Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, Damian Dixon always had sports on his mind. Raised by his father, Dixon along with his older brother and cousins were always playing sports. As Dixon puts it, "we were just big sports fans, so we played anything that bounced and kept us out of the house." Football was the family's number one sport, as Dixon's father and uncles all grew up playing. For Damian, however, there was another sport in that would catch his interest above the rest and would be the key to his future journey. That sport was basketball.

"I was the oddball in the family who chose to go a different route," Dixon said of choosing the basketball path. "I fell in love with basketball. My dad used to work me out all the time. We used to have a basketball court that was right across the street from our house and I was there all day after school. If you were looking for me, I was probably across the street." 

As Damian grew up, his love for the game and his skill level continued to rise. Dixon began playing in a community league, and there his talents on the court began to be noticed by those he played with. Damian played in the league beginning in sixth grade, and quickly moved up in age level because of his talent. "They said I was pretty advanced for my age, so they put me with the older kids and I was still very good...so there was a court across the street where the older adults used to play all the time, and they started playing me with the adults. So that's how my game evolved and got better at a young age."

Damian would eventually play for Wharton High School in Tampa where he and the team shined. In his senior season, the team went 27-2 including a 25-game winning streak to cap off his strong high school career. Once his high school playing days were over, Dixon would catch the eye of then Greensboro College men's basketball head coach, Bryan Galuski. As soon as Galuski watched Dixon on the court, Dixon was destined for Greensboro.

"How I got to Greensboro College was Bryan Galuski went to school in St. Petersburg at Eckerd College, and his head coach he played for was still there and he kind of just connected us. He came down to watch me play pick-up at Eckerd, and I also played in a rec league with a bunch of NBA players." Dixon's performance in front of Galuski proved he was more than capable of playing college basketball, and Dixon would sign on to play at Greensboro College for the next four years.
 








Damian would come on campus in the fall of 2010 looking to leave his mark on the men's basketball program. Once arriving, one person's advice would help him stay on track from the moment he stepped foot in Greensboro. "When I got dropped off, my dad was like 'you're here to do what you're supposed to do. You're here for a purpose, you're not just here to just go through things and say you did something. There's a purpose for why you're here.' So I think that's why I was really focused when I first came to Greensboro College."

On top of his father's advice, Damian quckly met what would be one of his best friends in life, and together would create one of the best backcourt tandems in the USA South. "When I got here I met one of my teammates, a sophomore at the time, Chakiris Moss, who ended up being my roommate later that year and is still my best friend to this day...I think that alone helped through that process of transitioning into college. Coach G was obviously a big part of my adjustment and my growth."

Dixon's freshman campaign would see him average 11.0 points per game, total 42 assists, and 90 rebounds en route to being named Honorable Mention All-Conference. The team would advance to the semifinals of the USA South Tournament, and Dixon along with a strong core would lay the foundation for more success over the next two seasons.

In 2011-2012, Dixon helped lead Greensboro to an 18-10 overall record and a 7-5 record in conference play. Dixon would average 11.7 points per-game and be key to the team's run to the conference championship game that season. Greensboro defeated Averett in a two-overtime thriller to advance to the semifinals, where they would then defeat Shenandoah 94-82 and earn a trip to the conference championship game. They would ultimately fall to 82-72 to CNU in their first championship game appearance since 2007-2008.

Dixon then put together a career-best year in his junior season. Dixon scored 15.7 points per game and totaled 62 assists, earning him USA South Second Team All-Conference honors. Dixon then continued his strong play in the postseason, where he would help lead Greensboro to their second straight conference title game appearance. Despite falling again to CNU, Dixon was named to the All-Tournament Team to cap off his outstanding season.

In his senior year, Dixon was again named All-Conference, this time third team, helping lead the Pride to the conference tournament semifinals. That year, the team upset #1 seed Maryville in the first round of the tournament, creating one final highlight to finish off Dixon's stellar career. "When we upset Maryville on their home court...that's a special moment to me because that left a mark in our program."

For his career, Dixon scored 1,277 points, which is still tied for sixth all-time in program history, while totaling 174 assists, 147 steals, and 461 rebounds. Once his playing career was over, Dixon was left to figure out what his next steps would be post-graduation. Dixon and Moss began playing semi-pro basketball in Greensboro to continue playing the sport they loved. However, one call from coach Galuski would put Damian on the path to coaching, one that he says he never intended to go down.

"Actually I did not want to coach at all...coach G told me 'hey if you're going to be around, if you want to, come coach and help out'...and I said I would help to stick around it a little bit. My intentions were not to coach basketball because I am so competitive, but once I got into it and started impacting lives and I saw kids that came in and graduated and saw how instrumental I was to that process, I think that's why I'm still in it now."

After spending multiple seasons as an assistant at his alma mater, Dixon's journey led him back to Florida, where he would be out of coaching for two years while he obtained a Master of Science degree from Florida International. In 2020, Dixon reunited with coach Galuski at Eckerd College, the place Dixon was discovered out of high school by Galuski. Not only was Dixon reunited with Galuski, his friend and former roommate Moss was brought on staff the year prior and convinced Damian to join him and Galuski once more.

Dixon would be an assistant coach at Eckerd from 2020-2023. While Dixon was there, he would help the Tritons improve their win total in each of his three seasons. Damian would then make the leap to the Division I level with the help of former Queens University of Charlotte head coach, Bart Lundy. "Coach Galuski had ties here when he was in North Carolina with former head coach here at Queens, Bart Lundy, who is now the head coach at the University of Milwaukee. I talked to him a little bit trying to advance my career...we had built a relationship and he told me he would help me in any way that I need. Then an opening came at Queens and he (Lundy) reached out, and one thing led to another and now I'm here."
 








Dixon joined the Queens staff in the summer of 2024 under head coach Grant Leonard. That season, the team went 20-15 and 11-7 in ASUN play, ultimately falling in the conference semifinals to #1 seed Lipscomb in overtime. The Royals concluded that season in the College Basketball Invitational, and would soon prepare for a magical 2025-2026 campaign.

In their first year of postseason eligibility in NCAA Division I era, the Royals would go 21-14 (13-5) and take down the top two seeds in the ASUN Tournament (including an overtime victory in the championship game), capturing the conference title to secure a spot in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. "There was a foundation here established by Bart Lundy (in the Division II era). There was already a standard built here at Queens that we hold our program to. We're really big on our standard..our culture wins, and Queens has an extremely strong culture."

Dixon goes onto say about the Royals' NCAA Tournament run, "for us to be in the that moment, obviously everybody dreams of playing in March Madness, and it was special for us because of the work that we put in. That standard that we have created has now jumped to a higher bar."

As Dixon continues to work up the coaching ladder, the experience of playing and coaching at Greensboro College will always be with him. Asked what he enjoyed about his time in the green and white, Dixon talked about the togetherness of campus and the support each team brought to the others. "Everybody supported everyone. Everybody was one, that's where the OnePride started. Every time I think of Greensboro College that was the thing that stood out. We knew what everybody was doing, we were in the stands cheering for you, we're behind you...faculty included. It was all really close knit."

Dixon's legacy at Greensboro College lives on through the relationships that were built almost two decades ago. "When I left and went back when my girlfriend (Bianca Richburg) got inducted to the Hall of Fame, you see people you haven't seen in fifteen years. That's when I realized I did something here. Once you get back and somebody recognizes you right away, that feels special. Still if I go back now people will recognize me and I'll talk to the security guards, professors, and President Czarda. Coach G did a good job of framing it to us and telling us to make sure we're doing stuff the right way because you're going to live here forever."