Xavion Dillon leaned back in his chair at Southwest Mississippi Community College’s memorabilia room Wednesday, surrounded by students, coaches and fans for the first day that student athletes can sign basketball scholarships.
To his left, Donovan Ross was seated at a table with his family sporting a Lamar University cap. To his right, Deville Smith, dressed in UNLV garb, was doing the same as the two signed their Division I scholarships.
In his mind, the Tylertown senior pictured himself up there next year signing the same type of scholarship.
Dillon set himself with a prime opportunity Wednesday when he signed a scholarship of his own to play at Southwest in the fall, passing up several Division I scholarships in the process.
“That’s one of the major factors that made me decide to come here because schools like Mississippi Gulf Coast or Co-Lin aren’t sending kids to Division I schools like Deville and Ross, so that played a major factor,” Dillon said.
Dillon was a dominant force in Class 4A for the past two seasons as he helped lead the resurgent Chiefs to two straight appearances in the South State playoffs.
The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 21.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game in 2012-13 for Tylertown, which lost to Laurel in the quarterfinals.
Dillon said he made his decision Tuesday night and chose Southwest over Southern Miss, New Orleans and Northwestern State. Along the recruiting process, he’d also received interest from Ole Miss, Southeastern and Alcorn State.
“It makes me feel like if I can work hard, I can be in the same position (Smith) is in or better,” Dillon said. “It’s a big process and a lot of hard work.”
The signing capped off a huge day for Southwest coach Casey Carter, who lost Smith to UNLV and Ross to Lamar, but hauled in Dillon, his most coveted target.
“Xavion’s been our No. 1 guy all along,” Carter said. “He was the No. 1 recruit in Mississippi that we had to have.”
Dillon played in the post at Tylertown solely because of his size differential. In 29 games, he scored in double-figures in all but one game, notched 19 double-doubles and scored at least 20 points in 16 contests.
One of his best games game in January against North Pike when he poured in 35 points and grabbed 21 rebounds.
At Southwest, he’ll get more of an opportunity to showcase his athleticism.
“Here at Southwest, he’s not a post player because he does have a unique skill set at that size to be able to do things,” Carter said. “He’s going to be able to stretch out and play that wing for us at the three spot. Our trail four is a perfect fit for him because that four has to handle it a little bit.”
While Dillon did most of his damage inside the paint and on the offensive glass, as evidenced by his 5.2 offensive rebounds per game, he has spent time working on his ball handling and shooting to make himself more marketable for Division I coaches.
“I’ve been working on that, the wing process,” Dillon said. “When I play, I can be a mixed factor. I can’t be stopped inside and outside.”
Dillon joins TroJuan White (Hazlehurst), Christian Robbins (USM transfer), Jaylen White (Harrison Central) and Eddie Lee (Gulfport) as the other signees.
