Chasing championship dreams
Photo by Peter W. Zubaty
Former Bardstown star Jordan Hickman, right, will look to help his team to a championship when his Southeastern Illinois College squad heads to Hutchinson, Kan., next week for the NJCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. Hickman is a key role player for the Falcons, who won the NJCAA District 16 crown.
By Peter W. Zubaty
During his illustrious high school career with Bardstown, Jordan Hickman always kept his team in the mix for district, regional and state championships. Now, he gets to try his luck at a national championship.
“It’s been real crazy,” Hickman said of his new team — Southeastern Illinois College in Harrisburg — winning the District 16 title to advance to next week’s National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1 men’s basketball championship in Hutchinson, Kan.
“We really played hard and it’s just been a joy to be a part of,” Hickman said. “It means a whole lot. It’s an opportunity to be seen, an opportunity to send the sophomores out on the right note, and an opportunity to keep competing.”
Hickman’s Falcons have rolled up a 22-9 record on the season following their three wins in the regional. SIC topped Lake Land College, Ill., in the first round, 73-50, and got to the finals by way of a 98-74 win over John A. Logan College, Ill. Hickman scored seven points in each game.
In the region finals Saturday against Wabash Valley College, Ill., Hickman pitched in two points during his team’s 79-67 win. The Falcons are one of 16 teams to earn a berth in the NJCAA national tournament, which starts Tuesday. Unranked all season, the Falcons are one of the hottest teams in the juco ranks, riding a nine-game winning streak into the tournament.
SIC’s first opponent is Howard College, Texas (29-2), the NJCAA District 5 champ, at 1 p.m. (Central) on Wednesday. All games in the national tournament are streamed live at www.njcaa.org.
Gary Goode, Hickman’s coach at Bardstown, said he’s excited for and proud of his former player, and that playing in a prestigious tournament such as the NJCAA national championship is a pretty big deal, despite the fact the tournament is mostly overlooked by the casual fan.
“The average basketball fan would be shocked if they went out to this juco national tournament at the level of talent and quality of teams,” Goode said. “A lot of those kids have (NCAA) Division I talent, and a lot of them are going to end up as good Division I ballplayers.”
Junior colleges are two-year schools, and players often opt for that route for a variety of reasons. Some need to work on their grades; others need to fine-tune their games in an effort to land a scholarship at an NCAA Division I school. Others just fell through the cracks, for whatever reason.
“He wanted to improve his stock,” Goode said of Hickman. “He wanted some better options than when he came out of high school.”
The NCJAA national tournament is a good place to improve your stock, as the 7,500-seat Hutchinson Sports Arena “will be wall-to-wall with college coaches” next week, Goode said.
A point guard in high school, Hickman has taken on a new role at Southeastern Illinois, coming off the bench to provide rebounding and defense. He gets about 15-20 minutes of playing time a game.
“I just try to do the small things well and score when the opportunity is there,” Hickman said.
He said it was difficult initially making the switch to a completely different role than what he played in high school.
“At the start, it was real hard for me — it took a lot to adjust,” Hickman said. “But if you want to stay on the floor and play minutes, you have to adjust.”
The bump in the talent level he’s facing now has also taken some getting used to. He’s had to learn to be more physical, use his head more on defense, and just stay focused.
“In high school, I was able to use my athletic ability to make plays,” he said. “At this level, you can’t do that.”
Hickman will be back at SIC next season, working on his game in the hopes of landing a scholarship at a four-year school. In the meantime, he’s studying to be a teacher, and would like to coach one day.
In the meantime, his old coach is watching and pulling for him.
“Any time a young man goes away from home and plays at a program of that level — it’s a very demanding program — he’s shown a lot of toughness and ‘stick-to-it-ness,’” Goode said. “He’s had to do a lot of growing up. I’m proud of him doing what it takes to get to this point.”