Different Dixon, same result

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. - CeCe Dixon never cared much for the state Federation Tournament of Champions as a spectator. She never found the games to be exciting or understood the wild celebrations, even when her older sister, Lorin, was lighting up Murry Bergtraum for 34 points in the 2006 Class AA final, clinching an undefeated national championship season for Christ the King.
“I didn’t really feel it was that intense,” she said.
As a player, helping Bergtraum (25-0), ranked second in the nation by USA Today, to the Class AA crown, their second consecutive undefeated season and 53rd straight victory, Dixon felt quite differently.
“It was amazing,” the quick-as-a-whip 5-foot-2 sophomore said. “It’s better than I thought it would be.”
The younger Dixon sister was named to the all-tournament team after scoring a combined 18 points in wins over Rush Henrietta (New York) and St. John the Baptist (Long Island).
The first player off the Bergtraum bench, Dixon transferred from Christ the King to Bergtraum this fall. She left the Middle Village powerhouse for the lower Manhattan dynamo after academic problems and financial issues, her father, Kirby, said. Following in Lorin’s footsteps factored into the decision, too. She was called “Little Lorin” there and compared to the University of Connecticut freshman, favorably and negatively.
“It bothered her a lot,” Kirby said. “When she came to Bergtraum, she said, ‘Dad, nobody knows me, I’m just CeCe Dixon, I’m not Lorin’s little sister.’ That is big part of it. She wanted to blaze her own trail.”
“I have my own path and it feels good,” Dixon added. “Even my sister thought it was a good move for me to come here.”
Ed Grezinsky, the Bergtraum coach, was also influential, Kirby said, in the move. When Lorin was a freshman, the Blazers beat the Royals in Glens Falls for the ‘AA’ title. Instead of celebrating, he climbed into the stands to tell the Dixon family that if Lorin had played the outcome would have been different. When the family was struggling to meet the financial standards at Christ the King, he advised Lorin to remain there.
“I don’t want to give away Mr. G’s secret, but I know what his secret is,” Kirby said. “It’s that the team really likes him. They really want to win for him.”
The two sisters remain very competitive. Before the semifinal win over Rush Henrietta, CeCe said, Lorin gave her a pep talk. They often try to gain an advantage over one another. CeCe called Lorin after UConn suffered their first loss while Lorin teased her about her limited role early in the year.
“We try to be better than each other,” CeCe said.
At this point, Kirby said, CeCe is ahead of Lorin. With two years remaining, she already has half as many state championships and is a more accomplished scorer, as her 20 points-per-game on the CK freshman team and seven points and three assists this season illustrate. Next winter, she will be one of the Blazers’ focal points.
“She really stepped up for us in the postseason,” Grezinsky said. “We’re looking for great things out of her next year.”