Pitt guard Dixon survived tough tests

Pitt junior guard Jermaine Dixon has overcome much bigger obstacles than the one facing him this season.

The younger brother of NBA player Juan Dixon escaped a troubled childhood in one of the worst neighborhoods in Baltimore to become a major Division I basketball player.

Now he's trying to replace Ronald Ramon as the starting shooting guard on a Big East team with NCAA championship hopes.

"I think he plays kind of the way he's fought through his life," Pitt associate head coach Tom Herrion said of Dixon.

With the loving support of his older brother Phil, a Baltimore police officer, and their extended family, Dixon survived east Baltimore and beat the odds.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder was an All-American last season at Tallahassee Junior College and is part of a group vying for Pitt's shooting guard spot, along with sophomore Brad Wanamaker and freshman Ashton Gibbs.

Dixon, 21, has been one of the standouts during Pitt's opening week of practice. He showed his progress Sunday afternoon when he scored a team-high 16 points in Pitt's Blue-Gold scrimmage. Dixon was 6 of 11 from the field, including 3 of 5 from behind the new, deeper 3-point line.

Dixon's team lost to the Gold team, 63-54, behind 22 points and 13 rebounds from sophomore center DeJuan Blair as part of Fanfest at Petersen Events Center. But Dixon, who has two years of eligibility remaining, appears ready to play a key role in Pitt's backcourt.

"He's gotten better," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "He's very physical, tough (and) athletic."

Because of where he started, Jermaine Dixon takes nothing for granted. He played at Blake High in Baltimore before spending one year at prep school at Maine Central Institute.

"He's a humble person, and he plays that way," Herrion said. "You don't see a lot of fanfare with him."

Dixon didn't have much to cheer about when he was young. His father was never part of his life. His mother, Nita, addicted to heroin, died from complications of AIDS when he was 8 years old.

The Dixon boys used basketball as therapy.

"The day my mom died, Phil and Juan went to the basketball courts," he said. "That's just the way we deal with things. I didn't go with them. I was young. I was crying my eyes out."

Brother Phil, 34, a former Division III All-American guard, was there to care for Dixon. So was his grandmother Roberta Graves, who lived in a rowhouse in East Baltimore, and his aunt Sherrice Driver, who took Jermaine into her Baltimore County home when he was in eighth grade. His aunt, Sheila Dixon, is the mayor of Baltimore.

Jermaine still talks to Phil every day.

"He was like a father figure," Dixon said. "He made sure I was off the streets. He made sure I was on the courts, playing."

Juan, who signed a free-agent contract last month with the Washington Wizards, and Phil are hoping to visit Pittsburgh next week to see a Panthers practice. Juan, who is seven years older than Jermaine and led Maryland to the 2002 NCAA national championship, hasn't seen his little brother play in four years.

Jermaine Dixon was one of the fortunate kids from east Baltimore.

"A lot of my friends didn't make it out," Dixon said. "Really, my whole neighborhood. I'm basically the only one."

Note: Pitt guard Levance Fields is practicing on a limited basis while rehabilitating from left foot surgery. Fields worked out on yesterday and will practice today.