More on Michael: Nothing has come easy for Dixon

Missouri junior guard Michael Dixon (11) brings scoring and passion off the bench for No. 3 Missouri.

COLUMBIA | Michael Dixon Jr. had a gnawing feeling he might not start for Missouri this season. He saw the signs months ago; he just did not want to believe them.

"I was getting an idea during practice, when Coach Haith was making me go up against Marcus, Phil, Kimmie, Ricardo and (he would) switch in Steve sometimes," Dixon Jr. said. "I was always hoping he was just doing that to make practice more interesting."

Nope. And Dixon says there was no long, drawn out conversation about it, either. He found out with the rest of the team prior to a film session before the Tigers' exhibition opener against Missouri Southern Oct. 30.

"Coach Haith went down the line and he said 'Phil, you’re going to be guarding the starting point guard.' Then they said the shooting guard’s name, and Marcus would be guarding him. Then they went to the third guy, and they said 'Matt, you're going to start on him.'

"That's when I found out. I was pretty sad and upset about it."

Dixon hasn't started a game yet this season, but he hasn't let it affect his play. The 6-foot-1 guard who started 17 games as a sophomore as emerged as a big-time weapon off the bench for Missouri, averaging 12.5 points, two rebounds and three assists in 26 games.

He was magnificent again Wednesday for the Tigers, scoring 13 of his 15 points during a first half in which they blew an overwhelmed Oklahoma State team off the court. The 83-65 blowout marked the fifth consecutive game Dixon has scored in double figures.

"He’s playing at a high, high level right now," Missouri coach Frank Haith said. "We sense it, he senses it...he’s playing with a great deal of confidence."

And, as the feature I wrote about Dixon before Wednesday's game states - thanks for making me look good, Mike - he has emerged as the best sixth man in the Big 12.

“He’s an exciting player to watch," said senior teammate and buddy Kim English. "He plays with a lot of emotion, and we feed off that. He definitely has that killer instinct.”

The fact Dixon Jr. is doing all this despite his initial disappointment in playing a reserve role says a lot about his makeup. All great players always want to start, they just do. Dixon made it clear to me he still does.

And if you think that's selfish, consider this story that Michael Dixon Sr. relayed to me Monday night about Marcus Denmon, who has been a great scorer and leader for Missouri this season.

"Marcus, his sophomore year, won the sixth man of team award," Dixon Sr. said. "He got up at the team banquet and said 'I really appreciate this award, but I don’t ever want to win it again.'"

Dixon will surely win that award this year - though Big Steve Moore deserves some praise too - and barring some unforeseen circumstance, will surely take home the Big 12 award for the same category, too.

“Everybody works hard, but I feel like I’ve worked and persevered (more) than anybody on this team to be successful," Dixon said. "That’s not to take anything away from anybody on our team. That’s just how I feel.”

This much is obvious. Even his coach knows.

“He doesn’t want to be called a sixth man,” Haith said with a laugh. “You can’t call him a sparkplug."

Dixon Sr. understands why.

“There's a connotation there that you're just a little piece of the engine," Dixon Sr. said.

That clearly isn't the case.

“All I can say about Mike is that I love him, I love the way he plays," Haith said. "You can coach him...I can get after Mike, really get after him, because it doesn’t affect him, and I really love that about him. He’s just tough mentally, and he’s hard-nosed. He’s not afraid to take a big shot,
not afraid to make a big defensive play."

He's also not afraid to punctuate his big plays with yells and fist pumps. And while he would prefer to bring that enthusiasm from the opening tip, there's little doubt Dixon Jr. has found a role that suits him, at least for this year.

“He has to get pumped up now at a little different time," Dixon Sr. said. "But as long as he does that and helps the Missouri Tigers, everybody is gonna be happy.”

Email me at tpaylor@kcstar.com or Tweet me @terezpaylor if you have any questions or comments.