By james art Jeremy Dixon loves basketball, but he loves his faith more.
Of course, basketball took him to places like Winston-Salem State, where he earned a scholarship and majored in psychology. He still loves the game as he enters his junior season with the Rams.
Dixon, 20, admits he’s not shy about talking about what religion means to him in his life. These are the conversations he accepts with anyone who is willing to listen.
“I am,” said Dixon, who comes from a religious family in Kinston.
Jeremy Dixon loves basketball, but he’s also committed to his faith and wants to be a preacher after graduation.
Alison Lee Isley, Journalist
His faith led him to opt out and go to Maryland Eastern Shore with coach Cleo Hill and assistant Lance Beckwith. Instead, Dixon took the signs to stay in Winston-Salem to complete the trip.
“I would say I had thoughts of leaving and I almost went with coach Hill,” Dixon said, “but I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ, so at the end of the day, my assignment is still here at Winston and it’s really bigger than basketball.”
Not long after Corey Thompson replaced Hill, Thompson called Dixon to question him about possibly staying. When a coach leaves, the NCAA allows a 30-day transfer window, but Dixon never entered the portal.
Thompson, a devoted family man who is also a man of deep faith, said he understood exactly where Dixon was coming from when the two first spoke this summer.
Jeremy Dixon, right, is the spiritual leader of the Winston-Salem State basketball team and the most experienced player.
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“For me, it was a heart-to-heart with Jeremy about basketball, and he believes strongly in his faith,” said Thompson, a WSSU graduate who played for the Rams 25 years ago. “He’s a guy who beats to his own drum, and I wanted to see if he wanted to play it easy because he was on the fence, but we just connected.”
One of Thompson’s goals is to bring former WSSU players back to participate in the program. One of his former teammates is Bradley Taylor, a former guard who is a pastor in Salisbury. Taylor is now back to meet the players and is the team chaplain.
Dixon said it was great getting to know Taylor and they talked a lot about each other’s faith.
“It was really good to meet him and just knowing that (Taylor) and Coach Thompson are in the faith as well was another sign for me,” Dixon said.
Dixon is one of only four players returning from last year’s team, but he has gotten to know the Rams’ 12 new faces. He doesn’t mind talking to them about what he believes, and a teammate has already contacted Dixon about conversion.
On Saturday, when the football team played Johnson C. Smith at Bowman Gray Stadium, it was Dixon who led the opening prayer during the pregame festivities.
“God showed me a lot of things in terms of leadership and mentorship and my place was here,” Dixon said. “I’ve been here for a while and God just wanted me to stay and mentor these guys and finish what I started here.”
It’s a higher calling than just basketball, and Dixon does well with that and embraces the challenge.
During preseason practice, Dixon worked so hard he passed out. He said it was determined by doctors that he was suffering from dehydration and he was almost back to 100%.
Thompson will rely on Dixon on and off the court as a leader.
Jeremy Dixon is a junior on the Winston-Salem State men’s basketball team who hails from Kinston.
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“He’s definitely a man on a mission,” Thompson said. “You really don’t see 20-year-olds like him who are really confident and outgoing about the Lord, so I congratulate him. He is true to himself.
Dixon has a higher calling than just putting the ball in the basket for the Rams. He is the only returning player who started last season.
“I feel like it’s a great way to lead,” Dixon said. “It just expands with my role here and it’s a way to give God the glory. I expressed my praise for Ram Madness and the video went viral.”
Dixon already has several plans for when he graduates.
“I really want to do Christian mental health counseling,” Dixon said. “I grew up in a Baptist church and my grandfather is a pastor, so it’s something I’ve thought about.”
Dixon remains active on campus and conducts Bible studies when his busy schedule allows.
“I mentor a few students with campus Bible studies and I do a lot of intercession and just being a pastor,” Dixon said. “The Bible talks about being just one body, and that’s what I want to be.”
Dixon is excited about what the Rams can do on the court, but he’s also aware of his reason for staying at WSSU.
“My job is to spread the word of Jesus Christ and it has transformed my life,” Dixon said. “I did not choose Christ, he chose me.