Derek Dixon's Leap: NC Tar Heels' Most Improved

0:00On March 25th, for the 2025-2026 North Carolina Tar Heels, picking a most improved player gets tricky with so much roster. Turnover from last season. Just two holdovers saw real minutes, so the nod goes to freshman-point guard Derek Dixon for his huge in-season leap that steadied the back court. Dixon came in as a four-star recruit from Washington, D.C., pegged as a bench option behind starter, Cyan Evans and others like Seth Trimble. But Evans struggled adjusting to big-time college ball, and Dixon quickly showed out with sharp shooting early on. By mid-January, coaches handed him the starting spot on the road at California, where he dropped 14 points despite the loss. From there, he locked it down, outshining Evans and bringing poise to a position full of question marks. In his final 16 games as starter, Dixon averaged 8.5 points and 3.5 assists, hitting 39.7 percent. From three second best on the team, he's shown in big spots, like setting up the game winner against Duke and leading with 17 points in the rematch, then closing strong versus VCU.

1:05Looking ahead, the new staff will likely build around Dixon's growth, which echoes Marcus Page at times, positioning him to anchor the point for. Years in the ACC.