Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Hicks-McCollum matchup could determine nation’s No. 1

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Saturday, January 13, 2001

Hicks-McCollum matchup could determine nation’s No. 1
Islanders’, Gents’ stars are top two scorers in Division I basketball
By Mark Zuckerman
Caller-Times

McCollum

Michael vs. Magic it's not, but when it comes to college basketball this season, Michael vs. Ronnie is about as good as it gets.
   Under normal circumstances, tonight's men's basketball game between Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Centenary, two lesser-known Division I independents with losing records, wouldn't garner much attention.
   That all changes when you've got the nation's top two scorers going head-to-head.
   There are only six independents in Division I this year, so what does it say that the nation's two leading scorers right now are Centenary's Ronnie McCollum and A&M-Corpus Christi's Michael Hicks?
   "It probably says that both of these two young men are pretty good players," Gents coach Kevin Johnson said. "And it says they're probably playing on teams where they are the mainstays. And since both of them are seniors, they should be."
   Indeed, McCollum and Hicks are the cornerstones of their respective programs. They've helped put Centenary and A&M-Corpus Christi on the college basketball map.
   They've got nearly identical numbers. Entering tonight's game, McCollum leads the country with 26.6 points per game, while Hicks lurks right behind at 26.4. Each cracked the 40-point barrier last Monday - McCollum scored a career-best 40 against Division III Mary Hardin-Baylor, while Hicks set a new program record with 47 points at Cal Poly.
   But that's where the similarities end. The two play entirely different games on the court.
   McCollum, a 6-foot-4 guard from Fayette, Ala, is a shooter, pure and simple. He has attempted 297 shots through the first 14 games of the season, 136 of them 3-pointers. His 3-point shooting percentage (32.4) is almost as good as his overall (38.0).
   He is almost certain to pass NBA legend Robert Parish for No. 2 on Centenary's all-time scoring list later this season, and he's got an outside chance at passing Willie Jackson (2,535 career points) for No. 1.
   "A lot of people think he's just going to shoot 3's, shoot 3's, shoot 3's," said Islanders coach Ronnie Arrow. "But they've got him posting, shooting quick jumpers. He's a good athlete. He's not just a guy who goes out there and jacks it up 40 times a game to get to 26 points. He's a nice player."
   Hicks, a 6-foot-5 forward from Panama City, Panama, is almost exclusively an inside player, who can drive to the hoop, post up against bigger opponents and rebound with the best of them. He makes 55.5 percent of his shots from the field, a stat that is boosted by the fact that he has attempted only 22 3-pointers.
   After pouring in 47 points - the most scored by a Division I player this year - against Cal Poly last Monday, Hicks is 1 point shy of becoming the first Islander to ever score 1,000 career points.
   "Boy I tell you, he's such a good player, and he works so hard on the floor," Johnson said. "He's just a nightmare to stop."
   Both players rose to the occasion when they squared off twice last season as juniors. Hicks had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists in the Islanders' 89-81 win at Centenary on Jan. 29, but McCollum bested him with 30 points and 5 3-pointers.
   They met up again two weeks later at the Coliseum, with Hicks' 28 points and 14 rebounds - resulting in a 91-83 A&M-Corpus Christi victory - overshadowing McCollum's 25 points and 6 3-pointers.
   Both coaches have a similar, simple philosophy when it comes to trying to defend these two: Keep the ball out of their hands.
   Johnson on the Gents' strategy against Hicks: "Let's not let him get the ball. If he gets the ball in his hands, he's almost impossible to stop."
   Arrow on his plan to contain McCollum: "Naturally, we'd like to keep him from getting the ball. If he doesn't have the ball, he can't score. But we can't just say we're going to keep him scoreless, and then two other guys that average 4 points a game get 18 and 24. We want to shut him down, but not to the extent where someone else is scoring big."
   Those who argue that it's easier to lead the nation in scoring as an independent need only look at the numbers these two players have posted against big-name competition. McCollum scored 22 points against Iowa, 25 at Minnesota and 32 at Texas A&M. In addition to his 47- and 40-point outbursts against Cal Poly, Hicks hit 40 vs. Portland State and had back-to-back 33-point games at Texas and Texas Tech.
   "I think it's a tribute to the independents across the country to have two players of this caliber," Arrow said. "A lot of people will say, 'Well, look at their schedule.' Yeah, look at it. I don't know about Centenary, but I know ours, and it speaks for itself."
   Ultimately, for all their individual glory, both McCollum and Hicks have done far more for their respective schools. Before becoming an independent in 1999, Centenary had been a member of the Trans America Conference, a move that could have sent McCollum packing.
   "He could have chosen to play somewhere else, he could have played for some better teams in the country," Johnson said. "But he decided to stay at Centenary because he wanted to play all four years here. It says a lot about him as a person."
   Hicks, meanwhile, will forever be remembered as a founding father of the A&M-Corpus Christi basketball program.
   "I'd take Mike over any guy in the country," Arrow said. "He's the best, that's all I can say."



Staff writer Mark Zuckerman can be reached at 886-3747 or by e-mail at zuckermanm@caller.com

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