By CHARLIE PARENT
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Class of 2025 four-stars Nyk Lewis and Derek Dixon were instrumental in Gonzaga HS’s (DC.) 72-67 HoopHall Classic win over Hudson Catholic (NJ.) on Sunday. Lewis was named the game MVP with 17 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds, while Dixon posted 19 points and 3 assists, including a game-clinching layup assisted by Lewis.
The performance is no surprise for the duo that now has Gonzaga up to No. 8 in the public high school rankings, according to Max Preps.
“Me and Derek are really close,” Lewis told ZAGSBLOG postgame. “I feel like that bond comes on the court too. I try to look for him, get my shots up, but also get him going. When he’s going, our team’s normally going.”
“We’ve been on varsity together for three years and have a great relationship on and off the court,” Dixon said. “You can see on the court he tries to find me, and I try to find him.”
Lewis, a 6-foot-2 playmaking point guard who proved he can score at an efficient level Sunday, getting to his spots comfortably and hitting open jumpers. He holds offers from Georgetown (uv), Xavier (ov), Marquette (ov), Oklahoma State (ov), Virginia Tech (uv) and Maryland (uv), among others and targets a end-of-summer commitment.
“I’ll probably commit around the end of summer, beginning of senior year,” he said.
He’ll take visits at the end of Gonzaga’s season aside from his upcoming official visit to Xavier.
“The coaches are really coming into contact with me, so I’m excited to get out there Feb. 10.”
Aside from his five previous visits, Lewis mentioned he’d like to see LSU, Tennessee and Auburn over the summer.
Dixon is a 6-foot-5 combo guard whose best basketball is in the mid-range game. He had a slow start Sunday but ended up with several clutch jumpers down the stretch, pulling up off the bounce in the mid-range or knocking down a catch-and-shoot three. While he only had 1 assist, it’s apparent that Dixon is able to open passing lanes when on the ball as well.
He holds offers from Syracuse, Virginia, Villanova and Pitt, among others, while Kansas, Stanford and Notre Dame have been in touch about a visit. He has no current visits planned or a timeframe for a commitment.
Dixon broke down some of his options:
Syracuse: “It’s good. Coach [Adrian] Autry reaches out a lot. It was a great visit to see the campus, see the vision they have as new coaches and see how I’d fit in there.”
Virginia: “I took an unofficial visit there in the fall and got to see a football game. I got to talk to Coach [Tony] Bennett which is awesome to have a guy with that magnitude recruiting me.”
Villanova: “I met the whole coaching staff and talk to them a lot. I got to see the Midnight Madness event which is always school and it’s great to have a program like that recruiting me.”
Pitt: “That’s a great relationship. Coach [Jeff] Capel and Coach [Milan] Brown really see me fitting in at that program. I got to see their game against Duke which was a great experience.”
Gonzaga and their star backcourt will be back in action Friday against St. Mary’s Ryken (MD.). They play No. 2 Paul VI (VA.) on Tuesday, Jan. 23, in a chance to yet again assert themselves as one of the best duos in the country.
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