TicketsFeb. 6, 2006
Eric Hicks has been named Bearcat Performer of the Week after pair of stellar performances last week. He posted two doubles, averaging 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in a win over USF and a nine-point loss at No. 11 West Virginia. He posted 13 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks in the home triumph over the Bulls. Hicks followed that up with 22 points and 10 rebounds on 11-of-14 shooting at the Mountaineers.
This season has certainly proven to be a rollercoaster for this team; do you think that you have changed at all personally and as a player?
"No, my life has never been peaches and cream. This is just another chapter in my life and we'll find a way to get out of this. I found a way to get a scholarship here. We will overcome this. We're in a little, well, a big slump right now and we are just going to have bounce back."
How has the core of the UC basketball program changed, if at all?
"We only have eight scholarship players. We normally have 12 or 13 scholarship players, and you just have to deal with that. Whenever I make mistakes or get tired, I have to suck it up. I don't have a Max (former teammate Jason Maxiell) to come in for me. You just have to suck it up and play."
Personally, you're having a stellar season thus far with eight double-doubles, 15 points per game, and tying a school record of 10 blocked shots, just to name a few accomplishments. With everything going on around you, such as new players coming onto the roster and losing a key player, how do you keep your focus?
"All of that doesn't matter if we don't win. It really doesn't matter. I just want to win."
Do you have any goals, either team-wise or personally, this season that you are working towards?
"Win. Win. Win. Win. Win. Win games and average 10 rebounds a game."
What BIG EAST opponent are you most looking forward to competing against? Any specific player?
"All of them. My goals are usually short-term. You can't look past anybody in this league. If you look past somebody, you're going to get beat. It's going to change from game to game. I'm taking it one game at a time."
You have been pegged as a candidate for BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, what would that honor mean to you?
"Those are great honors for my name to even be mentioned, but right now, I just want to win. It's great being mentioned with all of the great players in the BIG EAST and my name being mixed in with them, even at all."
You are third in UC history, behind Kenyon Martin and Jason Maxiell, in blocked shots, are you working towards passing your former teammate in the record books?
"I'm trying to get Max! I know Kenyon is probably out of the picture, but how many am I behind? (42 going into the Georgetown game) Yeah, I'm trying to get Max so I can call him and tell him that I broke his record!"
Louisville head coach Rick Pitino was quoted as saying, `Eric Hicks is inch for inch, pound for pound the toughest ball player in America.' How does that make you feel?
"It's a great honor coming from him. He's coached the best. When I grew up watching him at Kentucky, it's a great honor coming from him."
After this tumultuous season is over, what would you like to look back on and see? In other words, what are you goals for the season?
"Through the circumstances, we came out with another 20 plus win season and made the NCAA Tournament."
Does your number have any significant meaning to you?
"My brother wore it, and I took it from him in high school. I look forward to keeping it if I happen to go on to the next level, but if they want me to change it, they are paying me money so I can't argue with that."
What is your favorite place on campus? Off campus?
"On campus? I'm not on campus all that much. Off campus? My house where there is peace and quiet. I have a puppy, well, he isn't a puppy anymore, but I have a dog. I spend time with him and go fishing. I spend time with my new daughter. She's getting so big."
As a senior, what would you like your legacy to be here at UC after you graduate?
"Just to be one of those players who came through here and played hard, and came out with another 20 plus win season and the NCAA Tournament. I don't want to be on the first team that doesn't make it to the tournament."