Patience pays off for Darius Hicks
Darius Hicks was patient with his recruiting journey, and it paid off when he signed with NC State last Friday.
The 6-foot-7, 210-pound Hicks celebrated his joining the Wolfpack in front of friends and family members in his hometown of Quitman, Miss. He had originally committed to Mississippi State on Nov. 21, 2014, but after the Bulldogs went through a coaching change, he went back on the market March 23, 2015.
Hicks made the move to 22 Feet Academy in Greenville, S.C., where he was able to flourish his senior year. He averaged 14 points and nine rebounds per game while shooting 58 percent from the field. That led to Cincinnati and Tulane bringing him in for official visits, and he planned a decision date of May 7.
But then NC State joined the mix. He officially visited Raleigh May 6-8, and came away impressed. Hicks cited playing against good competition, joining NCSU freshman point guard Dennis Smith and having a good relationship with new Wolfpack assistant coach Heath Schroyer as the key reasons for his college choice.
Hicks ultimately picked NC State over Cincinnati.
“It was a hard decision but I knew what I wanted to do Friday morning,” said Hicks, 18. “The difference was my relationship with Coach Schroyer and in playing in the ACC against the best players. I feel like if you can play in the ACC, it will set me up in the future.”
Schroyer had gotten to know Hicks when he was the head coach at Tennessee-Martin, and he has long recruited the MBA Hoops traveling team program, which is led by coach Omhar Carter.
“I had known Coach Schroyer, and I built a good relationship with head coach Mark Gottfried over time,” Hicks said. “My official visit was pretty cool, just seeing everything. I saw how they would use me. It was a good atmosphere.”
He looks forward to playing against the top teams in the country while suiting up in the ACC.
“That is real big,” Hicks said. “Every night, you can’t take a game off.”
He brings a mature body to the post, and is an explosive athlete around the rim. He’s added to his face-up game during his senior year.
“I can play the four and some three, and switch it up a little bit,” Hicks said. “I want to make a big impact my freshman year.”
Hicks goes by @Lob_ItUp21 on Twitter, and Smith has thrown many alley-oop passes over the years, whether it was to shooting guard Kwe Parker (Tennessee signee) at Fayetteville (N.C.) Trinity or center Edrice Adebayo (Kentucky signee) on Team Loaded NC.
“All he’ll have to do is just throw it by the rim,” Hicks said. “I feel like coming in and playing during the summer, we’ll get used to each other. I think we’ll fit real big.”
Hicks and fellow senior center signee Omer Yurtseven of Istanbul, Turkey, will help provide an immediate boost to the NC State frontcourt. Yurtseven signed with the Wolfpack on Monday.
Hicks can now concentrate on what is next in his life, compared to the past year of uncertainty about his future.
“It’s just a good feeling,” Hicks said. “All my family and everybody came (May 13). It was just good to make my decision with my family there. They are excited about it.”