RALEIGH – NC State men’s basketball head coach Kevin Keatts announced Wednesday that Larry Dixon has joined his staff as an assistant coach.
Dixon comes to NC State after spending the last five seasons as an assistant coach at South Florida.
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors voted in January to allow two more assistant coaches on men’s basketball staffs. Dixon, will serve as one of the Pack’s two new assistant coaches that can engage in coaching activities but may not recruit off campus.
“I think Larry is a great addition to our staff,” Keatts said. “He’s a North Carolina native that has dedicated himself to a coaching career since graduating from college. He started at the high school level in North Carolina and eventually moved up to college and now has been a Division I assistant coach for almost 20 years. I think his experience is going to be a great asset for me and our coaching staff, as well as the young men in our program as we develop them on and off the court.”
Larry Dixon joined the USF coaching staff as assistant coach on May 12, 2018.
In just his second season with the team in 2018-19, Dixon helped USF to the top win turnaround in the NCAA during the 2018-19 season, as the Bulls won 14 more games than the previous season. In addition, USF turned in a 24-14 overall record to set a new single-season school record for wins. The Bulls would go on to win the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) championship and claim the program’s first postseason title since 1990.
Dixon also played an instrumental role in the development of 2019 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year Laquincy Rideau and 2019 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Alexis Yetna.
Dixon helped USF become one of the top defensive teams in the NCAA during the 2019-20 season, finishing the year ranked 20th in scoring defense by allowing only 62.7 points per game. The Bulls limited eight teams to fewer than 60 points during the season and held 27 of their 31 opponents under their scoring average at the time of play. The Bulls also ranked 44th in the nation in turnovers forced with 15.6 per game, and stood 65th in the NCAA in steals with 7.5 thefts per game.
In 2021-22, Dixon helped develop Russel Tchewa and Corey Walker Jr. into one of the best frontcourt tandems in the league. The Bulls were again among the top defensive teams in the country, ranking 45th in the NCAA in scoring defense (64.9 ppg).
Dixon came to Tampa after five seasons as an assistant at Georgia Southern under head coach Mark Byington. Prior to his stint with the Eagles, Dixon had collegiate assistant coaching jobs at Winthrop (2007-12), East Carolina (2005-07), South Carolina State (2003-05) and St. Andrews College (2002-03).
In his final season at Georgia Southern, Dixon helped lead the Eagles to a 21-12 record, including an 11-7 mark in the Sun Belt. In 2016-17, he helped Georgia Southern reach the postseason for the first time since 2006, playing in the College Basketball Invitational.
Prior to arriving at Georgia Southern, Dixon spent the 2012-13 season as head coach at York Comprehensive High School in York, S.C.
During his five seasons (2007-12) on the coaching staff at Winthrop under head coach Randy Peele, Dixon was recognized as the top assistant coach in the Big South by Fox Sports.
Before entering the college game, Dixon served as the head coach at Garinger High School in Charlotte, N.C. for three seasons. In 2001, he led Garinger to a North Carolina High School sectional championship and earned Mecklenburg County Coach of the Year honors from the Charlotte Observer. Dixon also spent one season as an assistant at Carver High School in Winston-Salem, N.C. and one season at South Rowan High School in his hometown of Salisbury, N.C.
Dixon graduated from Johnson C. Smith University (Charlotte, N.C) in 1996, where he was a four-year letterman as a player. He was named the team’s most improved player following his junior season and the top defensive player after his senior season. He helped the Golden Bulls to a pair of CIAA Southern Division titles and a championship game appearance as a sophomore.
A native of Salisbury, N.C., Dixon has two children, Devin and Leah.
Backingthepack has a good “4000 words” explanation of KK’s offense. Good reading for those that just see ‘one on one’ and don’t understand what is being run, the challenges of operating without an athletic offensive big man, or why assists were so low this year.
It is still pick and roll and the guard drives and shoot or pulls up for a three. That exactly why KK can’t keep small or power forwards from moving on each year. Take a look at CUSA where players stay together. FAU in the final NCAA four and UAB and North Texas battling for the NIT championship.
How many starting forwards have transferred from KK’s NCSU teams? Are you saying its a long list? How many have done a lot better after transferring?
Starting or the potential to start, Steere, Clark, Gantt, Dowuona, Farrar, Hicks, Taylor, Bates, and Kapita.
Ebe is really a center in KK’s system, as clearly was Bates. Kapita was a Gott player. The short list of others demonstrate my point, prior to this year no real significant forward losses from a KK team. And both Gantt and Clark seemed to stay injured way too much, which hurt us 2 years in a row.
That’s because he can’t recruit forwards because he can’t coach them up. Therefore, we will always be a potential bubble team and a one and done with KK.
If by transferring they have not improved their situation, KK needs to highlight this more and change the style from a guard focused team to a team focused team.
BTW, both San Diego State and FAU had three transfers out and two transfers in last year. 2 of Miami’s key players (Omier and Pack) are players that transferred in this season, plus Jordan Miller who transferred in the year prior.
We have had tons of players transfer out and in. I was referring to a position that we dearly need to be filled with stability not volatility.
I really hate that you guys felt the need to repeat this. It’s just some kid trash talking to get his face out on social media, and reposting just encourages him. Can’t you think of anything else to talk about? Sure, there’s some truth there, but the style he’s criticizing beat Miami, UNC, and Louisville – who beat Clemson. BTW, that’s the same Louisville that won only two conference games, the other one against the second worst team in the ACC (GT). Plus, worst of all, Clemson lost to (Q4 , KP#237) Morehead State in the first round of the… Read more »
Yeah, but he’s not wrong though.
Lots of AAU type of ball on display, which is a stark comparison to a UVA (whom I know KK has beat too). But more discipline and less “AAU Ball” would probably be good for this team.
Not saying they need a complete overhaul…
Which team made the NCAAT again? Who beat a current final four team? Who had the discipline to not let yourself get beat by Quad 4 teams? First round NIT loss at home, while we battled a top tier Creighton team and had our chances late. I get they are butthurt so that’s all well and good. And yes, NC State does allow more chaos and one on one battles on offense. But offense wasn’t our problem against Clemson, our defensive matchups were really bad and they took great advantage of our lack of athleticism and quickness at the 5… Read more »
When you get beat by 30 it’s more than a heavy 5 spot. It’s obvious if we were not hitting 3 at a high rate, we could not contend with anyone. This is KK style which sucks. How long are we going to put up with it is the real question?