Juan Dixon’s going to be the new head coach at Coppin State

Maryland basketball legend Juan Dixon is taking the next step in his coaching career. Dixon is going to be the next head coach of the Coppin State Eagles, The Baltimore Sun reported Saturday.

Dixon served previously worked as a special assistant to Mark Turgeon’s staff at Maryland from 2013 until he was relieved of his duties this summer.

The Terps’ all-time leading scorer was limited in his role at Maryland due to NCAA regulations, so he couldn’t coach on the bench or in practice. He spent his time in a mentoring role for players like Melo Trimble and learning from Turgeon.

After Dixon was let go from the Maryland staff after the 2015-16 season, he became the women’s basketball head coach at the University of the District of Columbia. It was a tough year for the rookie head coach, as UDC went 3-25.

Dixon will get a new opportunity to grow as a head coach at a school that hasn’t gone dancing in almost a decade. Coppin State hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2007-08, when it was bounced in the play-in game and finished the season 16-21. The Eagles lost their first 12 games last season, and ended 8-24. Dixon won’t have high expectations his first season or two.

Dixon’s a Baltimore native, and Coppin State’s location in West Baltimore means there’s another coach to keep in mind when it comes to local recruits, although he probably won’t directly compete with Maryland. It will be interesting to see who Dixon brings in to fill out his staff. Coppin State is not a big-time program by any means, but if he brings in more well-respected local coaches, he could start to make a strong pitch for lower-level recruits to stay home and learn from his experience in the NBA and overseas.