Hall of Fame: Todd Dixon (SCC)

Richard Dunn

In a classic case of never giving up hope, former Southern

California College basketball star Todd Dixon was also the quintessential

late bloomer.

Dixon, a two-time NAIA All-American point guard under former SCC Coach

Bill Reynolds, never started on the varsity at Ocean View High (circa

1984).

As a senior, and his only season on Ocean View Coach Jim Harris’

varsity, Dixon was 5-foot-7 and 125 pounds. “It was a rebuilding year,”

Dixon said. “Ricky Butler was a (6-5) freshman on the varsity.”

Believing he had no chance to play hoops in college, Dixon enrolled at

Cal State Fullerton to begin his undergraduate studies and played pickup

games at Murdy Park in Huntington Beach, across from Edison High.

Dixon sprouted to 5-10 and his basketball skills developed more than

ever in those hotly contested games under the park lights.

“Some people suggested that I talk to Coach Reynolds at SCC, and I

did,” said Dixon, who earned a spot on the JV team his first year of

eligibility at SoCal College (now Vanguard University).

“I kept getting better (at SCC), and I grew a little bit, and the

following year I made the varsity and started. Things kept on going good

for me then, and I had a good opportunity to prove myself.”

Dixon, now one of the most successful high school boys basketball

coaches in Orange County at El Toro High, helped lead SCC to the Golden

State Athletic Conference championship his sophomore year in 1986-87, the

first year of the GSAC.

That season, SoCal College played, among other top schools, Coach Paul

Westhead’s Loyola Marymount squad featuring Bo Kimble, the late Hank

Gathers and Jeff Fryer (Corona del Mar).

“(The Lions) did that run and gun, and they beat us better good, like

130-104 ... but we were only down six or seven points at halftime,” said

Dixon, who considered that nonconference game a major turning point in

his collegiate career.

“It boosted my confidence, and after that game, I felt I could play at

this level and excel,” added Dixon, who scored only six points, but

dished out 10 assists and committed only one turnover, then became the

SCC starter for the remainder of the season, beating out a fifth-year

senior.

As a junior in 1987-88, Dixon earned NAIA All-American honors. His

best scoring game came in the GSAC semifinals against Westmont, when

Dixon dropped in 37 points in his team’s losing effort.

That same year against Loyola Marymount, Dixon poured in 26 points,

while canning seven three-pointers. “I remember Gathers had 35 (points)

that night and Kimble had 32,” Dixon said, referring to the stars of the

1990 Loyola team that reached the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament,

after Gathers’ death.

As a Vanguard senior in 1988-89, Dixon once again made the NAIA

All-American team, while also garnering NAIA Academic All-American honors

with his 3.6 grade-point average and 16 points-per-game scoring average.

With Dixon at the top of his game, Southern California College enjoyed

its finest season ever, capturing another GSAC title and finishing 29-5,

the most wins in school history.

Dixon, who majored in education at SCC, began his coaching career at

Santa Margarita High, where he lasted five years, coaching virtually

every level at the parochial school in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Then, for two years, Dixon assisted Reynolds at SoCal College.

Finally, Dixon was hired as the head coach at El Toro, where in five

seasons he has compiled an impressive 103-39 record, including guiding

the Chargers to the CIF Southern Section Division I-AA finals in 2001.

“I hope to keep it going,” said Dixon, whose squad lost to Glendora,

51-44, in the CIF Division I-AA championship game last season.

Dixon, the latest honoree in the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame,

lives in Aliso Viejo with his wife, Katie. They’re expecting their first

child, a boy, on May 4.