Syracuse Basketball: Recruiting service bullish on 4-star priority from D.C.

Syracuse basketball recruit Derek Dixon from Washington, D.C., who recently took an official visit to the Hill, is a fast-rising 2025 prospect who ranks in the top 80 overall of his class, per multiple recruiting services.

I contend that the four-star combo guard remains underrated in the junior class. To that end, one recruiting service is extremely high on the 6-foot-4 Dixon, who picked up a scholarship offer from the Orange coaching staff on June 15 of this year.

Per an article from Colby Giacubeno, MADE Hoops has Dixon at No. 30 across the country in the 2025 cycle. Giacubeno, the top analyst/scout in the D.C. to Baltimore corridor, recently came on board with MADE Hoops as this recruiting service’s Mid-Atlantic Insider, by the way.

Dixon is one of the top players at Gonzaga College High School in D.C., which has appeared in some preseason top-25 rankings ahead of the upcoming 2023-24 campaign.

On the AAU circuit, Dixon was a standout this spring and summer for the 16U squad of the Washington-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league.

Syracuse basketball coaches are prioritizing four-star combo guard Derek Dixon in the 2025 class.

Besides the Orange, Dixon’s offer sheet includes 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.

Per Giacubeno’s article, Dixon in recent weeks has also taken unofficial visits to both Pittsburgh and Virginia. His recent trip to Syracuse basketball was Dixon’s first official visit, and according to media reports, that visit went well.

SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister, in a recent story, noted that Dixon plans to unofficially visit Villanova later on in October. His recruiting process could have a way to go, but my sense is that the ‘Cuse is among his top suitors at this juncture.

"Giacubeno wrote that Dixon “has witnessed quite the uptick in his recruitment since the beginning of spring. The 6-foot-5 combo guard, who ranks No. 30 in the 2025 MADE Hoops Rankings, spent his sophomore season putting his name on the map as a deadly shooter from deep, but used the EYBL stage to prove himself as more of a playmaker being featured as a primary ball-handler on Team Takeover 16s.”"

In late September/early October, on the same weekend as the Syracuse football home game against Clemson, Dixon was one of three highly rated prospects to officially visit Syracuse basketball. The others were 2024 commit Donnie Freeman from D.C., a four-star power forward, and 2025 target Matthew Gilhool from Philadelphia, a four-star big man.