There is no debate as to the greatest women’s basketball player in Clemson history. And quite frankly she might be the greatest Clemson athlete regardless of sport.
Barbara Kennedy Dixon was the first woman to be inducted into the Clemson Ring of Honor in 2000. Nearly 40 years after she played her final game as a Lady Tiger, Kennedy is still the all-time leading scorer in ACC history with 3,113 points. As a senior in 1981-82 she led the nation in scoring with a 29.3 average.
Kennedy’s 93 games of at least 20 points may never be broken.
She was named an All-American as a junior, then was an unanimous All-American as a senior when she was named first-team Kodak All-American.
The native of Rome, Georgia was a second-team All-ACC performer as a freshman and first-team selection her final three years. She is one of only two players in Clemson history to be selected to an All-ACC team all four years of her career. Even though Clemson did not win the event, she was named the MVP of the ACC Tournaments of 1981 and 1982
Kennedy served Clemson with distinction as a coach and administrator after her playing days for 31 years.
Sadly, Kennedy died after a long fight against cancer in July 2018 at the age of 58.
