Morehouse Basketball: Coach Dixon, Maroon Tigers Won't Fall for Preseason Honors 'Trap'

The defending SIAC Tournament champions were picked to win the conference, with guards Sincere Moore and Brandon Peters named to the preseason first team.

Morehouse Set to Defend 2025-26 SIAC Men's Basketball Championship | Morehouse Athletics

ATLANTA – Morehouse College men's basketball coach Larry Dixon said being picked first in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason poll is "a setup, a trap," and that his team still has to earn its standing in 2026-27.  

Some may consider his statement paranoia.  Others may view his skepticism of the preseason ranking as wise.  Nonetheless, the Maroon Tigers will soon tip off the season as the reigning 2025=26 SIAC Men’s Basketball Champions.

Larry Dixon, Morehouse College Head Basketball Coach | Credit: Morehouse Athletics

The SIAC's head coaches and sports information directors picked the Maroon Tigers to finish first in the conference's predicted order of finish, released Tuesday. Clark Atlanta was picked second and Tuskegee third.

"It's good to be acknowledged, but at the end of the day, we didn't get a trophy yesterday," Dixon told HBCU Legends. "So we got to go win games."

Dixon said Morehouse was picked around fourth or fifth a year ago. The Maroon Tigers won the SIAC East, then defeated Tuskegee 66-56 on March 7 at the Clayton County Convocation Center in Morrow, Ga., to win the program's first SIAC Tournament title since 2003.

The title sent Morehouse to its first NCAA Division II Tournament since 2018.

Dixon's 22 wins were the most by a first-year head coach in school history.

"You gotta go win. You gotta prepare to win," Dixon said. "It sounds good, but I always think that's a trap."

As the Maroon Tigers enter into the 2026-27 basketball season, Dixon is guarding against his players falling for the lure of accolades and honors.

Moore and Peters Lead Preseason Honors

Morehouse was the only program with two players on the preseason All-SIAC first team. Sincere Moore, a senior guard from Chesterfield, Va., is a returning All-SIAC selection. Brandon Peters, a junior guard from Atlanta, joins him.

Dixon said both guards helped Morehouse win games last season and had strong offseasons. He also pointed to their work in the classroom. Dixon said both players earned grade-point averages above 3.0 last semester, closer to the 3.5 to 3.8 range.

"You can't have success on the court if you're not doing the right thing in the classroom and off the court," Dixon said. "And there's definitely two young men that's doing that."

Tuskegee's Khalil Genwright is the only other returning All-SIAC first-team selection.

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