strength and conditioning regiment and time to get acclimated to the program, the possibilities are looking good for Dixon.