Abington’s Eric Dixon continues to feed off his doubters
CONSHOHOCKEN >> Eric Dixon has put together quite the resume during his high school career at Abington.
The 6-foot-7 forward is the Ghosts all-time leading scorer with 2,454 career points. In his four years, the team won four league championships — three in the Suburban One League National Conference and one in the Suburban One League American Conference — with a 51-1 record against league competition. He averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds in his senior year while leading his team to its third straight District 1 Class-6A championship.
Despite all his accomplishments, Dixon still hears the same skeptics that he heard four years ago.
“Even now I still have doubters,” the Villanova commit said. “People still doubt me and I thank them. They keep me going. They keep me going to the gym with something to work on and they keep me motivated.”
As a reminder, Dixon wrote a quote on the pair of white Steph Curry sneakers he wore for We R 1 in the 59th Annual Albert C. Donofrio Classic semifinals Monday April 15 at the Fellowship House of Conshohocken — “I asked for a shot, nobody would listen. Then I took the shot, now they’re listening.”
“Coach just said in the locker room in eighth or ninth grade when I was young, no one believed in me,” Dixon said after leading We R 1 to the Donofrio Classic championship Tuesday night. “I just kept asking for a chance, asking for a chance and I stepped into the spot here. We R 1 gave me a chance to be the guy. It’s been history ever since.”
In the 97-69 semifinal win over K-Low Elite and the 110-97 championship win over Waterview Triple Threat, Dixon averaged 23.5 points on 57 percent shooting with nine rebounds and two assists.
“He’s physical,” Zahree Harrison, a K-Low Elite guard who also saw Dixon twice during the high school regular season with league rival Cheltenham, said. “If he’s not going to take you to the paint, he’s going to hit you with that fadeaway jump shot. His confidence is through the roof right now. That makes a person tough to guard, too.”
The 250-pound Willow Grove native showed off his varied skillset in the final two games in Conshohocken. He displayed his finesse with the aforementioned fadeaway jumpers and a couple three-pointers and he showcased his power with nine offensive rebounds over the two games and plenty of strong slam dunks.
Dixon earned the Albert C. Donofrio Award and put up those impressive numbers at less than 100 percent. The lefty had two fingers on his shooting hand taped together in the semifinals due to a dislocated ring finger and added tape around his left wrist in the championship after a collision in the semis.
He wasn’t going to let those bumps and bruises stop him from winning the Donofrio title. This was Dixon’s fourth year in the tournament — all for We R 1. He reached the semifinals as a freshman and a junior and the quarterfinals as a sophomore.
“I like to play,” Dixon said of pushing through a little discomfort. “It’s as simple as that. I like to play, my friends are on my team — friends I’ve had for four or five years — so to come out and play with some friends, it’s a fun time.
“This is kind of like the cherry on top. I’ve been here for four years, got closer and closer every year and to finally finish it off, play in front of rivals and have a lot of friends and family here, it’s fun.”
Dixon will continue fine-tuning his game before heading off to Villanova. He’s currently focusing on his conditioning and has a few All-Star games coming up, including the Iverson Classic’s Play By Play Invitational at Souderton Area High School Monday April 22 at 7 p.m.
