University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- ndixon@unca.edu
- Phone:
- 250-3886
Neil Dixon finished his sixth season as an assistant coach on head coach Mike Morrell's staff in 2024-25. Dixon was hired by the Bulldogs on July 3, 2019.
Dixon earned his 100th win as a member of the Bulldogs' coaching staff in Asheville's 95-53 victory over Columbia International on Dec. 30. The Bulldogs earned their third consecutive 20-win season and Asheville has compiled a program-record 70 wins over the last three seasons. In the last four seasons of Big South Conference play, the team has a league-best .712 winning percentage and is 47-19 against Big South opponents. The Bulldogs went 13-1 inside Kimmel Arena during the 2024-25 season. Asheville has a .926 winning percentage and a 38-3 record in Kimmel Arena over the last three seasons, the third-highest home winning percentage in the nation. The 2024-25 season also saw the men's basketball program set a new school record for most Big South Conference Awards received and most individuals recognized, as five Bulldogs earned seven league awards at the completion of the regular season. Asheville went 21-11 and 11-5 during the 2024-25 season.
In his fifth year with the Bulldogs, Dixon helped guide the program to its second consecutive appearance in the Big South Conference Championship contest. Asheville finished its season 22-12 after falling in the conference championship. The Bulldogs’ 22 wins and the team’s 27 wins the previous year set a new program record for the best two-year winning stretch in school history with 49 wins. The Bulldogs’ two-year record of 49-20 is the second-best record in the state of North Carolina, and they are tied for 27th in the country for most wins over two years. Among mid-major schools, Asheville checks in at No. 17 for most wins in the last two years.
Dixon coached Drew Pember to becoming the most decorated player in program history. He was the first back-to-back Big South Men's Basketball Player of the Year honoree since 2008-09 and the seventh multiple-winner in league history. He is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Preseason Player of the Year. He is the fifth back-to-back recipient of the Howard Bagwell Male Athlete of the Year Award since the award began in 1999-00, but the first basketball player to earn the honor in consecutive years.
Pember earned Lou Henson All-America Team honors for the second year in a row, NABC All-District honors for a second time, and was named to the Big South All-Tournament team in 2024. Pember became the first Bulldog in program history to play in the NABC Reese's All-Star Game and competed in the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
Pember became the first player in program history to record two triple-doubles in a season, as Pember recorded his first triple-double of his career against App. State on Dec. 21, before earning one against Gardner-Webb in the Bulldogs’ overtime win against Gardner-Webb in the Big South Championship semifinal contest.
Against App. State on Dec. 21, Josh Banks set a new program record for most 3-pointers in a single game with 10. The record was held previously by Fletcher Abee, who recorded nine 3-pointers on Nov. 18, 2023. Banks earned Big South Honorable Mention honors for his effort during the season.
In his fourth season in Asheville, Dixon helped the Bulldogs to one of their best seasons in school history. Asheville not only posted a school record 27 wins on the season but also captured both the Big South Regular Season and Tournament Championships. It marks Asheville's fourth outright regular season championship and eighth overall. The tournament title for the Bulldogs is their sixth in program history and with it earned the Big South's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, their first appearance since 2016.
The Bulldogs' 27 victories were tied for the fourth-most in Division I men's basketball and were tied for the most by any Division I school in the State of North Carolina. Furthermore, the 2022-23 Bulldogs matched the school record with 16 Big South regular season victories and set a new single-season program record with 25 wins against Division I opponents. Additionally, Asheville went 18-2 record during the 2023 calendar year.
Dixon coached Drew Pember and Tajion Jones to All-Big South First Team honors. Pember became the first player in Big South history to be named the Preseason Player of the Year, Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Tournament MVP in the same season. Pember also scored a school record 48 points in a game vs. Presbyterian in late January. The 48 points were the most by any Division I player this season. He was also named to the Lou Henson All-America Team. Jones, meanwhile, became UNC Asheville's all-time leading scorer and all-time leader in 3-pointers made. Off the court, Fletcher Abee was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team and to the Division I-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete Team.
During his third season as a part of the coaching staff, Dixon helped lead the Bulldogs to their first postseason appearance in four seasons as they were invited to compete in the College Basketball Invitational. At the Invitational, the Bulldogs tallied their first postseason win at the event, toppling Stephen F. Austin, 80-68. Asheville got out to a fast 10-5 start to the season, which was the program's best start since 2015-16. The Bulldogs also went 9-6 (.600 winning percentage) against non-Big South foes marking its best non-conference performance in terms of winning percentage since 2007-08.
Some individual standouts for Asheville in 2021-22 included Drew Pember being named the Big South's Defensive Player of the Year after ranking 10th in the country with 93 blocks. Pember's 93 blocks were the second-most ever by a Bulldog in a single season and helped him gain NABC All-District Second Team honors as well. LJ Thorpe earned All-Big South Honorable Mention honors for the third straight season, while Coty Jude garnered All-Academic team honors.
During his second season in Asheville, Dixon and the Bulldogs posted a 10-10 record overall and a 9-5 mark in Big South play. Despite not being able to compete for 30 days down the stretch of the season due to COVID-19, Asheville's 9-5 mark in the Big South was its sixth-best win percentage (.643) in the last 15 seasons. The Bulldogs were able to earn a first-round bye in the 2021 Big South Tournament, hosting a quarterfinal matchup for the first time since 2018. Asheville's nine conference wins also made them one of just four schools within the Big South to post a combined winning record against conference foes over the course of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
Dixon helped coach Tajion Jones (Second Team) and LJ Thorpe (Honorable Mention) to Big South honors, while Jones also garnered NABC All-District 3 Second Team recognition. Additionally, Coty Jude was named to the Big South All-Academic Team. While the condensed season had its share of memorable moments and wins, no victory shined brighter than the Bulldogs' 57-55 win at Winthrop on January 29, when Asheville knocked off the previously unbeaten Eagles and snapped the nation's longest win streak (21 games) in the process.
In Dixon’s first season with the program, the Bulldogs underwent one of the best turnarounds in the country, improving from four victories the season before to a 15-16 record in 2019-20. The 11-victory improvement was tied for the third-best in Division I that season, and the Bulldogs finished as one of just four teams with a double-digit win improvement.
Dixon coached two All-Big South selections in Second-Team honoree DeVon Baker and Honorable Mention choice LJ Thorpe.
Dixon helped the Bulldogs emerged as one of the top pressure defenses in the country, leading the Big South and finishing in the Top 25 nationally in turnover margin (plus-5.2), turnovers forced per game (16.9), total steals (250) and steals per game (8.3).
The Bulldogs also vastly improved their offensive production in 2019-20, averaging 15.1 points per game more than the previous season. Four Bulldogs – Baker, Thorpe, Tajion Jones and Lavar Batts, Jr. – ranked inside the Top 16 in the conference in scoring. The Bulldogs were the only team with more than two in the Top 16.
Dixon joined the UNC Asheville men's basketball program after spending the previous six seasons, including the last four as head coach, at Louisburg College of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
A native of Lewisburg, W. Va., Dixon compiled an incredibly impressive record of 101-34 (.749) in his four seasons at the helm of the NJCAA program in Louisburg, N.C. Dixon coached three All-Americans during his time in charge of Louisburg.
In his first season in charge at Louisburg in 2015-16, Dixon guided the Hurricanes to the NJCAA national tournament for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Hurricanes won the NJCAA Region X regular season and conference tournament titles.
Dixon helped the 2016-17 Hurricanes to a 30-5 overall record. Louisburg finished the season as national runner-ups, falling in the NJCAA national title game. Dixon was tabbed as the Region X Coach of the Year.
Louisburg once again won the region regular season and tournament championships in finishing with 28 victories in the 2017-18 season.
Prior to going to Louisburg as an assistant for the 2013-14 season, Dixon made one-year assistant coaching stops at Fairmont State and West Virginia Tech. He was also an assistant basketball coach for three seasons at Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg, W. Va.
As an assistant coach at Louisburg, Dixon worked for former Bulldog student-athlete and Head of Basketball Operations (2000-02) Mark Vanderslice, who is currently the head coach at NCAA Division II USC Aiken.
Dixon graduated from West Virginia University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and again in 2008 with a Master of Science in Athletic Coaching.
In 2012, Dixon married Gabrielle, and the couple has two sons, Rhett and Wells.
Big South All-Conference Selections Under Dixon
2019-20: Second Team- DeVon Baker | Honorable Mention- LJ Thorpe | All-Academic- Jax Levitch
2020-21: Second Team- Tajion Jones | Honorable Mention- LJ Thorpe | All-Academic- Coty Jude
2021-22: Defensive Player of the Year- Drew Pember | First Team- Drew Pember | Honorable Mention- LJ Thorpe | All-Academic- Coty Jude
2022-23: Player of the Year- Drew Pember | Defensive Player of the Year- Drew Pember | Coach of the Year- Mike Morrell | First Team- Drew Pember | First Team- Tajion Jones | All-Academic- Fletcher Abee
2023-24: Player of the Year- Drew Pember | First Team- Drew Pember | Honorable Mention- Josh Banks | All-Academic- Fletcher Abee
