By R.L. Bynum
Derek Dixon announced on Monday that he will continue his college career at Arizona in a post on Instagram.
During his only season at UNC as a freshman, Dixon started 16 of 33 games, averaging 6.5 points, 2.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game. He announced on April 6 that he was entering the transfer portal.
He becomes the second Tar Heels guard to transfer to Arizona after Caleb Love did so after the 2022–23 season. He’ll play for Coach Tommy Lloyd, which was an early target in Carolina’s coaching search.
Dixon is the second of the seven former Carolina players to commit to another school after Jonathan Powell commited to Pittsburgh.
Arizona has also gotten a transfer-portal commitment from former Washington player Mandaquit.
Dixon scored season-highs of 17 points and five 3-pointers in the Tar Heels’ 76–61 regular-season loss at Duke and had a huge late step-back 3-pointer in the 67–64 victory on Dec. 2 at Kentucky.
He was a four-star recruit out of high school and the No. 43 player in the Class of 2025 out of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, earning 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
After making 38.5% of his 3-point attempts in high school, Dixon connected on 39.7% last season for the Tar Heels.
He took over as the starter at point guard from junior Kyan Evans for the California game on Jan. 17 and stayed in the starting lineup for the rest of the season.
Subscribe to read Tar Heel Tribune ad-free
Subscribe for a cleaner, smoother reading experience without the flashing banners, slow-loading elements, or those especially annoying pop‑up ads that interrupt the flow of the story. You’ll also get the first version of each story emailed to you. The only ads you’ll see are static, non-intrusive ads for UNC‑related books, and there are none currently on the site.
Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson, Luka Bogavac, Isaiah Denis, Derek Dixon, Kyan Evans, Jonathan Powell, James Brown and Zayden High return and the players in the incoming freshman class hold in their commitment (Dylan Mingo has reopened his recruitment), which would put UNC six under the 15-player limit. The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — X | G | 6–5 | 215 | |
| 40 | Junior | Ivan Matlekovic | 5 | 7–0 | 255 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 13 | RS senior | Henri Veesaar | 5 | 7–0 | 225 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
X — Virginia Tech transfer
In transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | |
| Isaiah Denis | Sophomore | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
Key offseason dates
Last Tuesday — Transfer portal opened
Thursday — Deadline to request evaluation from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee
11:59 p.m. April 21 — Transfer portal closes
11:59 p.m. April 26 — NBA early-entry deadline
May 8–10 — G-League Combine in Chicago
May 10 — NBA Draft Lottery
May 10–17 — NBA Draft Combine in Chicago
May 27 (11:59 p.m.) — NCAA early-entry withdrawal deadline
Week of June 22 (date to be determined) — NBA Draft
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
1 Comment