This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
BYU basketball already boasts two top-100 prospects in their 2013 class, and now has a great start on 2014 with another big in-state commitment.
Orem's 6-foot-7 rising junior Dalton Nixon has committed to the Cougars, the latest local standout to pledge to the program. Despite the early commitment, it appears Nixon won't be wavering — he said it was tough not to jump on the offer as soon as it came in.
"There's no place I'd rather be," he said. "It's exactly the culture I'm looking for, and with Provo in my backyard, I just felt of all the schools, I didn't want to go anywhere but BYU."
The Cougars are very much a team Nixon has grown up with, just a few miles down from Provo where his father, Kevin Nixon played. BYU offered him in July, and beat out a number of schools that offered him earlier, including Utah, Utah State and University of San Francisco.
Nixon made the commitment Friday night, visiting coach Dave Rose in his office with his father by his side.
"I think it was where my dad really wanted me to go," he said. "But he let me make my decision. Now I get to follow in his footsteps."
He joins Lone Peak star T.J. Haws as a newly minted Cougars commit for the 2014 class. Nixon acknowledged the growing array of local talent made BYU even more enticing.
"I have a good relationship with those guys," he said. "Coach Rose has done a great job of recruiting everybody. It's going to be really fun to play together."
As a sophomore, Nixon quickly made an impact with the Tigers. He was a first-team all-state selection, averaging 12.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg as Orem won a 4A championship. The 16-year-old really started taking off this summer as a star with Utah Pump-N-Run and Utah Hoops, at times playing in tournaments with both teams on the same weekend.
Nixon is not only a capable and polished post player, but also a 3-point sharpshooter from the wing. Kevin Nixon had previously said doctors had expected his son could grow even more. Dalton Nixon said BYU had liked him at the 3 or the 4 in Rose's system.
Although Nixon could take an LDS Church mission during college, his age makes it likely that he will play his freshman year right away.
But that's far from his mind now — in fact, Nixon is glad the process is finally resolved.
"I felt if I could get it done now, an early commitment takes a lot of pressure off me," he said. "Now I can go into this fall for Orem and concentrate on winning a few more state championships."
— Kyle Goon
Twitter: @kylegoon