'I’m Always Straight-Faced': Derek Dixon's Composure Comes In Clutch At Rupp Arena

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Henri Veesaar — North Carolina’s leading scorer on Tuesday — briefly looked to his right outside the visitors’ locker room inside Rupp Arena while answering questions and saw Derek Dixon doing the same in front of a sizable media gathering.

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Once made available, Dixon drew in reporters like a magnet when discussing his heroic performance against Kentucky. On an otherwise quiet day — entering the second half with four points off the bench — Dixon was the ultimate silencer in Lexington.

A Kentucky crowd that hounded North Carolina all night left the arena visibly stunned on Tuesday when the 6-foot-5 freshman hit two monumental shots to put the Wildcats away, as a go-ahead 3-pointer and a game-winning layup secured a 67-64 victory for the Tar Heels.

“Just how calm he was,” Veesaar said when asked what impressed him about Dixon’s late-game play. “That was a big part. He had a big-time pocket pass for an assist. He was just awesome all game long. He took care of the ball, made amazing plays, got downhill, and that’s what we were missing.”

Dixon kept his head on a swivel in the first half, turning his head back to the sideline as Hubert Davis would yell out play calls and sets for the Tar Heels to run. But late in the second half, with the game in the balance, the freshman simply acted on instinct.

With just under a minute to go, he dribbled the clock down with Denzel Aberdeen in front of him while waiting on a play to develop. But when that design broke down, he improvised, driving right and going for a behind-the-back step-back dribble on the right wing. He uncorked a 3-pointer — after missing this previous three attempts — and took a two-point lead with 53 seconds left.

Kentucky tied the game with a layup, setting Dixon and the Tar Heels up for another go-ahead opportunity. He once again had Aberdeen in front of him, but this time used the assistance of a Veesaar screen to create space. Once he found the crease, he attacked the basket with his left and dropped a layup over the top of Malachi Moreno, quelling the noise of a roaring Rupp Arena audience.

“I think throughout the game, I had gotten some good run, and I felt like I was pretty confident out there on the floor,” Dixon said. “So I felt like down the stretch, I just kept that same confidence. We needed a big play, and I was able to come up with it.”

Caleb Wilson made one last free throw at the end to give UNC a 3-point winning margin, but it was Dixon’s valiant effort that put UNC over the top. The poise and confidence of the freshman guard guided the Tar Heels on Tuesday and advanced them to a 7-1 record on the season.

“As a freshman point guard, that’s incredible to do,” Veesaar said. “Kentucky’s a physical team. They were like bumping you, fouling you and he was still able to get downhill, run the plays the way we needed to run. And that’s a big-time job by him.”

Dixon’s number was called in the game’s biggest moments, but before those deciding plays, he was simply asked to steady the ship. He checked in at the 14:41 mark after Kyan Evans picked up his third foul of the game. He made a few positive plays for North Carolina like blocking an Otega Oweh layup attempt and assisting Henri Veesaar on a dunk. He left again at the 9:40 mark, but he played the final 5:50 at point guard to take the Tar Heels home.

Davis commended Dixon for how he played in the tightly contested game, giving the team what it needed on both ends in a low-scoring outing for both teams.

“I thought he did a really good job defensively, containing the dribble drive, keeping them out of the lane and making them take tough shots, rebounding the basketball, and then him just running the team,” Davis said. “There were situations where we ran a play, and we just didn’t get what we were looking for, and in those times you just need players to step up and make plays, and Derek made a number of them. I’m really happy for him.”

Dixon’s late-game performance was a galvanizing one. Once UNC got back to the locker room, his teammates poured water on him and loudly cheered in recognition of what he accomplished. In his eighth collegiate game, Dixon delivered a signature moment in the UNC-Kentucky series, a moment that also gave the Tar Heels a key non-conference victory on the road.

And he did so with composure in a hostile setting.

“I feel like I’ve just always been that way,” Dixon said. “I’m always straight-faced, not too emotional, not too high, not too low. That’s just a characteristic about me. So I feel like it treats me well in these type of environments.”