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If Barbara Kennedy-Dixon walked into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame the day before her posthumous induction, her husband, Marvin Dixon, said she would have wanted to talk about you.
There's no doubt in his mind, that's just who she was.
Kennedy-Dixon died July 23, 2018 after an extended battle with cancer. She was 58.
Marvin Dixon said the world is still missing out on her, on her spirit and her voice, and everything she still had to give. The 2026 class will be inducted on June 27 at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, Tennessee.
During Kennedy-Dixon's senior night game against North Carolina in 1982, she walked to center court and sang the national anthem, with the crowd stunned in awe. Then she played, and did it again.
"The whole crowd just stands up and just goes crazy," Marvin Dixon said. "Then Barbara drops 42 points in the game."
The game took place during an era in college basketball when it was typical for school to schedule doubleheaders featuring both men's and women's basketball teams. North Carolina men's coach Dean Smith came to the floor afterward and shook her hand.
"He said he's never heard anything like that," Marvin Dixon said. "Michael Jordan and all of them were there during that time. People had just never heard someone sing so beautifully on the court, and then go out and play so beautifully on the court. It was a moment people still talk about."
From 1978-82 at Clemson, Kennedy-Dixon averaged 24.5 points per game and finished as the ACC all-time leader in points (3,113) and rebounds (1,252). A two-time All-American, she is one of only eight players in women's college basketball history to reach 3,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Clemson retired her No. 42.
She played professionally in Italy, and then played for the Virginia Wave in 1989 in the Women's American Basketball Association before the league folded the same year.
"If she was in the league now, she'd be a beast," Marvin Dixon said about the WNBA.
Kennedy-Dixon has already been inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, the Clemson Hall of Fame and Clemson's Ring of Honor. The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame was the latest to call.
"Coach Jim Davis called me and said, 'Marvin, we finally got her in,' " he said. "You talk about somebody jumping for joy. It's about time."
Marvin Dixon noted Clemson will have representation at the ceremony along with family from their hometown of Rome, Georgia. Marvin's daughter Jasmine is also celebrating her birthday on the day of the induction.
"God is putting this thing together," Marvin Dixon said. "He did his big one."
Kennedy-Dixon gave 31 years to Clemson's athletic department, retiring as assistant athletic director in July 2017. She helped launch the Tiger Trust Program, which encourages former student-athletes who left early for professional careers to return and finish their degrees.
Tree Rollins, the former Clemson center who spent nearly two decades in the NBA, was one of the ones Kennedy-Dixon brought back. A photo of Rollins embracing her is still one of Marvin's favorites.
"She is still changing lives right now," Marvin Dixon said. "We'll always wish she was here, but we're glad it got done."
Doris Burke: Recognized in the Naismith Hall of Fame and made history as the first woman to serve as a television analyst for any major American men's sports championship when she called the 2024 NBA Finals.
Elena Delle Donne: Two-time WNBA MVP who led the Washington Mystics to the 2019 championship and became the first player in league history to finish a regular season with a 50-40-90 shooting split.
Isabelle Fijalkowski: France's all-time leading scorer with 2,562 points across 204 games, a five-time French League champion and the European MVP in 1996-97.
Barbara Kennedy-Dixon: A two-time All-American at Clemson who scored 3,113 career points, holding the school and ACC records in scoring, rebounds, field goals and field goal attempts.
Kim Muhl: Recently retired after coaching 37 seasons at Kirkwood (Iowa) Community College, finishing his career with a 1,108-178 record, winning nine NJCAA Division II Championships.
Candace Parker: A two-time NCAA champion, two-time WNBA MVP, and three-time WNBA champion who became the only player in league history to win a title with three different franchises.
Cheryl Reeve: The winningest coach in WNBA history with 364 career victories, who led the Minnesota Lynx to four championships and coached the U.S. women's national team to a record eighth-straight Olympic gold in Paris.
Amaya Valdemoro: A three-time WNBA champion with the Houston Comets who also represented Spain in two Olympics and won eight Spanish League titles.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Barbara Kennedy-Dixon was a legend at Clemson, now Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Continue reading...
There's no doubt in his mind, that's just who she was.
Kennedy-Dixon died July 23, 2018 after an extended battle with cancer. She was 58.
Marvin Dixon said the world is still missing out on her, on her spirit and her voice, and everything she still had to give. The 2026 class will be inducted on June 27 at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, Tennessee.
During Kennedy-Dixon's senior night game against North Carolina in 1982, she walked to center court and sang the national anthem, with the crowd stunned in awe. Then she played, and did it again.
"The whole crowd just stands up and just goes crazy," Marvin Dixon said. "Then Barbara drops 42 points in the game."
The game took place during an era in college basketball when it was typical for school to schedule doubleheaders featuring both men's and women's basketball teams. North Carolina men's coach Dean Smith came to the floor afterward and shook her hand.
"He said he's never heard anything like that," Marvin Dixon said. "Michael Jordan and all of them were there during that time. People had just never heard someone sing so beautifully on the court, and then go out and play so beautifully on the court. It was a moment people still talk about."
From 1978-82 at Clemson, Kennedy-Dixon averaged 24.5 points per game and finished as the ACC all-time leader in points (3,113) and rebounds (1,252). A two-time All-American, she is one of only eight players in women's college basketball history to reach 3,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Clemson retired her No. 42.
She played professionally in Italy, and then played for the Virginia Wave in 1989 in the Women's American Basketball Association before the league folded the same year.
"If she was in the league now, she'd be a beast," Marvin Dixon said about the WNBA.
Kennedy-Dixon has already been inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, the Clemson Hall of Fame and Clemson's Ring of Honor. The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame was the latest to call.
"Coach Jim Davis called me and said, 'Marvin, we finally got her in,' " he said. "You talk about somebody jumping for joy. It's about time."
Marvin Dixon noted Clemson will have representation at the ceremony along with family from their hometown of Rome, Georgia. Marvin's daughter Jasmine is also celebrating her birthday on the day of the induction.
"God is putting this thing together," Marvin Dixon said. "He did his big one."
Kennedy-Dixon gave 31 years to Clemson's athletic department, retiring as assistant athletic director in July 2017. She helped launch the Tiger Trust Program, which encourages former student-athletes who left early for professional careers to return and finish their degrees.
Tree Rollins, the former Clemson center who spent nearly two decades in the NBA, was one of the ones Kennedy-Dixon brought back. A photo of Rollins embracing her is still one of Marvin's favorites.
"She is still changing lives right now," Marvin Dixon said. "We'll always wish she was here, but we're glad it got done."
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026
Doris Burke: Recognized in the Naismith Hall of Fame and made history as the first woman to serve as a television analyst for any major American men's sports championship when she called the 2024 NBA Finals.
Elena Delle Donne: Two-time WNBA MVP who led the Washington Mystics to the 2019 championship and became the first player in league history to finish a regular season with a 50-40-90 shooting split.
Isabelle Fijalkowski: France's all-time leading scorer with 2,562 points across 204 games, a five-time French League champion and the European MVP in 1996-97.
Barbara Kennedy-Dixon: A two-time All-American at Clemson who scored 3,113 career points, holding the school and ACC records in scoring, rebounds, field goals and field goal attempts.
Kim Muhl: Recently retired after coaching 37 seasons at Kirkwood (Iowa) Community College, finishing his career with a 1,108-178 record, winning nine NJCAA Division II Championships.
Candace Parker: A two-time NCAA champion, two-time WNBA MVP, and three-time WNBA champion who became the only player in league history to win a title with three different franchises.
Cheryl Reeve: The winningest coach in WNBA history with 364 career victories, who led the Minnesota Lynx to four championships and coached the U.S. women's national team to a record eighth-straight Olympic gold in Paris.
Amaya Valdemoro: A three-time WNBA champion with the Houston Comets who also represented Spain in two Olympics and won eight Spanish League titles.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Barbara Kennedy-Dixon was a legend at Clemson, now Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Continue reading...
