As Maryland searches for a new men’s basketball head coach, one former legendary player has surfaced as a replacement for Mark Turgeon.
Juan Dixon has “gathered some support” for the Maryland opening, according to college basketball insider Jeff Goodman.
As a player, Dixon led Maryland to back-to-back Final Fours and a national championship in 2002 while taking home Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. He’s also Maryland’s all-time leading scorer with 2,269 points.
Dixon has coached Coppin State since 2017. Last season his team won the MEAC regular season title. However, he has a 34-97 overall record with the Eagles.
This season, Coppin State is 1-12. They’ve lost games against the likes of DePaul, Connecticut, Virginia and Loyola Chicago.
Bringing Juan Dixon home to coach his Alma mater on the surface sounds exciting. But reality is his resume as a head coach will be put into question.
Turgeon spent 10-plus seasons at the helm. But the Midwestern native arguably was never a true fit in Maryland. Ideally, athletic director Damon Evans would love to hire someone who is familiar with Maryland’s culture and recruiting pipeline
Dixon would fit the bill. Yet, skeptics will question if he is ready to take over such a premier job.
