This year’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament — commonly known as “March Madness” — was full of twists and turns. With unpredictable upsets each round and countless brackets busted, this year’s championship was any team’s for the taking. However, the University of Virginia came out on top, securing the championship with an 85-77 win over Texas Tech on April 8. The team included a recent Choate postgraduate Boys’ Varsity Basketball player: Jayden Nixon ’18.
Prior to attending the University of Virginia, Nixon completed a postgraduate year at Choate, leading Boys’ Varsity Basketball to a 22-5 record and a New England Class A Championship win. Nixon averaged seventeen points, five rebounds and three assists during the 2017-18 season, and his strong season was recognized with a spot on the Class A All-NEPSAC first team.
Although the transition from high school to college is challenging for any student, Nixon credited his extra year at Choate as beneficial to the transition both inside and outside the classroom. “Choate really prepared me in the sense that the classes I took there, like statistics, were a lot harder, which in turn made it easier here at Virginia,” he explained. “Athletically, [Choate Head Coach of Boys’ Varsity Basketball Mr.] Drew Dawson’s methodical approach and love for the game really elevated my capacity as a player and student of the game.”
As a freshman on Virginia’s team, Nixon experienced the immense pressure of high-stakes games in the NCAA Tournament from the start. Games are single-elimination — one poor performance can end a team’s season. “The experience was pretty crazy; I’m not going to lie,” he said, reflecting on the team’s playoff run. “It’s kind of weird, though because back to back years, the teams I’ve been on have been pretty successful.”
Unlike his season at Choate where he started and was one of the team’s best players, Nixon walked on at Virginia. Since he received less playing time than in the past, he served a different role on the team. “It’s been extremely humbling. Playing on a winning team and supporting a winning team are different but equally important in my development as a player.”
Last year, Nixon chose to attend Virginia over smaller New England schools like Amherst College and Williams College. “I chose to go to Virginia because it’s my home, and I’ve watched them play my whole life,” he explained. The University of Virginia competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the most competitive conferences in the country, another reason Nixon ultimately decided upon Virginia. “I wanted to compete against the best of the best,” he said.
Upon reflecting on his time as a student-athlete at both Choate and Virginia, Nixon noted several lessons and pieces of advice he’s learned over the past few years. “My one piece of advice is to allow yourself to fail. In years past, I’ve set really high expectations for myself both academically and athletically. So, last year when I didn’t get the offers I wanted, I felt like a complete failure,” he said. “In that, though, I found out so much more about myself that I wouldn’t have if I’d just stuck to the goals I had in place for myself. I feel like a complete person now instead of just ‘a player’ and even this year, giving myself some slack on and off the court has really helped my sanity. Work hard, but recognize how far you’ve come also.”
This win marks Nixon’s freshman season at the University of Virginia; going forward, he and the team hope to build on this season’s successes with even more victories in future NCAA Tournaments.
