Matt Hicks (basketball)

Mathew Hicks (born c. 1956) is an American former professional basketball player. He played part of the 1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball season for the DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball before being discovered to be academically ineligible. He immediately transferred from DePaul University to Northern Illinois University to join Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball. At Northern Illinois, he was a two-time All-Mid-American Conference first-team selection and 1977 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. He had played for West Aurora High School in Aurora, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, before college.

Matt Hicks
Personal information
Bornc. 1956
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Career information
High schoolWest Aurora (Aurora, Illinois)
College
NBA draft1977: 4th round, 81st overall pick
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs
PositionForward
Career highlights and awards

High school

Matthew Hicks barely made his school's 8th grade "B" basketball team. When he was a high school junior, he only scored 72 points for the varsity team. As a senior, in 1973 he tallied 718 points.[1] In 2007, the Chicago Sun-Times dubbed the 1973 game between West Aurora and East Aurora High School, as the best athletic contest in school history.[2] Although Hicks contributed 20 points, the final margin in the 50–48 contest was a tipin by teammate Craig Hardy.[3] In an early-round Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class AA playoff game, Hicks had a storied face off against Ernie Kent of Rockford West High School,[4] in which he outscored the foul-plagued Kent 29–17 as part of a 60–52 victory.[5] In the 1973 IHSA Class AA state championship tournament, Hicks, who went by the nickname Skip at that time, went 5–16 (3–12 in the second half) in scoring 13 points in the semifinal 39–33 upset loss to New Trier High School.[6] Hicks rebounded in the consolation game with 30 points to defeat Lockport Central High School 67–45 for third place, the highest finish for West Aurora since the 2nd place 1959 team. Hicks finished with a tournament high 87-point four-game total. He made the All-Tournament team along with future NBA All-Star Rickey Green, Alvin Green, future MLB Rookie of the Year John Castino, and Bob Bone.[7]

DePaul

As a freshman for DePaul, Hicks started some early-season games.[8] Described as a "great leaper" with an 82-inch (208.3 cm) wingspan, Hicks' first start was on December 8, 1973, when DePaul visited Northwestern at McGaw Hall.[9] Hicks averaged 11.8 points and 8.9 rebounds in DePaul's first 10 games.[10]

Hicks' high school grades were below the 2.0 GPA meaning that he should have been ineligible to play as a freshman, but he was on the roster due to an oversight by head coach Ray Meyer. Even though he had a B- average during his first quarter at DePaul, when another Chicago area school reported that he should have been ineligible, the National Collegiate Athletic Association investigated and ruled him ineligible.[8] As of January 5, 1974, Hicks was still a highly regarded performer for the DePaul team and had just made an early season All-Tournament team.[11] However, he was sidelined pending a meeting to consider his eligibility before DePaul's January 6 game against Saint Joseph's.[10]

Northern Illinois

On January 16, 1974, Hicks enrolled at Northern Illinois University (NIU).[8] In his January 14, 1975, debut for Northern Illinois, he contributed 13 points off the bench including 2 overtime baskets in the 87–86 victory over Weber State.[12] At Northern Illinois, he was a two-time All-Mid-American Conference first-team selection as a junior and as a senior in 1976 and 1977 earning Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year honors in 1977. He led the conference in scoring (25.0 and 25.3) and rebounding (12.8 and 13.0) as both a junior and a senior. He was an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press (1976, 1977), Sporting News (1976, 1977), and Converse (1977).[13]

After his 2.5 season career at NIU, Hicks left the school as its all-time leader in career points (1,513) scored, single-season points scored (682), single-MAC conference game points (42, Kent State March 7, 1977), single-MAC conference game rebounds (23, Eastern Michigan March 3, 1976) and career double-doubles (50). The single-MAC conference game rebounds record was still listed as the current record in the 2019–20 school record book.[14] Paul Dawkins eclipsed some of Hicks' records including career points in 1979.[15] He was named MAC player of the week twice as a junior (January 28 and March 2, 1976) and three times as a senior (Jan 2, Feb 1 and 8, 1977).[14]

Hicks was not listed on the 1977 Pizza Hut All-American game ballot, but an organized write-in campaign in which his 950 dormitory mates cast 65,000 write in ballots got him selected. The Northern Illinois sports information director Bud Nangle and Rochelle, Illinois, Pizza Hut owner organized the effort to get him voted into the top 8 positions in the voting. The ballot box stuffing also pushed Chicago ballers Green and Bo Ellis into 2nd and 3rd place in the ballot. Hicks finished 7th. He lost the halftime slam dunk contest to Marques Johnson.[16]

Personal life

Hicks' younger siblings and his son Theo played high school basketball for West Aurora.[1] His younger brother, Ron, played basketball at George Williams College.[17]

Notes
  1. McGavin, Kevin (January 25, 2007). "Basketball is in their blood Theo Hicks and Dave Bryant will be on opposite sides Saturday, but their dads were teammates on West Aurora's 1973 state team". Daily Herald. ProQuest 313174163. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  2. "High School Spotlight – West Aurora". Chicago Sun-Times. September 12, 2007. Archived from the original on April 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023. In a rivalry that dates to 1913, the most memorable and controversial game occurred in 1973 in the regional final at West Aurora when Craig Hardy tipped in the winning basket against crosstown rival East Aurora. Did it count or didn't it? The answer still is debated to this day. West Aurora, led by Matt Hicks and John Bryant, finished 30–3 and third in the first Class AA tournament.
  3. Leusch, John (March 10, 1973). "Hardy tipin saves West Aurora 50–48". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 169272538. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  4. Radtke, John (March 15, 2002). "For great high school basketball, 'The Chick' was home". Daily Herald. ProQuest 312594645. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023. How about 1973 when the great Matt Hicks outdueled Rockford West's Ernie Kent in leading West Aurora downstate, where it then beat Elgin in a memorable double-overtime quarterfinal.
  5. Husar, John (March 21, 1973). "West Aurora defeats Rockford West". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 169260126. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  6. Shnay, Jerry (March 25, 1973). "New Trier chills Aurora; Hirsch stuns Lockport: New Trier 39 W. Aurora 33". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 169265150. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  7. "Chicago Rejoices With Its Conquering Heroes". Freeport Journal-Standard. March 26, 1973. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  8. Damer, Roy (January 17, 1974). "Matt Hicks enrolls at N. Illinois". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 171020087. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  9. Damer, Roy (December 8, 1973). "Northwestern, DePaul renew rivalry". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 171017472. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  10. Damer, Roy (January 6, 1974). "Boyd scores 25 as De Paul rolls over St. Joseph's 89–71". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 171033248. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  11. Damer, Roy (January 5, 1974). "Big Ten basketball starts today". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 171083293. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  12. Damer, Roy (January 14, 1975). "Huskies tip Weber 87–86 in overtime: Huskies' foul shot in overtime edges Weber". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 169322246. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  13. "Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Record Book 2018–19" (PDF). Mid-American Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  14. "2019–20 NIU Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Northern Illinois Huskies. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  15. Kiley, Mike (February 1, 1979). "Dawkins—Northern star glows in gloom". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 171904705. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  16. Jauss, Bill. (April 7, 1977). "Ballot-box stuffing lets Hicks do his stuff in Vegas". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 169561939. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  17. Kiley, Mike (January 20, 1979). "This college coach learns big lesson". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 171827880. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
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