Dixon excels, start to finish

She walked into the small press room at the Sports Arena wearing a black shirt. “The Finisher” was written on its front. Under those words was her picture.

Jasmine Dixon, apparently, promotes truth in advertising.

The guard-forward had just been the pivotal player -- foul trouble and all -- in leading Long Beach Poly to a come-from-behind overtime victory over City Section champion Harbor City Narbonne in the Southern California Regional finals.

A week later, she would make a difference in Poly’s third consecutive state title-game victory.

Twice she has nearly been selected The Times’ girls’ basketball player of the year. This season, she is the indisputable choice.

“Any and every award is important to me, no matter how small or how big,” said Dixon, who has already been named Gatorade’s state player of the year. “It shows how much hard work and dedication I have put into the sport.

“Without my teammates the last four years, none of this could have been possible. I live for this game every day.”

She arrived four seasons ago and elevated a very good Poly program into a truly great one.

Her coach, Carl Buggs, says it’s no coincidence Poly (31-2) didn’t start winning section titles with regularity until her freshman season, or state titles in her sophomore season.

“Now we’re recognized as one of the elite programs in the country,” said Buggs, whose team finished ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 3 in the nation by StudentSports.com.

“We get invited to places because of the success we’ve had because of Jasmine Dixon. This is what she has meant to us.”

Dixon, 5 feet 10 and inordinately strong, lives for the big game. Against opponents ranked in The Times’ top 25, she averaged 17 points and 12.4 rebounds.

On the season she averaged 14.1 points, despite making only 56% of her free throws, and 10.4 rebounds. She shot 52% from the field.

She had 175 offensive rebounds, 27 more than she had on defense. For most players, those totals would be reversed. She also averaged 4.2 steals and 3.2 assists.

Dixon will continue her career at Rutgers, one of the nation’s top programs.

“She, no doubt, is the most flexible player we have,” said Rutgers Coach C. Vivian Stringer, who had five recruits, including Dixon, competing in last week’s McDonald’s All-American game.

“She can play inside, outside, she’s strong, capable of shooting the ball well, driving to the hoop, rebounding, is quick enough to guard the players we’ve had trouble with, the Tennessee and Connecticut guards. . . . She’s a pro-size guard and comes as a proven winner.”

She is definitely that.

--

martin.henderson@latimes.com