Eric Dixon will return to Villanova after going through NBA draft process

This isn’t the result Eric Dixon wanted when he announced his intent to enter the NBA draft and posted a goodbye message to Villanova in April.

The goal was to forgo his fifth and final season of eligibility, armed with an undergraduate degree and a master’s certificate, and start a professional career. The plan, Dixon’s father said in March, even accounted for the possibility of leaving a little bit of money on the table. But after going through the draft process and not getting the assurances needed to make the jump, Dixon, an Abington grad, is withdrawing from the draft process and returning to Villanova.

While it might be a disappointing outcome for Dixon, it’s a big positive for the Wildcats, whose best player is back.

The needle started pointing toward Villanova in the final weeks of the draft process for Dixon. The 6-foot-8 forward was not invited to the NBA combine or the G League Elite Camp. He did work out for multiple teams, including the San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, and Denver Nuggets, but he was unlikely to be drafted and none of those teams, or any others, could provide Dixon with the financial windfall he’ll receive by returning to Villanova and securing name, image, and likeness compensation.

» READ MORE: Eric Dixon’s looming decision is a tale of modern college sports. Here’s why he may be back at Villanova.

Dixon was a perfect case study for these modern times: a player who in many ways was done with college basketball, who had spent five years on a campus already, and gotten just about everything one could get from a school, but whose game wasn’t a fit for NBA teams, at least not yet. This is part of the reason NIL exists, so a player like Dixon — who came to campus, redshirted, developed into a key piece on a Final Four team, then helped usher in a new era under a new coach — could be compensated commensurate with his impact at a university.

Dixon, who will turn 24 in January, spent a lot of time after the season training outside of Dallas. There were conversations, too, about potentially entering the transfer portal and keeping all of his options open. But Dixon allowed the window to enter the portal to close on May 1. That came after Dixon and his agent, Darrell Comer of Tandem Sports + Entertainment, met with Villanova, which offered Dixon a significant NIL package that shut down all talks about transferring. Dixon wasn’t thrilled about the idea of looking for a new school, anyway.

On the court, Dixon’s return is substantial. He was a second-team all-Big East selection the last two seasons and posted averages of 16.6 points and 6.5 rebounds this past season while playing crucial roles in wins over the likes of North Carolina (34 points) and Creighton (32 points).

Dixon might have a new position, too. Villanova added Enoch Boakye via the transfer portal on Monday. The 6-11 center, who transferred from Fresno State after starting his college career at Arizona State, is expected to start, meaning Dixon likely would slot into a power forward role.

Villanova, however, might be without Dixon to open the season. Dixon participated in the Portsmouth Invitational in April. The event is a noncertified predraft camp designed mostly for players who had exhausted their college eligibility. Players who participated in the event in 2022 and 2023 were suspended three games upon returning to school.

The Wildcats still have some work to do to fill out their 2024-25 roster. They lost VCU transfer Max Shulga, who opted to remain at his previous school. They remain involved with Miami transfer and Philadelphia native Wooga Poplar, who, like Dixon, declared for the NBA draft. Even with Dixon returning, Villanova still has three scholarships remaining. It hopes to use one on Poplar, then another on a guard who can handle and shoot.