Juan Dixon
From Hoopedia
Juan Dixon (born October 9, 1978 in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.) is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Detroit Pistons.
Dixon rebounded from a traumatic childhood to make the NBA. Both his mother, Juanita, and father, Phil, were heroin addicts, and both died of AIDS-related illnesses before Dixon was 17 years old. Dixon was raised by his grandparents Roberta and Warnick Graves in Baltimore, Maryland. Dixon went on to lead the University of Maryland Terrapins to their first NCAA title in 2002 and earned most outstanding player honours at the Final Four tournament.
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College
Dixon played high school basketball at Calvert Hall in Baltimore and scored 1,590 career points under the tutelage of legendary Baltimore Catholic League head coach Mark Amatucci. He attended the University of Maryland, College Park and became Maryland’s all-time scoring leader when he scored 29 points against Wisconsin to help Maryland advance to the Sweet Sixteen, passing Len Bias (2,149 points). He also became the only player in NCAA history to accumulate 2,000 points, 300 steals and 200 three-point field goals. He led the Maryland Terrapins to their first NCAA Men's Basketball Championship in his senior year in 2002. Playing under coach Gary Williams, the 6' 3", 164 lb Dixon was able to overcome adversity and his small frame and became recognized as one of the nation's best college players and was honored as the 2002 ACC Athlete of the Year Quoted by Coach Williams "Juan just has the heart of a tiger, which separates him from the rest of the players in the country". After his senior season, he was featured on the cover of a video game NCAA Final Four.
NBA
Dixon was drafted 17th overall by the Wizards in the 2002 NBA Draft. He spent the first three years of his NBA career with the Washington Wizards. In his final season in Washington (2004-2005), he averaged eight points per game, including a career-high 35 points in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Chicago Bulls. Dixon signed as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers during the summer of 2005. Soon after, his Wizards and Terrapins teammate and friend Steve Blake signed with Portland as well. In his first game back in D.C., Dixon was given a standing ovation from the Verizon Center crowd upon coming off the bench towards the end of the first quarter. This was a notable feat considering Wizards fans are known to boo most ex-Wizards upon returning (such as Kwame Brown), although not surprising considering the proximity of Washington to Maryland's campus. In Juan's first year with the Blazers, he started 42 times and played in 76 games. In his last year with the Wizards, he only started 4 games and played in 63. He also increased his scoring, assists, and shooting percentage considerably in Portland. He was later traded on the 2007 NBA trade deadline to Toronto for Fred Jones and future considerations.
Trivia
Dixon's aunt is Sheila Dixon, who is as of February 2007 the mayor of Baltimore, Maryland.
Jay Williams of Duke won the Wooden Award as NCAA Player of the Year in 2002, but Juan Dixon was ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year that same season.
