PROVO — BYU senior forward Dalton Nixon has established a reputation for playing with a fearlessness and a reckless abandon — diving for loose balls, crashing the boards, making tough passes.
“That’s his game,” said Dalton’s dad, Kevin Nixon, a former Cougar star.
In the second game of the season, a win over Southern Utah, Dalton Nixon took an elbow to his face that resulted in three stitches under his left eye, which is emblematic of how he plays.
But he didn’t always play that way.
“Dalton’s Dalton. He’s a beast. He does all of the little things.” — BYU’s Yoeli Childs, on Dalton Nixon
“I joke with him all the time. I say, ‘If you were this tough in high school, we would have won three state championships.’ He’s kind of adapted his game,” Kevin Nixon said. “He came home from his mission and realized that in order to get on the floor — knowing he wasn’t going to get many shots or offensive opportunities — he needed to adjust his game a little bit and to do whatever he needed to to get on the floor. He embraced strength and conditioning. It’s worked out pretty good for him. (BYU) needs an inside presence. He’s got the toughness to do it.”
Since Yoeli Childs returned to the floor after a nine-game NCAA suspension to open the season, Dalton Nixon has gone from being a starter to coming off the bench.
But look at his contributions in that role: He posted a career-high 17 points against UNLV on Dec. 7, then on Dec. 10, he collected a career-high 10 rebounds against Nevada.
In the Cougars’ 68-64 win over Utah State, Nixon blocked a shot with 56 seconds remaining that proved to be a crucial stop for BYU. Nixon was a team-best plus-15 in the USU game, meaning that the Cougars outscored the Aggies by 15 in the 23 minutes that he was on the court, though he finished with only two points.
“Dalton’s Dalton. He’s a beast. He does all of the little things,” Childs said after beating the Aggies. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing — it can be against a team like Kansas or the team we played (Saturday against Utah State). He always does the little things for us. He’s all about the team. I love playing with that guy.”
In last Saturday’s 91-61 thumping of Weber State, Nixon returned to the starting lineup due to an injury to forward Kolby Lee. He scored 11 points, collected three rebounds and dished out three assists.
“You throw him around at any position, he’s going to score the ball,” said guard Alex Barcello. “He can shoot the ball, he can get it inside. He’s just a big body. He’s a basketball player.”
On top of that, Nixon has made 16 of 37 3-pointers this season after shooting just 1 of 16 from 3-point range a year ago.
“We have great shooters on this team,” he said. “It really helps us to spread the floor and we all have confidence in each other. That’s been a huge part of the offseason with the new coaching staff, to make shots.”
As a senior, Nixon has embraced being a leader and doing whatever is necessary to help BYU win games.
“We have great seniors on the team. I haven’t been on a team at BYU with that many seniors. It’s a good opportunity for each of us to step up. Our leadership comes in different ways,” he said. “For me, I love bringing energy to the team and being able to help everyone and try to make my teammates better. Each guy on the team has something else they can bring that brings this team together. The seniors on the team, we feel like we have a chip on our shoulder.”
On the season, Nixon is averaging 8.6 points and 4.6 rebounds. He’s shooting 53% from the field and 43% from 3. He’s also had 27 assists, 12 steals and four blocks.
Nixon was a big reason why the shorthanded and size-challenged Cougars were able to post a 6-3 record without Childs in the lineup.
Just before Childs’ return to the floor in early December, coach Mark Pope met with Nixon to inform him he wouldn’t be in the starting lineup anymore.
“Here’s a guy playing at an all-time level. He gets us to 6-3 and he’s proficient from the 3-point line and the job he’s done on an undersized team trying to manage the boards and play out of position and do all of these things; he’s had an unbelievable start of the season,” Pope told reporters last week. “He’s been the winning spirit of the team and I go to him and say, ‘I’m going to yank your starting spot.’ This is the thing about Dalton. He’s just a winner. This game, when you give to this game with no agenda, when you give your whole heart and soul to this game, it rewards you. It’s a rule. Not many people are willing to do it and give everything they have to this game. He does it.”
How was Nixon able to log a career-high in points despite coming off the bench?
“I’m not surprised. He had to give up his starting spot. He gave that last thing he had going to this game. There’s not many players that are willing to do it. There’s not many teams that are fortunate enough to have a guy that has a heart and a winning attitude to do it,” Pope said. “But he’s just special. There’s no coach in America that wouldn’t kill to get him on their team, at any level, because he just helps you win. He’s playing right now purely to do whatever he can to help this team win. He’s playing with great confidence but he’s earned that. He’s a stud. I love him.”