UConn won the NCAA tourney in April and Boston won the NBA Finals in June but there is still 1 more basketball champion to be crowned this summer. The Basketball Tournament (aka the TBT) kicks off on July 19th with 8 regions of 8 teams playing in Butler/Cincinnati/Dayton/Houston/Lexington/Louisville/Pitt/Wichita. Each region will send 1 team to the quarterfinals, with the championship game taking place during the 1st week of August, and the winning team walking away with $1 million in prize money. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the weeks ahead interviewing as many TBT participants as possible. We continue our coverage with Stephan Hicks, who will be playing for Fort Wayne Champs after graduating as the leading scorer in CSUN history.
You were born/raised in California: what made you choose CSUN? Coming out of high school I had limited scholarship opportunities. CSUN took a chance on me, was the 1st school to offer me, and they were close to home.
You redshirted during your 1st year: how much of an advantage did that give you the following year? It gave me a huge advantage: it allowed me to get a feel for college and a chance to get stronger. 1 of the seniors who played my position graduated the next year, which helped as well.
In 2012 you were named conference ROY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot to me. I started basketball at a later age and only played 1 year of high school varsity, so that award built a lot of confidence in me.
In 2013 you were #2 in the conference with 1.96 SPG: what is the key to playing great defense? Just having energy and wanting to do it. It is all about mindset so you need to bring effort to it.
In the 2014 conference tourney title game you had 11 PTS/12 REB in a 2-PT loss to Cal Poly: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It took me awhile to get over that game after I made a couple of mistakes at the end: it hurt a lot.
You graduated as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1959 PTS: what is the secret to being a great scorer? Just being consistent and growing each year. You need to work on your game and perfect it while bringing something new to the table.
You also set a conference record with 599 career FTM: how important to your offense is your ability to get to the FT line and then make shots once you do so? It was a huge accomplishment and a huge goal of mine. During my 1st year 1 of my coaches told me not to settle for threes. Once I learned how to get to the line I used it to my advantage by attacking the basket more.
You have spent the past decade playing pro basketball in the G League and overseas: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US v. basketball in other countries? The athleticism/ability/talent is better over here, and our style of play is a little faster. Overseas it is a more physical game that will take a toll on your body, but there are a lot more resources here in terms of taking care of your body.
You are hosting your 1st-ever basketball camp next week: what will make your camp different from other camps? I want to be involved with the kids and make sure that I get to know each camper. I want to build those relationships even after the camp ends so that I can check in with them and see how they are doing.
You are playing for Fort Wayne Champs in the TBT: how is the team looking, and what will you do with your share of the $1 million prize money if you win it all? I think we are looking good. We have a lot of players who do a lot of great things so we have a chance to be successful. I would use the money to buy an engagement ring for my girlfriend!