These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Over the next few weeks I will be randomly posting about my favorite things. For instance, this post is about my favorite all-time NCAA basketball player, Juan Dixon. Moving forward you’ll see my favorites in all walks of sports. But enough about that, lets talk about Juan.

Dixon was the 2002 ACC Player of the Year award winner on his way to leading my beloved Terps to the 2002 title. Despite being undersized at a billed 6’3” and 164 lbs, Dixon overcompensated by having “the heart of a tiger” as quoted by his Coach Gary Williams. He holds countless career and single season records at Maryland.

Dixon played a role that I always find myself rooting for, a true underdog. He overcame family tragedy on his way to College Park. It’s well documented that both his parents died from the AIDS virus. He was also lightly recruited out of high school despite a stellar career.

I will never forget the big wins over Duke, and the way he led the underdog Terps to their only title. He turned around so many games with a clutch shot or a big steal. I remember jumping for joy when Michael Jordan made him a first round pick for the Wizards.

Although Juan’s pro career has never reached the heights it did in college, he will always have a special place in my heart as my all-time favorite NCAA player.

Apologies to Len Bias, Patrick Ewing, Nik Caner-Medley, Keith Booth, Alonzo Mourning

Trivia: Juan Dixon’s older brother Phil lived in the dorm room directly beside Fatpickle in college. Phil was a D-III All-American.

Cheers and Hail