Juan Dixon is no stranger to NCAA basketball. He became a college superstar with Maryland, leading the program to its only national championship in 2002. After a seven-year NBA career, he returned home to the Terrapins and served as a special assistant to head coach Mark Turgeon. Now, he is taking his knowledge and skills to the University of the District of Columbia as the head coach of its women’s basketball team.
Dixon rose to great heights as a Terrapin. His four-year career would conclude as Maryland’s all-time leading scorer with 2,269 points and raising the 2001-02 National Championship trophy alongside other Maryland greats of lore like Lonny Baxter, Steve Blake, Byron Mouton and Chris Wilcox. He also played his entire career under one of the ACC’s — and NCAA’s — greatest coaches in its history.
This past offseason, David Dean — who, in nine seasons at the helm at Valdosta State, took the Blazers to six NCAA postseasons, one Gulf South conference championship and two national championships — became the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at FBS program Georgia Southern. It left a big hole in Valdosta State’s program.
I know, I’m a few days late on the Augie Garrido decision. While most college baseball fanatics were watching the selection show on Monday — and then inevitably complaining about which bracket they wound up in — I was covering the DIII Baseball Championships. It was pretty fun baseball, considering the basic lack of pitching and the ensuing superb defensive plays and tremendously big bats. Hey, I could have been stuck watching the Braves, right?
Anyway, what’s really important is that the NCAA, not just college baseball, saw one of its legends hang it up this weekend. And I feel like it came without a lot of well-deserved fanfare.
(Note from The Wayniac: This weekend I get to cover the DIII Baseball Championships, their version of the College World Series. As a baseball junkie, you can imagine that I am very excited to do so. Below, is my preview, highlighting the impact players to keep an eye on. The full article can be read at NCAA.com by clicking this LINK.)
This past week, I have been lucky to be in Denver, Colorado covering the NCAA DII Festival. It is six championships stuffed into six exciting days of sports in the Mile High City. Simply put, it has been a pretty amazing experience.
Wayne Cavadi | NCAA.com Last Updated – May 13, 2016 09:11 EDT
It’s hard to believe that five years ago, the University of Mount Olive didn’t even have a men’s lacrosse team. It’s even harder to believe that in the four years since the team’s inception, they are a combined 44-19 and have quickly embedded themselves in the nation’s elite of DII men’s lacrosse.
Wayne Cavadi | NCAA.com Last Updated – May 11, 2016 09:05 EDT
Rollins head coach Michelle Frew is no stranger to a winning program. She has over 600 wins in her illustrious 20-year coaching career at Rollins, eclipsing 700 over the course of her 24 years altogether. Her Tars have been to Regionals eight times in the past ten years alone. Rollins simply hasn’t been able to capture that all too elusive South Regional title.
Wayne Cavadi | NCAA.com Last Updated – May 6, 2016 07:48 EDT
The University of Central Missouri baseball program has a long tradition of excellence. They are the winningest team of the 2000s, with more wins than any other program across collegiate baseball. No team has won more MIAA titles than the Mules 24, including five consecutive regular season and tournament sweeps in the early 2000s.
The 64-team DII Softball championship field was announced this past Monday. While there are many fascinating and exciting storylines that come with nearly every team in the postseason, there are three heading into the first weekend of the regional play that should be paid close attention.
![Juan Dixon settling in as head coach with UDC [Interview]](https://waynecavadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/ncaa_wordmark_logo_large.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1){kind=logo}
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