By R.L. Bynum

On Friday, the day he turned 18, four-star sharpshooting combo guard Derek Dixon became Coach Hubert Davis’ first Class of 2025 commitment, making the announcement at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C.

Dixon, a 6–3, 215-pound rising senior at Gonzaga, is 51st in the Class of 2025. Dixon made his official UNC visit Sept. 6–8 after Davis offered him a scholarship on May 20.

“Coach Davis, just spending time with him on a visit, talking over the phone, you can just see how genuine of a person that he is, and you know how he’s a great person to spend time with and learn from,” Dixon said on the 247 YouTube channel when he announced his commitment. “The rest of the staff, I felt the love. I felt a priority for them, which is something that was really big for me, and I felt like I fit what they were doing. And there was an opportunity for me there.”

Although Virginia, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Vanderbilt were also finalists, he reportedly had it down to UNC and Pitt. He would have been the highest-ranked player to commit to the Panthers under Coach Jeff Capel.

“They’re getting someone who’s a winner, who’s going to compete at the highest level,” said Dixon, explaining to Tar Heels fans who they are getting. “He’s done it for the last four years of his life. He’s just gonna work every day, and he’s someone who’s versatile, play with or without the ball in his hands, a great teammate, the type of guy other people want to play with, and that guy’s gonna win a lot of games there.”

ESPN’s Paul Biancardi wrote that Dixon is among the top 10 shooters in the class. Here’s what he said about Dixon:

“Dixon’s special IQ helps him get open for quality looks,” Biancardi wrote. “His handle and passing are both solid point-guard attributes, but his scoring ability is his calling card. He shot 39% overall from [3-point range] this summer. Dixon’s strong combination of movement 3s (37%) and pull-up 3s (44%) opens eyes, and he’s super-effective from mid-range as well (44%). He has made himself into one of the most consistent and dependable offensive players in the country.”

Here’s what Dixon told 247 Sports about Carolina last week:

“They offered me earlier this summer,” he said. “They’re a great, prestigious program that consistently wins a lot of games and are ranked in the Top 25. I’ve developed a good relationship with Coach Davis and Coach [Jeff] Lebo, and they’re preaching they need a replacement for RJ Davis and potentially Elliot Cadeau if he goes pro.”

Playing for Team Takeover during the EYBL season last summer, Dixon averaged a team-high 15 points and three rebounds while shooting 43% from the floor and 91% of his free-throw attempts.

No.	Class	Player	Pos.	Hgt	Wgt
8	Freshman	Caleb Wilson (5 star)	4	6–10	215
5	Freshman	Isaiah Denis (4 star)	CG	6–4	180
3	Freshman	Derek Dixon (4 star)	CG	6–5	200
40	Sophomore	Ivan Matlekovic	5	7–0	255
11	Sophomore	Jonathan Powell	G	6–6	190
2	Sophomore	James Brown	5	6–10	240
1	Sophomore	Zayden High	4	6–10	230
44	Junior	Luca Bogavac (BO-guh-VAHTS)	W	6–6	215
4	Junior	Jaydon Young	2	6–4	200
13	RS junior	Henri Veesaar (VEH-sar)	5	7–0	225
0	Junior	Kyan Evans	1	6–2	175
15	Junior	Jarin Stevenson	4	6–10	215
7	Senior	Seth Trimble	2	6–3	200
		Walk-ons
25	Sophomore	John Holbrook	4	6–8	230
32	Junior	Evan Smith	2	6–1	195
6	RS senior	Elijah Davis	2	6–3	205

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Former UNC players who transferred

Player	Class next season	Pos.	Hgt	Wgt	Next school
Elliot Cadeau	Junior	PG	6–1	180	Michigan
Jalen Washington	Senior	C	6–10	235	Vanderbilt
Ian Jackson	Sophomore	G	6–4	190	St. John’s
Cade Tyson	Senior	F	6–7	200	Minnesota
Ven-Allen Lubin	Senior	C	6–8	230	N.C. State

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Date	Month/day	Time	Opponent/event (current ranks)	TV/ record
	October
24	Friday	L, 78–76	vs. No. 10 BYU in SLC	Exhib.
29	Wednesday	W, 95–53	vs. Winston-Salem St.	Exhib.
	November
3	Monday	W, 94–54	vs. Central Arkansas	1–0
7	Friday	W, 87–74	vs. No. 17 Kansas	2–0
11	Tuesday	W, 89–74	vs. Radford	3–0
14	Friday	W, 97–53	vs. N.C. Central	4–0
18	Tuesday	W, 73–61	vs. Navy	5–0
			Fort Myers Tip-Off
25	Tuesday	W, 85–70	vs. St. Bonaventure	6–0
27	Thursday	L, 74–58	vs. No. 9 Michigan State	6–1
	December		ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge
2	Tuesday	W, 67–64	at Kentucky	7–1
			—————————
7	Sunday	W, 81–61	vs. Georgetown	8–1
13	Saturday	W, 80–62	vs. USC Upstate	9–1
16	Tuesday	8 p.m.	vs. East Tennessee State	ACCN
			CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta
20	Saturday	3 p.m.	vs. Ohio State	CBS
			—————————
22	Monday	8 p.m.	vs. East Carolina	ACCN
30	Tuesday	7 p.m.	vs. Florida State	ESPN2
	January
3	Saturday	2:15	at SMU	The CW
10	Saturday	6 p.m.	vs. Wake Forest	ACCN
14	Wednesday	9 p.m.	at Stanford	ACCN
17	Saturday	4 p.m.	at California	ACCN
21	Wednesday	7 p.m.	vs. Notre Dame	ESPN2
24	Saturday	2 or 2:30	at No. 23 Virginia	ESPN or ESPNU
31	Saturday	2 p.m.	at Georgia Tech	ACCN
	February
2	Monday	7 p.m.	vs. Syracuse	ESPN
7	Saturday	6:30	vs. No. 3 Duke	ESPN
10	Tuesday	7 p.m.	at Miami	ESPN or ESPN2
14	Saturday	2 p.m.	vs. Pittsburgh	ESPN
17	Tuesday	7 p.m.	at N.C. State	ESPN or ESPN2
21	Saturday	1 p.m.	at Syracuse	ABC
23	Monday	7 p.m.	vs. No. 11 Louisville	ESPN
28	Saturday	6:30 or 8:30	vs. Virginia Tech	ESPN or ESPN2
	March
3	Tuesday	7 p.m.	vs. Clemson	ESPN or ESPN2
7	Saturday	6:30	at No. 3 Duke	ESPN
10–14	Tues.-Sat.	ACC tournament	Spectrum Center, Charlotte

Photo via @DerskDixon03l