"My freshman year, I could have transferred," he recalled. "But Juan Dixon came in serious. He recruited me every day. He treated me as if I was in high school all over again. There was a trust that he built from the start."
Dixon said he and his staff recognized Clayton as "a steal" for the program.
"When we did our research on DeJuan and we looked at his freshman year, we realized that we had a point guard that could be the cornerstone of our program for many years to come, but we knew we had to recruit DeJuan, his parents, his grandparents in order for us to get an opportunity to coach him," he said. "So we brought his family in, we showed him film, we discussed our vision and our plans for DeJuan Clayton, and since that day, we've built an unbelievable relationship."
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"There was just a lot of stuff, mainly personal stuff that had built up," he said. "COVID was a part of it, and I just needed a couple games off. He trusted me, and I trusted him, and it worked out."
Dixon, who said he received permission from Clayton's father Derrick to call the younger Clayton "my son," granted the request. Dixon said he knew Clayton was ready to return after a six-game absence when he wrote a letter to the coach.
"It was an unbelievable note well written, well put together, well thought out," Dixon said. "He just finally opened up and articulated what he was feeling, what he thought we could possibly do better as a staff. He hit the nail on the head in his note. He was right, and we've tried to be more understanding as a staff when it comes to understanding what the players are dealing with while helping them grow and helping them reach their full potential."