Post by jhb on May 21, 2021 14:44:48 GMT -5
Juan Dixon
SG
6'3"
164
24
Maryland
Juan Dixon is the type of guy that you take in the first round that will get your scouting department fired or promoted to GM jobs. He's an extremely productive college player that doesn't even get close to fitting the mold of what most TMBSL teams are looking for at the next level. He's thin and lanky (though lauded for his toughness and playing much bigger than his size), he's old for a rookie at 24, and he's a shooting guard in a point guard's body who doesn't have the point guard skills to even really be labeled a combo guard. But...he was an extremely productive college player, whose to say he can't be a productive TMBSL player despite all the strikes against him? Not only was he just extremely productive, he was a winning player who recorded a WS/48 over .200 for his entire college career and the hero of a national championship run by Maryland in his senior season where he absolutely decimated blue bloods from start to finish...toppling Wisconsin, Kentucky, UConn, Kansas, and Indiana in succession to take home the title.
First off, he's a phenomenal shooter of the basketball. Nearly 90% from the charity stripe as a senior and 40% on 5 attempts a game over his last 2 collegiate seasons, Dixon has a shooting stroke that is impeccable and he has the ability to hit shots from everywhere on the court open or with a hand in his face. He does a terrific job of elevating and getting his shoulders square no matter where he decides to pull from. He's good from both deep and the midrange and also knows how to score against much larger players once he makes his way towards the paint, boasting a deadly teardrop floater... but at the rim he just doesn't have the elevation or trickery to finish among the trees. He moves well without the ball and does a good job creating opportunities for himself with his cuts. Unfortunately, despite his size making him the perfect candidate to be a point guard at the next level, he simply just doesn't have the court vision or passing ability to make that happen...while he's a decent enough ball handler to handle creating his own offense and taking catch and shoot opportunities, he just couldn't handle working on the ball at the next level.
He also is credited with being an outstanding college defender, who despite his size constraints makes up for his lack of length with quickness and tenacity. He may have been outsized and lacked the length of his opponents, but he made up for it with great quickness, footwork, and instincts and extremely active hands...he did an excellent job in college of poking the ball loose and creating a ton of steals though he may be exploited at the next level if he continues to gamble quite as often. His hustle shone through on the boards, where he played much larger than his size and was an excellent rebounder for a smaller guard. With his defensive potential (and size) maximized, scouts don't see much room for growth after this production drops off against full sized competition.
Dixon overcame a tough childhood and a hard family situation to drag himself to Maryland with pure hustle and grit. He took that opportunity and turned himself into the hero of a national championship run and one of the more memorable college players of all time. It will be a lot to overcome for him to make it at the next level, but people have doubted him before and been wrong. While he may have already maximized every bit of natural talent he has, scouts are confident Dixon will give it his all to have a successful TMBSL career.