Dixon Finds Home At Gonzaga All-Wcc Point Guard Leads Bulldogs Into First Round Of Ncaa Tournament

Kyle Dixon can now chuckle when he thinks back to last fall, back when he told coaches he was quitting the Gonzaga basketball team.

A bit socially disoriented, and more than a bit homesick, Dixon returned to Oregon and phoned the GU coaches with his intention to retire.

Coaxed into giving it a last try - and remembering that he didn’t care for getting up early for construction work - Dixon returned to Spokane.

And he’s not only helped lead the team to the NCAA Tournament, but was the only Bulldog to earn All-West Coast Conference first-team honors.

“I could have been back on the couch in Sisters, Oregon, watching this team on TV,” Dixon said.

No, actually, he probably wouldn’t be watching this team in the NCAA Tournament. Because if he had decided to hang it up, it’s unlikely the Bulldogs would have made it this far.

“Face it,” GU coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “If this guy goes belly-up, we wouldn’t be talking about basketball now, we’d be out playing golf already.”

The message the GU coaches repeatedly impressed upon their reluctant junior-college transfer was, simply, “hang in there,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s easy to quit. Anybody can quit.”

The quick generalization, perhaps warranted for the most part, is that the GU student body is comprised of fairly affluent individuals with strong academic backgrounds.

And for Dixon, from a small, working-class, central Oregon town, school was not necessarily the first priority.

“It was really hard for me at first, getting to know people,” Dixon said. “All my friends were back home, and I had trouble feeling like I was fitting in here. But then I started thinking about my future, and school, and I remembered I didn’t like getting up early for construction work, so I decided to give it another shot.

“Now, I’ve gotten to know a lot of people, and the team is all best friends, so it’s like home to me,” he said.

No one, not Fitzgerald, not Dixon himself, expected the wiry 6-footer to so adeptly take over the Bulldogs offense.

“My daughter (Kelly) said it best,” Fitzgerald recalled of his early season expectations of Dixon. “I said ‘Kelly, I think he’s pretty good.’ She said, ‘Dad, no JC guy is going to come in and run your stuff the way you want it.’

“But he has. He’s not only done a good job of taking care of business, he’s done a good job of not letting me crack him,” Fitzgerald said. “I coach through the point guard and I can be tough on them.”

Dixon certainly had fewer problems adapting to life at GU on the court than off. But there, too, a period of adjustment was required.

“I think in Fitz’s system, the point guard has the hardest time adjusting, understanding what Fitz wants,” GU senior guard John Rillie said. “I’m sure when he first came in, he was unsure what point guard duties entailed here. But as time went on, he began to understand the system. Now, we’re seeing what happens when a team gets a chance to blend styles and talents.”

Aside from his quick hands, surprising leaping ability and the knack for getting the ball to the hoop when the shot clock is winding down, Dixon features two qualities Fitzgerald demands in a point guard: he’s toughminded and selfless.

“He’s a true point guard who believes in what we do,” Fitzgerald said. “It takes a long time to learn how to play for us, but he’s a very low-ego kid. Scoring is not critical to him, in fact, I think there’s a direct correlation to him scoring less and us winning games.”

Fitzgerald’s theory in that regard is empirically sound. In GU’s seven league losses, Dixon averaged 17.85 points, and only 11.4 points in 10 league wins (including three in the WCC Tournament).

“I’d actually rather have more assists because, when I get assists, we have a better chance to win - the ball is getting to the scorers,” Dixon said.

That Dixon made all-conference in his first season at GU may not be as amazing as that Dixon is in college at all.

At Redmond High School, Dixon played sparingly as a junior and did not even make first-team all-league as a senior.

College? “It was the last thing on my mind,” said Dixon, who went to work, building houses in the cooler months and life-guarding in the summer. “I was playing C league ball and working.”

But that life was no day at the beach for Dixon, who finally listened to the advice of people in town who repeatedly suggested he walk-on somewhere.

“So I went over to Clackamas and walked on,” Dixon said.

A year later, the only hammering he was doing was on opponents, as he scored 32 points, nine assists and five steals for Clackamas in the Oregon State JC title game.

Now, he’s comfortable on the court and on campus, and has even grown at ease with the media inquisitions that he had met with apprehension early in the season.

“This is a tough kid who has worked hard and come a long, long way,” Fitzgerald said.

“It’s still hard to believe all this has happened,” Dixon said. “I’m surprised it has all come together and worked so well.”

MEMO: This sidebar ran with story: GU VS. MARYLAND Site: NCAA West Regional, Salt Lake City Time: 30 minutes following completion of 5 p.m. game Radio: KJRB, 790-AM, Dick Wright play-by-play