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Coppin State hires former Maryland star Juan Dixon to coach program

By Andrew Nostvick

Mar 23, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon and special assistant Juan Dixon during practice the day before the semifinals of the South regional of the NCAA Tournament at KFC YUM!. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 23, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon and special assistant Juan Dixon during practice the day before the semifinals of the South regional of the NCAA Tournament at KFC YUM!. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports /
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A former Most Outstanding Player for the Maryland Terrapins, Juan Dixon, was chosen to take over Coppin State basketball program.

The move had been anticipated for days, but Coppin State University made it official Wednesday when they hired former Maryland basketball standout Juan Dixon to be their new head coach.

Coppin State introduced Dixon at a press conference Wednesday morning.

Dixon is still new to the coaching ranks. He had a long career as a basketball player, dating back to his University of Maryland days.

Dixon’s best season at Maryland came during the ’01-02 season. He won ACC Player of the Year and also the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as he led the Terrapins to a National Title.

Drafted with the 17th overall pick by the Washington Wizards in the 2002 NBA Draft, Dixon played seven seasons in the NBA, averaging 8.4 points per game in 436 games.

In 2013, Dixon was hired as an assistant under Mark Turgeon. The University of District Columbia, a Division II school, hired Dixon as the women’s basketball coach.

In his only season as head coach, the Firebirds finished 3-25 overall and 2-16 in the East Coast Conference.

Dixon has his work ahead of him. He takes over a team that went 8-24 last season. Seven of those eight wins came against MEAC opponents.

The Eagles have made the NCAA Tournament twice in the last 20 years, the last time being in 2008 when they lost in the opening round to Mount St. Mary’s.

In fact, Coppin State has had five seasons with a better than .500 winning percentage since the ’97-98 season.

The last winning season for the program came in 2010-11 when they finished 16-14 with then-longtime head coach Fang Mitchell.

Dixon will likely have a few players to coach, most notably freshman standout DeJuan Clayton, who averaged 12.4 points per game this season.

For his efforts, Clayton received MEAC All-Rookie team honors, the only player to get all-conference honors for Coppin State.