ANGOLA, Ind. – It would be easy to take a look at everything Trine men's basketball player Will Dixon has accomplished and think the senior would be satisfied as he looks back on his collegiate basketball career.
Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind. / Zionsville) has been a two-time All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association performer. He led the conference in steals as a sophomore and has finished among the top five in the MIAA in scoring each of the past two seasons. His individual accolades also include four MIAA Player of the Week honors, recognition as the MVP of the 2015 Carnegie Mellon DoubleTree Invitational and a spot on the D3Hoops.com Team of the Week.
This past weekend, Dixon became the 18th player in program history to score more than 1,400 points in his career. He has totaled 1,412 points in his collegiate career. There is a chance Dixon could become the team's all-time leader in scoring since the program joined NCAA Division III in 2004.
Dixon, however, isn't satisfied. There's one major thing the senior says he still has left to accomplish- winning an MIAA Championship.
"The biggest goal is winning the conference. I really want to do that," Dixon said. "I know I want to do it, I know [head] coach [Brooks] Miller wants to do it, and I know everyone on the team wants to do it. What comes along with that is going to the national tournament, which Trine hasn't done. We've got the talent and we're starting to get the discipline."
The Thunder very nearly accomplished that goal last season by reaching the MIAA Tournament championship game for the first time in team history. Dixon played a key role in helping Trine defeat No. 6 Hope on its home floor in the semifinal matchup, scoring 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and dishing out five assists in an 82-77 win. The Thunder fell in the championship game the next night to Alma, which went on to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Dixon has carried his on-court success from previous seasons into a hot start to the 2016-17 campaign. Through five games, he is averaging 23.4 points per game on an efficient 53 percent shooting clip. His personal success has helped lead the Thunder to a 3-2 start, with victories over Kenyon, Manchester and defending co-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference champion Defiance. Dixon scored 31 points in the victory at Manchester, topping the 30-point mark for the seventh time in his career.
After the graduation of four seniors following last season, Dixon has been asked to shoulder more of a vocal leadership role this season. That, Dixon said, is something that he's adjusted to with the expectations that come of a senior.
"As a younger underclassmen, I felt like I had a little leadership role, but my leadership role was action," Dixon said. "It was about play and not really communicating. In these past two years, especially this year, it's upped the ante because not only do I have to go out and lead by example and be the hardest-working guy out there, I've also got to communicate to the younger guys. This is what we have to do to get guys to work just as hard to help this team out. It's turned in to a 'show me' type of deal."
Head coach Brooks Miller named Dixon the team's only captain this season as a result of his approach to leadership both on and off the court.
"Will is our only captain, not because I think he's a great player, but because I think he embodies everything that I think makes an individual successful," Miller explained. "He carries a 3.5 GPA as a chemical engineering major. The course-load and the off-the-court work load with him is remarkable. The way he carries himself at the humane society, the way he leads in different activities that we do together embodies the qualities that make Will a great teammate and leader."
Dixon credits the culture created by his predecessors, both on and off the court, as contributing to his vision for how to become the leader this year's team needs.
"Good leadership off the court is including everyone and making that environment where everyone feels welcome," Dixon said. "It's a good, cohesive atmosphere that treats everyone the same. We've had that the past three years. We've had such great teammates with such great relationships off the court. When we go on the court, we're all really pushing for it, fighting for each other and that's what I want to translate to this year."
Miller agreed with Dixon's assessment of continuing the leadership roles set by his predecessors.
"Will sets the tone for that, just like Tyler [Good] set the tone for that two years ago and just like Jared [Holmquist] set the tone last year," Miller said. "Will has really been able to observe and learn from those individuals and understand what he needs to do to help this team be successful."
That type of communication was something Dixon had to adjust and grow into when he arrived at Trine.
"It was actually a big adjustment creating new relationships," Dixon recalled. "When I got here I wasn't necessarily a very outgoing person, so I've had to go out of my way to make friends off the court. On the court, it's just natural to be friends with your teammates. You spend enough time together that you become friends and build relationships that way. Outside, in class and in a professional aspect, I've realized I have to be approachable and learn things from people."
Dixon received interest from other schools, and weighed options that also included playing golf. It wasn't until his senior year that he really decided he wanted to play basketball at the next level.
Dixon received interest from Miller and then-assistant coach Kyle Lindsay and, after a campus visit, made the decision to attend Trine University to purse a collegiate basketball career and chemical engineering degree.
The degree, Dixon said, was something he didn't decide on until visiting Trine. He'd always had a passion for math and science. After hearing about the reputation of Trine's chemical engineering program being one of the school's toughest, he made his choice.
"The difficulty of the program was the consensus I got from people," Dixon said. "I like challenges, so I figured I'd go for it all."
Dixon has achieved a high-level of success in his program at Trine. He has earned MIAA Academic Honor Roll honors for achieving at least a 3.50 GPA while lettering in a varsity sport. He is also a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AiChE) and is working towards earning his Lean Six Sigma certification. The certification is designed to measure an individual's proficiency in a specific field, and is something Dixon hopes will pay off as he pursues a career after graduation.
Dixon credits Allen Hersel, Ph.D. and Vice President of Academic Affairs for pushing him towards achieving his Lean Six Sigma certification. Matt Hemlock, the brother of team friend Drew Hemlock, is another individual Dixon credits for helping him prepare for his future career.
Though there is still much left to accomplish on and off the court prior to graduating, Dixon already knows that when reflecting on his time at Trine, it is the learning experiences and relationships he will cherish the most.
"The real memories that I'll look back on and really cherish are those relationships," Dixon said. "I guess not necessarily moments in time, but just how people were, how we connected and how they made me laugh, and how different people pushed me and made me grow as a person."
"I'd definitely say another takeaway is to be proactive," Dixon continued. "I go back to not really knowing what I wanted to do my senior year of high school and being indecisive on the types of avenues that I had. If you go out and keep every avenue open, I feel like that's the best way to success. I've been taught that the best way to keep all of those avenues open is to be proactive, whether that's in a job search or in relationships."
There's still unfinished business for Dixon and the Thunder, with a quest for the MIAA title looming. Winning a conference championship is something Dixon said will take discipline.
"The discipline has definitely grown, but in order to get to a Championship level, it's got to be up exponentially," Dixon said. "By discipline, I mean that communication on the court. If somebody tells you switch, or I'm going to curl you, you've got to do that- you've got to listen to him and trust your teammate to do that. That discipline is trust."
Dixon plans to give everything he has to his last year at Trine
"I want to be remembered on the team as a guy that gave it his all and left it all out there," Dixon said. "That can be said also in school as well. On assignments or projects, I'm giving it my all and really putting effort into learning. I feel like that's the best way you can grow. You've got to go and give it your all."
Before embarking on a MIAA title quest, Trine must navigate its way through a non-conference schedule that still includes trips to Heidelberg, North Park, Wisconsin-Whitewater and Wilmington (Ohio), as well as home contests against Great Lakes Christian and Ohio Northern. The conference season opens Wednesday, Jan. 4 on the home floor of Hershey Hall against Calvin.