Hurricanes bring back F Renaldo Dixon

Photo Credit: The Chronicle Herald

The Halifax Hurricanes have signed Canadian forward Renaldo Dixon, who played with the team in their title run last year, for the 2016-17 season.

Dixon is the second member of their championship squad to return to the Hurricanes. That was his first season in the NBL Canada, and his second at the professional level. As a rookie, the 6-foot-10 and 210-pound big man took a lead role in the German third league, averaging 14.3 points and 5.7 rebounds. In college, Dixon wore the crimson-and-white of New Mexico State and grew into a real asset for the Aggies by his senior season.

In 2015, Dixon was a part of the London Lightning, but in November, he moved to the Island Storm in a trade that involved Nick Okorie. However, he would never appear for either team. The Hurricanes, under head coach Hugo Lopez, picked up the forward in late January.

On the court, Dixon is a versatile player and a consistent scorer. He missed just one of 35 free throws and scored double figures in three games with Halifax. In Game 7 of the NBL Canada finals, Dixon ended up being one of the team's top contributors, having a nearly perfect shooting night while scoring 13 points and grabbing three rebounds. He averaged 4.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in the season as a whole.

"When you talk about one of the top Canadian big men in NBL last season, Renaldo has to be mentioned in the conversation," said Hurricanes' coach Kevin Keathley. "Renaldo is my type of player. He can play either post position and he will work well within our fast breaking system. He's going to give us an added dynamic in the paint."