When Dave Fairbank of the Daily Press tweeted yesterday about William & Mary’s Sophomore guard Daniel Dixon being injured, Tribe fans everywhere held their collective breath. While the details have not been fully established, it is clear that Dixon will be out at least one week with this injury.

As the Tribe’s number three scorer, Dixon has really come on this season, averaging 11.1 points per game. He has contributed all season on both ends of the floor, and has established himself as a consistent 3-point threat, and one that can spot up and shoot whenever called on.

To fully realize Daniel Dixon’s contribution to the team this year, take a look at his point production totals and the team’s games vs. CAA opponents this season:

vs.  W 75-45 — Dixon: 5 pts

vs.  W 73-47 — Dixon 14 pts

vs.  L 85-79 — Dixon 8 pts

vs.  W 81-73 — Dixon 7 pts

vs.  W 76-72 — Dixon 7 pts

vs.  W 85-72 — Dixon 20 pts

vs.  L 84-80 — Dixon 9 pts

vs.  W 78-62 — Dixon 5 pts

vs.  W 100-79 — Dixon 18 pts

vs.  W 84-65 — Dixon 25 pts

vs.  L 80-72 — Dixon 8 pts

vs.  W 56-53 — Dixon 5 pts

When Dixon scores less than 10 points, the Tribe carries a record of 5-3 against the CAA; when Dixon scores 10 points or more, the Tribe is 4-0 vs. the CAA. You can see that Dixon means a great deal to this team. He not only contributes on the offensive end, but is also a great defender known for his blocking abilities on the defensive end. But in short, when Dixon is scoring the ball, the Tribe win.

In Dixon’s absence, freshman guards Oliver Tot, Greg Malinowski, and Michael Schlotman will all be called on to fill in by committee. All three of these players have shown potential this year off the bench, but none average more than 5 points per game. Malinowski has seen the most playing time, averaging 14 minutes per game. Tot and Schlotman average about 10-11 minutes each per game. Much will be asked of these three, but we believe they’re up to the task.

Per the statistics above, even when Dixon isn’t clicking and is scoring less than 10 points in a game, W&M still has a winning record at 5-3. We say this to make the point that Tot, Malinowski, and Schlotman should be capable of scoring 10+ between the three of them and should be capable of holding their own on defense. If they succeed, the Tribe may not miss a beat in Dixon’s absence. The team certainly should not rush Dixon back if he isn’t truly ready to play — he’ll be all too important when the CAA tournament comes around. We wish him a very speedy recovery! For now, we’ll trust in this trio of freshmen to get the job done. Let us know in the poll below which player you think will contribute the most minutes in Dixon’s stead!

Looking ahead, we’re amped and ready to go for tomorrow’s revenge game against Elon. As most remember, William & Mary dropped a heartbreaker on the road vs. Elon 85-79 behind some hot shooting by the Phoenix’s Elijah Bryant earlier in the season. It will be interesting to see how W&M plays without their third leading scorer, but we have faith. LET’S GO TRIBE!!!