Derek Dixon's Season-High Scoring Performance Overshadowed

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Lost in the mire of North Carolina’s blowout loss to No. 1 Duke on Saturday was the impressive performance by Derek Dixon in his first trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

The freshman guard not only scored a season-high 17 points, but did so without committing a turnover on a night where the Tar Heels posted a season-worst 14 giveaways — a main contributor as to why they lost. For this reason, head coach Hubert Davis took time during his weekly radio show to praise his young point guard for handling the pressure of playing in his first road game against the Blue Devils. 

“It’s different when those lights come on,” Davis said during Hubert Davis Live on Monday night. “It’s real, and you don’t know how guys are going to respond and react.” 

On top of the pressure of facing a raucous crowd of Cameron Crazies, Dixon also had to deal with one of the ACC’s best defenders in Dame Sarr guarding him all night. Despite the tough assignment, Dixon shined, drilling a season-high five 3-pointers and recording three assists.

The freshman also finished with the best plus-minus among UNC’s starting five, delivering against Duke’s top-rated defense in the country.

“Duke picks up full court, Dame Sarr is one of the best defenders, not only in our conference, but in the country,” Davis said. “He was hounding him, and Derek was able to handle the pressure, take care of the basketball, get us in our offense, and also be able to score.” 

Possibly the most impactful part of Dixon’s performance was his ball security in a game where other Tar Heels struggled to do so. He was one of only two UNC players to not record a turnover against the Blue Devils, with the other being Jaydon Young, who played eight minutes in total. 

The giveaways were the Tar Heels’ Achilles heel on Saturday, leading Duke to tally 24 points off turnovers, which Davis described as the equivalent to “pick-sixes” for UNC’s offense. But when Dixon handled the ball, North Carolina was able to get into its sets and create half-court looks like it did well in the first half. 

It’s a product of Dixon not being afraid of the moment or spotlight, which Davis has noticed from early on in the season. It started with the freshman’s clutch 3-pointer and layup in the final minute at Kentucky, continued with key assists against Virginia and even more so when he found Seth Trimble for the game-winning shot against Duke in the Smith Center. 

“He’s just never been scared of the moment,” Davis said. “It’s the exact opposite. He runs towards it. And so, the big shots at Kentucky, the pass against Duke in our first match up, and just his first time at Cameron, to be able to play with that type of poise was really impressive.”