Dixson gets honored

Horizon awards Flames freshman

By Mike Pankow

November 17, 2015

Mike Pankow/Whoosh! Freshman Dikembe Dixson’s 13 points led the Flames against San Francisco last week.

Dikembe Dixson made a splash in his UIC debut last week and for that, he earned Horizon League freshman of the week honors.

Dixson became the first Flames player to earn the honor since the league instituted the award at the start of last season.

Dixson, who was one of two freshmen to start along with Dominique Matthews, scored a team-high 13 points in 23 minutes in a 78-75 loss to San Francisco in coach Steve McClain’s debut at the UIC Pavilion on Friday night.

The 6-foot-7, 200-pound forward hit his first three 3-point attempts of the second half to energize the Flames, who led for much of the second half until the final moments of the game.

Dixson had made an impression on his teammates even before the season started.

“He’s always smiling and saying things to pick the guys up,” said senior point guard Paris Burns, during an interview on Oct. 31. “He shows a lot of signs of being a great leader in the future.”

He averaged 21.8 points and 10.5 rebounds as a senior at Mingo Central High in Matewan, W. Va. and was ranked as the No. 43 small forward in the nation. He was recruited by top programs such as DePaul, Alabama, Mississippi State, Tennessee, UNLV and Wake Forest.

Dixson, a native of Freeport, Ill., also played at two high schools in Kentucky.