Dixon joins GCU from St. John's

Mikey Dixon moves fast with his decision-making on and off the court.

Dixon decided last week that he would transfer from St. John's, visited a Grand Canyon victory at GCU Arena on Saturday night and is now part of the Lopes basketball program.

Dixon, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound combo guard, was the 2016-17 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year as a Quinnipiac freshman starter before transferring to St. John's. Dixon sat out last season and played in the 24^th-ranked Red Storm's first 14 games this season, commonly as its first substitute, before he decided to seek a midyear transfer.

Dixon will be eligible to play in games for GCU at next season's spring semester.

"He's a really talented scorer who can play off-guard and point guard," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "He wants to be a part of a good program and have a chance to play in the NCAA tournament. I think he realizes this is a good spot for him and he's going to give us a guy who can score the basketball."

Dixon averaged 17.4 minutes in 14 appearances, including one start, for St. John's (14-1) this season. He averaged 5.9 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and only 0.7 turnovers while shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 43.3 percent from 3-point range. He scored 13 points against St. Francis on Dec. 19 and had an eight-point, four-assist, four-rebound game against Sacred Heart on Dec. 22 before playing three minutes against Seton Hall on Dec. 29 and four minutes against Marquette on Jan. 1.

Dixon, a New Castle, Del., native, said he also was considering interest from Nevada and Wichita State, but Lopes assistant coach Chris Crevelone recruited Dixon to visit GCU's Phoenix campus on Saturday. He quickly felt as if he had found his next home.

"I feel like the program is trending in the right direction," Dixon said. "It definitely has the support from the community, the students and the university. I felt comfortable with the coaching staff as well.

"I like the campus and the student environment. I'm ready and excited to get there and be with the crazy fans. I like the style of play. I'm really excited to play with a skilled big man like that (sophomore Alessandro Lever)."

Dixon averaged 16.5 points to rank 12^th for scoring among Division I freshmen in 2016-17 at Quinnipiac, where he ranked fourth in the MAAC for conference game scoring average (18.1). He started 20 games and also averaged 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 45 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 86 percent from the free throw line.

"He's a proven scorer," Majerle said. "I'm looking for guys who can help us score. He can play a lot of different positions and mesh with our other guys. He's going to have a year here to get to know our system and mesh with our guys. He's going to work hard and wants to be a part of it."

Dixon said Majerle's experience and passion were qualities he wanted to experience for his first move to the West.

"I'm an East Coast kid at heart," Dixon said. "It's hard, but the change is necessary and I'm ready to embrace that. I think I need the change. The crazy thing is that I feel like I fit how West Coast guards play. They play fast and are crafty to score."

Dixon attended Sanford High School in New Castle, Del., where he was the state player of the year for a state championship team in 2016, when he averaged 27.1 points per game.

"I'm an energetic, scoring guard," Dixon said. "I play with tons of passion and energy. I like to get out and score the ball, make decision and playmake."

St. John's head coach Chris Mullin complimented Dixon in parting last week, releasing a statement that said, "We respect Mikey's decision and wish him nothing but the best. He's a good basketball player and a good person with a bright future ahead."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Alessandro Lever

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