Not too long ago, the Syracuse basketball coaching staff was in attendance for 2025 four-star combo guard Derek Dixon during an open gym at his high school in Washington, D.C.
In a few days, the 6-foot-4 Dixon will return the favor. Per a post on X from Syracuse.com’s Mike Waters, the top-100 national prospect will take an official visit to the ‘Cuse this coming weekend.
Dixon, a fast-rising prospect in the junior class, will go on his visit to the Hill on the same weekend that Syracuse football (4-0) will host fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad Clemson (2-2) beginning at noon on Saturday inside the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Orange coaching staff offered a scholarship to Dixon on June 15, the same day that college coaches could begin initiating direct communication with players in the 2025 cycle.
Syracuse will host 3 recruits on visits this weekend. @DonavanFreeman1 @Matthew_Gilhool @DerekDixon03 https://t.co/pB25nQlG0L
— Mike Waters (@MikeWatersSYR) September 25, 2023
He is a standout for Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. On the AAU circuit, Dixon suits up for the D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league, a grassroots basketball program to which ‘Cuse coaches have strong recruiting ties.
Syracuse basketball will soon welcome 2025 four-star combo guard Derek Dixon on an official visit.
It’s encouraging that Dixon is taking an official visit to Central New York, and this news doesn’t surprise me. After the Orange offered him, I saw several media reports and social media posts that indicated there was mutual interest among Dixon and the Syracuse basketball coaching staff about getting him on the SU campus at some point for a visit.
Besides the ‘Cuse, Dixon’s growing offer sheet includes college teams such as Miami, Mississippi State, Virginia, Villanova, Xavier, Penn State, Maryland, Providence, Saint Joseph’s, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Kansas State, Bryant, George Mason, Fordham, East Carolina and Norfolk State.
In a September 12 post on X, Gonzaga head coach Steve Turner said that the Orange coaching staff was among those in attendance for his squad’s open gym that day.
Earlier this month, the fall recruiting period got underway, and Syracuse basketball coaches have proven quite active in hosting targets on the Hill for visits, as well as hitting the road to see recruits in person at open gyms.
In mid-September, 2025 four-star point guard Nigel James from New York state, who was offered by the Orange in late August, took an official visit to the ‘Cuse. That same weekend, 2025 four-star forward Sadiq White from the Charlotte, N.C., area, who picked up an Orange offer in late April, went on an unofficial visit to the SU campus.
Additionally, per Waters, this coming weekend two other high-school prospects will join Dixon on official visits to Syracuse basketball, making this weekend a huge one for the Orange program.
Those high-school players are 2024 four-star commit Donnie Freeman from Washington, D.C., who verbally committed to the ‘Cuse in May. The 6-foot-9 power forward will spend his senior year at the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., which competes in the loaded 10-member National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (“NIBC”).
Also going on an official visit to the Hill this weekend is 2025 four-star big man Matthew Gilhool, who was offered by the ‘Cuse late last month. The 6-foot-11 power forward/center is a junior at the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia.
Within the 2025 class, multiple recruiting services presently rank Dixon as a top-100 national prospect, a top-10 combo guard, and a top-three player in our nation’s capital.