Former Missouri standout Michael Dixon committed to Memphis during a telephone conversation with Tigers coach Josh Pastner on Wednesday night, according to ESPN. Dixon is scheduled to fly from his home in Kansas City, Mo., to Memphis on Thursday morning to begin classes.
However, Dixon must get a waiver from the NCAA to be able to play for the Tigers as a senior in 2013-14. Redshirting is not an option for Dixon, who was kicked off the Missouri team in November after a female student accused him of sexual assault, the second such claim made against him since January 2010.
"I hope that I can don a Memphis uniform," Dixon said in his first public comments in more than seven months. "I hope the NCAA sees that, in a time where so many players are leaving school after one or two years and worrying about themselves, I'm a guy that wants to be in school. I could've easily went professional after this happened.
"But this isn't how I wanted to be remembered in college. I wanted another chance to prove myself in and out of the classroom and on and off the court."
Dixon averaged 13.5 points and 3.3 assists per game as a junior for Missouri in 2011-12, when numerous media outlets tabbed him as the national sixth man of the year. If the NCAA decides to grant him eligibility this season, Dixon will likely be among the top 10 point guards in college basketball.
Although he reiterated his earlier stance that he "did nothing wrong," Dixon declined to further discuss any details of the allegations made against him at Missouri. He did, however, express frustration with the university's handling of the situation.
Dixon was kicked out of school despite never being charged - or even questioned - in either of the sexual assault allegations. Prosecutors in Boone County, Mo., determined an investigation lacked sufficient evidence to interview the accused player in the second case in 2012.
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