Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Hicks invited to an NBA pre-draft camp

Marketplace \| Services \| Contact Us \| Community \| Arts & Entertainment \| Local Guides

Saturday, June 2, 2001
Hicks invited to an NBA pre-draft camp
Former Isles star instructed to pack his bags and head up to Chicago next week
By Darrin Scheid
Caller-Times
Former Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball player Michael Hicks has been upgraded from alternate to definite for next week's NBA pre-draft camp at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.
   The camp runs Tuesday through Friday and will include 60 of the nation's draft prospects.
   Hicks, a 6-foot-5 guard, has known since late April that he might be invited to the pre-draft camp, which is the last tournament or tryout camp before the June 27 NBA Draft. Hicks's agent, Jeff Blakely, said a representative from the NBA called on Thursday, informing the former Islanders star that he should pack his bags for Chicago.
   "The NBA scouts had to go through the list of seniors, underclassmen and high school players to see who they wanted to take another look at, and Michael was one they wanted to see," Blakely said.
   "It's great news for him," he said. "Obviously, this will be an opportunity for Michael to see how he stacks up against everybody, not just the seniors. He can really help himself there."
   Hicks has competed in one tournament since finishing his senior year at A&M-CC with a 26.7 scoring average and team-best 7.2 rebounding average.
   He was invited to the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational and averaged 8.0 points in three games, helping his team to the tournament championship. Since then, Hicks has moved from Corpus Christi to Dallas and has been working out with the Dallas Mavericks at their training facility for the past two weeks.
   Blakely and Islanders coach Ronnie Arrow said Hicks has received a handful of interest from NBA scouts. Blakely said the most recent interest has come from the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks.
   He said scouts project that Hicks could be drafted in the mid-to-late second round - if he turns in an exceptional performance in Chicago.
   "He's a very polished player, so this will be a good forum to show scouts what he can do," Blakely said.
   The camp in Chicago is conducted in a different way than the pre-draft tournament held in Portsmouth, Va.
   Instead of splitting into teams and playing a tournament, players also will be asked to perform in shooting, defensive and ball handling drills. The game action is performed in more of a controlled scrimmage setting rather than a tournament game format.
   If Hicks is not picked in the draft, he can still sign with a team during the free agent signing period, which begins Aug. 1.


Contact Darrin Scheid at 886-3747 or scheidd@caller.com

| Talk about this story | Next Story | Home |

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND