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In a rivalry that dates to 1913, the most memorable and controversial game occurred in 1973 in the regional final at West Aurora when Craig Hardy tipped in the winning basket against crosstown rival East Aurora. Did it count or didn't it? The answer still is debated to this day. West Aurora, led by
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investigated and ruled him ineligible. As of
January 5, 1974, Hicks was still a highly regarded performer for the DePaul team and had just made an early season All-Tournament team. However, he was sidelined pending a meeting to consider his eligibility before DePaul's January 6 game against
273:, in which he outscored the foul-plagued Kent 29–17 as part of a 60–52 victory. In the 1973 IHSA Class AA state championship tournament, Hicks, who went by the nickname Skip at that time, went 5–16 (3–12 in the second half) in scoring 13 points in the semifinal 39–33 upset loss to
1157:
406:, Pizza Hut owner organized the effort to get him voted into the top 8 positions in the voting. The ballot box stuffing also pushed Chicago ballers Green and Bo Ellis into 2nd and 3rd place in the ballot. Hicks finished 7th. He lost the halftime slam dunk contest to
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67–45 for third place, the highest finish for West Aurora since the 2nd place 1959 team. Hicks finished with a tournament high 87-point four-game total. He made the All-Tournament team along with future NBA All-Star
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eclipsed some of Hicks' records including career points in 1979. He was named MAC player of the week twice as a junior (January 28 and March 2, 1976) and three times as a senior (Jan 2, Feb 1 and 8, 1977).
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After his 2.5 season career at NIU, Hicks left the school as its all-time leader in career points (1,513) scored, single-season points scored (682), single-MAC conference game points (42,
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How about 1973 when the great Matt Hicks outdueled
Rockford West's Ernie Kent in leading West Aurora downstate, where it then beat Elgin in a memorable double-overtime quarterfinal.
261:, as the best athletic contest in school history. Although Hicks contributed 20 points, the final margin in the 50–48 contest was a tipin by teammate Craig Hardy. In an early-round
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On
January 16, 1974, Hicks enrolled at Northern Illinois University (NIU). In his January 14, 1975, debut for Northern Illinois, he contributed 13 points off the bench including 2
302:, Hicks started some early-season games. Described as a "great leaper" with an 82-inch (208.3 cm) wingspan, Hicks' first start was on December 8, 1973, when DePaul visited
357:
honors in 1977. He led the conference in scoring (25.0 and 25.3) and rebounding (12.8 and 13.0) as both a junior and a senior. He was an honorable mention All-American by the
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All-American game ballot, but an organized write-in campaign in which his 950 dormitory mates cast 65,000 write in ballots got him selected. The
Northern Illinois
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443:"Basketball is in their blood Theo Hicks and Dave Bryant will be on opposite sides Saturday, but their dads were teammates on West Aurora's 1973 state team"
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324:. Even though he had a B− average during his first quarter at DePaul, when another Chicago area school reported that he should have been ineligible, the
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Hicks' younger siblings and his son Theo played high school basketball for West Aurora. His younger brother, Ron, played basketball at
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386:(50). The single-MAC conference game rebounds record was still listed as the current record in the 2019–20 school record book.
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meaning that he should have been ineligible to play as a freshman, but he was on the roster due to an oversight by
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before being discovered to be academically ineligible. He immediately transferred from
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Matt Hicks and John Bryant, finished 30–3 and third in the first Class AA tournament.
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646:"New Trier chills Aurora; Hirsch stuns Lockport: New Trier 39 W. Aurora 33"
310:. Hicks averaged 11.8 points and 8.9 rebounds in DePaul's first 10 games.
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first-team selection as a junior and as a senior in 1976 and 1977 earning
277:. Hicks rebounded in the consolation game with 30 points to defeat
265:(IHSA) Class AA playoff game, Hicks had a storied face off against
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927:"Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Record Book 2018–19"
314:
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Mid-American
Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
355:
Mid-American
Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
251:. As a senior, in 1973 he tallied 718 points. In 2007, the
805:"Boyd scores 25 as De Paul rolls over St. Joseph's 89–71"
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March 7, 1977), single-MAC conference game rebounds (23,
561:"For great high school basketball, 'The Chick' was home"
1044:"Ballot-box stuffing lets Hicks do his stuff in Vegas"
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1687:Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball players
219:. At Northern Illinois, he was a two-time All-
201:1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
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349:. At Northern Illinois, he was a two-time All-
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686:"Chicago Rejoices With Its Conquering Heroes"
313:Hicks' high school grades were below the 2.0
286:, Alvin Green, future MLB Rookie of the Year
257:dubbed the 1973 game between West Aurora and
8:
23:
1677:DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball players
1662:20th-century African-American sportspeople
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966:"2019–20 NIU Men's Basketball Record Book"
225:Mid-American Conference Player of the Year
217:Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
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326:National Collegiate Athletic Association
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243:Matthew Hicks barely made his school's
235:, a suburb of Chicago, before college.
1105:from the original on February 23, 2023
1085:"This college coach learns big lesson"
1064:from the original on February 23, 2023
1003:"Dawkins—Northern star glows in gloom"
982:from the original on February 23, 2023
907:from the original on February 23, 2023
781:from the original on February 23, 2023
581:from the original on February 23, 2023
463:from the original on February 23, 2023
520:"Hardy tipin saves West Aurora 50–48"
483:"High School Spotlight – West Aurora"
195:) is an American former professional
7:
761:"Northwestern, DePaul renew rivalry"
720:"Matt Hicks enrolls at N. Illinois"
605:"West Aurora defeats Rockford West"
495:from the original on April 23, 2023
441:McGavin, Kevin (January 25, 2007).
345:baskets in the 87–86 victory over
205:DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball
1697:Sportspeople from Aurora, Illinois
1023:from the original on April 4, 2023
943:from the original on July 12, 2018
866:from the original on April 4, 2023
825:from the original on April 4, 2023
740:from the original on April 4, 2023
666:from the original on April 4, 2023
625:from the original on April 4, 2023
540:from the original on April 4, 2023
14:
1667:American men's basketball players
846:"Big Ten basketball starts today"
394:Hicks was not listed on the 1977
58:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
1672:Basketball players from Illinois
1083:Kiley, Mike (January 20, 1979).
1001:Kiley, Mike (February 1, 1979).
263:Illinois High School Association
885:Damer, Roy (January 14, 1975).
759:Damer, Roy (December 8, 1973).
718:Damer, Roy (January 17, 1974).
644:Shnay, Jerry (March 25, 1973).
559:Radtke, John (March 15, 2002).
518:Leusch, John (March 10, 1973).
112:: 4th round, 81st overall pick
1042:Jauss, Bill. (April 7, 1977).
844:Damer, Roy (January 5, 1974).
803:Damer, Roy (January 6, 1974).
603:Husar, John (March 21, 1973).
223:first-team selection and 1977
199:player. He played part of the
1:
1692:San Antonio Spurs draft picks
189:
37:
279:Lockport Central High School
213:Northern Illinois University
135:Career highlights and awards
400:sports information director
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382:March 3, 1976) and career
18:American basketball player
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973:Northern Illinois Huskies
691:Freeport Journal-Standard
271:Rockford West High School
179:
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934:Mid-American Conference
420:George Williams College
351:Mid-American Conference
259:East Aurora High School
229:West Aurora High School
221:Mid-American Conference
491:. September 12, 2007.
164:MAC Player of the Year
1682:Forwards (basketball)
275:New Trier High School
227:. He had played for
29:Personal information
25:
404:Rochelle, Illinois
367:(1976, 1977), and
298:As a freshman for
169:2× First-team All-
147:honorable mention
63:Career information
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488:Chicago Sun-Times
337:Northern Illinois
254:Chicago Sun-Times
209:DePaul University
183:
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119:San Antonio Spurs
95:Northern Illinois
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1109:February 23,
1107:. Retrieved
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566:Daily Herald
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448:Daily Herald
446:
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388:Paul Dawkins
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304:Northwestern
297:
288:John Castino
284:Rickey Green
252:
249:varsity team
242:
186:Mathew Hicks
185:
184:
173:(1976, 1977)
149:All-American
20:
15:
347:Weber State
239:High school
193: 1956
97:(1975–1977)
91:(1973–1974)
72:West Aurora
68:High school
47:Nationality
41: 1956
1646:Categories
1606:M. Jackson
1598:L. Jackson
1590:Massinburg
1430:Szczerbiak
1294:McLaughlin
1238:Roundfield
376:Kent State
319:head coach
308:McGaw Hall
267:Ernie Kent
197:basketball
24:Matt Hicks
1310:Devereaux
1099:171827880
1058:169561939
1017:171904705
901:169322246
860:171083293
819:171033248
775:171017472
734:171020087
660:169265150
619:169260126
575:312594645
534:169272538
457:313174163
396:Pizza Hut
371:(1977).
322:Ray Meyer
245:8th grade
105:NBA draft
1582:Fletcher
1566:Campbell
1470:Williams
1358:Jamerson
1302:McCallum
1286:Knuckles
1262:Aldridge
1103:Archived
1095:ProQuest
1062:Archived
1054:ProQuest
1021:Archived
1013:ProQuest
977:Archived
938:Archived
905:Archived
897:ProQuest
864:Archived
856:ProQuest
823:Archived
815:ProQuest
779:Archived
771:ProQuest
738:Archived
730:ProQuest
664:Archived
656:ProQuest
623:Archived
615:ProQuest
579:Archived
571:ProQuest
538:Archived
530:ProQuest
493:Archived
461:Archived
453:ProQuest
369:Converse
343:overtime
215:to join
203:for the
125:Position
50:American
1630:Freeman
1574:Johnson
1414:Daniels
1366:Kennedy
1270:Dawkins
1230:Luckett
1222:Kozelko
1214:Kozelko
129:Forward
83:College
1628:2024:
1622:Dennis
1620:2023:
1612:2022:
1604:2021:
1596:2020:
1588:2019:
1580:2018:
1572:2017:
1564:2016:
1556:2015:
1550:McCrea
1548:2014:
1542:Cooper
1540:2013:
1532:2012:
1526:Greene
1524:2011:
1516:2010:
1510:Bramos
1508:2009:
1502:Fisher
1500:2008:
1494:Travis
1492:2007:
1486:Haynes
1484:2006:
1478:Battle
1476:2005:
1468:2004:
1460:2003:
1454:McLeod
1452:2002:
1446:Webber
1444:2001:
1438:Stacey
1436:2000:
1428:1999:
1420:1998:
1412:1997:
1404:1996:
1396:1995:
1388:1994:
1380:1993:
1372:1992:
1364:1991:
1356:1990:
1350:Graham
1348:1989:
1340:1988:
1332:1987:
1326:Harper
1324:1986:
1318:Harper
1316:1985:
1308:1984:
1300:1983:
1292:1982:
1284:1981:
1278:Swaney
1276:1980:
1268:1979:
1260:1978:
1252:1977:
1244:1976:
1236:1975:
1228:1974:
1220:1973:
1212:1972:
1206:Kowall
1204:1971:
1196:1970:
1188:1969:
1182:Foster
1180:1968:
1097:
1056:
1015:
899:
858:
817:
773:
732:
658:
617:
573:
532:
455:
300:DePaul
294:DePaul
188:(born
166:(1977)
89:DePaul
1614:Carry
1462:Kaman
1422:Wells
1406:Wells
1398:Trent
1390:Trent
1382:Trent
1374:Geter
1334:James
1254:Hicks
1246:Tyson
1198:Penix
1127:Stats
980:(PDF)
969:(PDF)
941:(PDF)
930:(PDF)
426:Notes
1558:Moss
1534:Watt
1518:Kool
1342:Long
1111:2023
1070:2023
1029:2023
988:2023
949:2023
913:2023
872:2023
831:2023
787:2023
746:2023
700:2023
672:2023
631:2023
587:2023
546:2023
501:2023
469:2023
157:1977
153:1976
110:1977
34:Born
1190:Mix
1129:at
315:GPA
306:at
269:of
231:in
211:to
171:MAC
143:2×
1648::
1101:.
1093:.
1087:.
1060:.
1052:.
1046:.
1019:.
1011:.
1005:.
975:.
971:.
957:^
936:.
932:.
903:.
895:.
889:.
862:.
854:.
848:.
821:.
813:.
807:.
795:^
777:.
769:.
763:.
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728:.
722:.
708:^
688:.
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654:.
648:.
621:.
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485:.
459:.
451:.
445:.
433:^
422:.
410:.
333:.
190:c.
155:,
145:AP
38:c.
1159:e
1152:t
1145:v
1113:.
1072:.
1031:.
990:.
951:.
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833:.
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633:.
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159:)
151:(
78:)
74:(
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