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Sunday, January 14, 2001
Star forward cracks 1,000 point barrier
By Mark Zuckerman
Caller-Times
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| David Adame/Caller-Times |
| College basketball’s top two scorers Michael Hicks (left) and Ronnie McCollum battle for position during the Islanders’ game against Centenary on Saturday. Hicks scored 29 points in the contest while McCollum racked up 39 to remain atop the Division I scoring leaders list. |
The record likely won't stand the test of time, but on this night, Michael Hicks was the king of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program.
It took almost eight minutes and a couple shot attempts to get himself warmed up, but when Hicks drove to the hoop and scored with 12:29 left in the first half of Saturday night's game against Centenary, the senior became the first player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Though a significant accomplishment, 1,000 career points isn't all that rare for most established college basketball programs. But considering A&M-Corpus Christi is fielding a team for only the second season, Hicks' 1,000 points carries more weight.
"It's not easy to reach 1,000 points, so I'm happy for it," said Hicks, who received a standing ovation from the Memorial Coliseum crowd when the milestone was announced.
After posting a career-high 47 points Monday night in the Islanders' overtime win at Cal Poly, Hicks' career total stood at 999, meaning the first point he scored Saturday would carry the Panama City native over the 1,000-point barrier.
For a few minutes, it looked like Hicks might not score at all. The 6-foot-5 forward missed his first three shot attempts before he finally converted on a pretty drive and finger roll. Continually hounded by two or three Centenary defenders, Hicks was held to just four points in the first half.
He turned it up a notch in the second half, though, scoring A&M-Corpus Christi's first six points and 11 of the Islanders' first 15.
Because he will play only two seasons at A&M-Corpus Christi after transferring from Bacone Junior College, Hicks likely won't remain as the school's all-time leading scorer. A player would need to average about 10 points a game over four years to reach 1,000.
"I don't care who comes in here," head coach Ronnie Arrow said, "they're going to have to be a heck of a ballplayer to top Mike Hicks."
ANOTHER NEW LOOK: They have played just 17 games this year, but the Islanders trotted out their eighth different starting lineup Saturday against Centenary. Hicks, Brian Evans and Sennai Atsbeha were joined by big men Shaun Hemsley and Pathe Diene, who each got his third start of the season.
It was the fourth straight game in which Arrow has had a new starting five.
THIRD TIME'S NOT THE CHARM: With its 90-85 win over Centenary, A&M-Corpus Christi earned its third all-time win over the Gents in as many tries, the first opponent the Islanders have beaten three times.
They'll have a chance to make it four in row when the two teams meet again Jan. 27 in Shreveport, La.
Staff writer Mark Zuckerman can be reached at 886-3747 or by e-mail at zuckermanm@caller.com
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a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.
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