Juan Dixon

Nobody personifies "heart" more than Juan Dixon. The tall, lanky guard from Baltimore suffered through the drug-related deaths of his parents and red-tape in the college admission process to become one of the finest to ever wear a uniform for the University of Maryland. After much wrangling, Dixon made his way into campus, and after a redshirt season, began to see minutes backing up stud guard Steve Francis in the '98 - '99 season. The following year, Dixon moved to the starting 2-guard spot, and made a name for himself in due time. A February 2000 game at Duke, where he scored 30 points and ended the Blue Devils' 46-game home winning streak, raised the eyebrows of many. More of the same would follow next year. Despite losing 5 out of 6 mid-season, Dixon stepped up as a leader, righting the ship, and taking the team to the NCAA Tournament. There he led them to an upset win over a top-seeded Stanford team to reach the Final Four, the first ever Final Four for the University of Maryland. In the Final Four, Maryland played eventual champion, Duke, losing for the 3rd time in 4 meetings that year. In 2002, Dixon emerged as the most clutch player in the nation, especially at the free-throw line (94%). Before the season started, he had dedicated himself to getting the team back to the Final Four. With four returning seniors, discipline was not an issue. The team won the ACC regular season (15-1), and earned a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Six games later, and against pedigree teams (Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Connecticut, as well as Kansas and Indiana in the Final Four), Dixon had taken Maryland, to the promised land, winning the school's first national championship. While Dixon was snubbed from the major national Player of the Year awards, he was and is still regarded in the highest of terms.