In an era of unprecedented player movement, why one college basketball senior stuck around

PITTSBURGH (AP) - David Dixon could have left. The thought crossed the Duquesne forward's mind a few times over the years. Maybe more than a few.

There might have been situations where Dixon could have found more playing time. Or more money. Or a higher profile. Or a mixture of all three.

Yet as each offseason came, Dixon couldn't walk away from the school on a bluff overlooking the Monongahela River near downtown Pittsburgh.

So even as teammates who became friends dipped in and out in search of other opportunities, commonplace in an era where constant player movement is the norm, Dixon stuck around.

"I feel like I have the equity here," he said. "I feel I have structure, like I could play here. I didn't feel like my position was in jeopardy or anything."

That last part is certainly true.

When Dixon walks onto the floor Thursday to face Rhode Island in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament, he will be appearing in his school-record 127th game, a mark that may never be broken given the unprecedented roster churn in college athletics thanks to relaxed NCAA legislation that allows athletes to transfer as often as they like.

The understated Dixon finds himself part of an increasingly exclusive club. The list of players across the country who have remained with one program throughout their respective college careers is dwindling.

There are fewer than five in the A-10 who fit that profile this season. The numbers at the moment are somehow even starker in high-major conferences like the sprawling SEC, which reportedly had just one scholarship player - Mississippi State's Shawn Jones Jr. - finish at the same school where he started.

"It's really rare to stay and play four years," Dixon said. "(But) the fan base here, people love me. I'd be going into uncharted territory if I left. I've got a lot invested here."

Dixon is a 6-foot-9 burst of energy. Could he have found a place where he'd play more than 22 minutes a night? Probably. Yet Dixon had already been down that road. The Memphis, Tennessee, native bounced between three high schools before committing to the Dukes. That was more than enough.

So Dixon did something incredibly hard at any age, let alone your early 20s: He placed pragmatism and loyalty over the voice in the back of his head that wondered what else might be out there.

"Having an ego made it hard," he said. "Because I felt like as a player, I've done enough on the basketball court to where if I was to go, I could have played anywhere."

That is, if his body would allow him. Playing in the post at a wiry 215 pounds comes with a cost. For Dixon, the price was becoming a fixture in the trainer's room as he dealt with various injuries. He wasn't sure how that would go over elsewhere.

There were no such concerns at Duquesne, where Dru Joyce - who took over as head coach in 2024 after mentor Keith Dambrot guided the Dukes to an A-10 title and school's first NCAA tournament appearance in 47 years - understood what he had in Dixon: a heady talent whose minutes needed to be carefully calibrated.

"He's gone through everything as a college athlete (and) done it all at one place," Joyce said. "Every joy. Every pain."

Dixon doesn't consider himself a martyr. Like so many others, he's made a little bit of "cheese" from his name, image and likeness deal. And while he misses some of his former teammates, some of whom he still connects with over online video game sessions, he doesn't begrudge anyone looking for a better situation.

That's just not him.

"I play the games because I love to play basketball," he said. "Now money is good, but it shouldn't be the first thing you're chasing."

What Dixon is chasing are moments like the one that found him at the UMPC Cooper Fieldhouse on March 7. On Senior Day last weekend with his family in the stands, the Dukes found themselves trailing Richmond by 30.

What followed was the greatest comeback in program history, capped by Dixon's tip-in at the buzzer on a play that summarized his career. He didn't touch the ball on Duquesne's final possession until he raced in from the wing and extended his left hand skyward just in time.

It would have been special under any circumstances. That it happened in his school-record tying 126th game in front of a home crowd that has watched his journey every step of the way - the other five seniors the Dukes honored before the game have played at a combined 14 schools - added a layer that's hard to define.

"I honestly thought about, 'Wow, I really went from coming off the bench and not playing that much to starting making plays like this,'" he said. "It comes full circle."

While Dixon does hope to play professionally one day - he pointed to Joyce's connections to Klutch Sports owner Rich Paul, who grew up with Joyce and NBA icon LeBron James in Ohio, as something he hopes to take advantage of - he is also on track to get his degree in sports marketing.

It's one of the reasons he has never been bothered by the influx of new faces to the Dukes every winter. Even if the underlying message of the portal - that the coaching staff is constantly looking for an upgrade, including maybe over you and will use a considerable amount of their NIL budget to do it - can sometimes be a fraught one.

"You're giving up a lot," he said. "A lot of transfers, they're getting paid more than guys who stay. So, the fact that you're giving that up for stability and playing for that same team just to be that leader, I think is a really noble thing."