BYU Basketball: Dalton Nixon named NSCA All-American
By Shaun Gordon
Dalton Nixon became a key piece in BYU basketball’s rotation this year, and he just earned an All-American honor that you’ve probably never heard of.
You’ve heard of AP All-Americans. They’re given to the most outstanding players in a given sport.
Other publications will also hand out All-American honors using the same criteria.
Most have also heard of Academic All-Americans, those who prove to be the best both in the classroom and on the field or court.
But it’s doubtful that you’ve ever heard of NSCA All-Americans. BYU basketball’s Dalton Nixon has earned that honor for the 2017-18 season.
NSCA stands for the National Strength and Conditioning Association. They award All-American honors to high school and college athletes from numerous sports, including basketball.
So what are these All-American Awards based on? Let’s let the NSCA itself answer:
"“The All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year Award program recognizes collegiate and high school athletes whose athletic accomplishments, in the opinion of their strength coach, reflect their dedication to strength training and conditioning.”"
When it comes to college basketball, the NSCA gives out All-American awards to 50 athletes from all collegiate levels. 25 men and 25 women receive the honor.
Erick Schork, BYU basketball’s Strength and Conditioning Coach, nominated Nixon for the award. Schork had this to say about the sophomore forward:
"“Every player and coach in our program has arespect for Dalton’s approach to the daily grind ofDiv. I basketball. His efforts in transforming his bodyhave paid dividends on the court. From his freshmanto sophomore seasons he has nearly doubled hisaverages in minutes played, rebounds, assists, steals,scoring, and 3-point shooting percentage. Duringthe 2017-2018 season, Dalton was BYU Basketball’smost productive bench player.”"
Nixon bolstered BYU’s bench this season, becoming a key part of the Cougar rotation. He averaged 6.0 points per game on 52.7% shooting, and added 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists each game.