The Way Out for HOF Inductee Tawona Alhaleem Hicks
1/27/2019 9:05:00 AM | ATHLETICS, WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO – The game of basketball is unique and gratifying at the same time. Sometimes it's a sport someone used to play and for others, it's a lifestyle.
For former DePaul women's basketball player Tawona Alhaleem Hicks, basketball was her way out and - so much more.
Hicks maximized her opportunities to shine at a high-level Division I program, and the impact she had on the Blue Demons' women's basketball program has resulted in her induction Feb. 2 into the DePaul Athletics Hall of Fame.
She grew up in Flint, Mich. where there were admittedly not a lot of opportunities for her.
"Basketball means a lot to me because I mean, I grew up playing," she said. "I started when I was nine years old so that was pretty much all I knew. That was my way out of where I grew up. There weren't a lot of opportunities where I grew up, and it helped shape my life."
While she didn't attend or play at DePaul right out of high school, she found her way to John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill., where she played two years of junior college ball. Her coach at the time, Gary Barton, knew Doug Bruno and the rest is history.
Hicks made the move to DePaul where she played her remaining two years before making the transition to player-coach her third year as a Blue Demon.
She certainly made her presence felt in the two years she played in Lincoln Park.
Hicks helped lead the Blue Demons to the NCAA tournament her first year as DePaul went 20-9, finishing second in the Great Midwest Conference.
After that season, she was selected to the All-Great Midwest Team and also the league's All-Newcomer Team.
The following season, Hicks and her teammates advanced to the NCAA Second Round and won the inaugural Conference USA championship. That team finished the season 21-10.
In the DePaul record book for single-season marks, Hicks is No. 7 all-time in three-point percentage. She connected on 54-of-129 attempts from deep for a sparkling conversion rate of nearly 42 percent in 1994-95.
"When I became a player-coach my third year, I wasn't playing during that time," Hicks said. "But I enjoyed being put in that position where I was able to be somewhat of their coach.
"I think that was a real good moment for me because it gave me that coaching experience. Eventually, I did have to use that once I went and played overseas."
Hicks spent 13 years overseas fortified by that DePaul player-coach experience and helped others she was playing with. She used the mentality to help coach the younger players who were competing at the international pro level.
"It helped me to be a leader," Hicks explained. "Overseas you're playing with younger players, and you have to deal with those younger ones. It helped me mature, improve on my patience and find a way to play with the younger women. I was coaching them through and passing on what I had learned at DePaul."
Hicks said she developed her maturity and patience to help pass on the game through her experiences with her own coach – Doug Bruno.
"Doug was and still is a teacher of the game, so I was taking what I learned from him and using it and passing it on to someone else," she said.
The legacy that DePaul has embedded on her and the one she left at DePaul means everything to her.
"This award is not only a blessing, but it just solidifies all of the hard work and dedication that I put into basketball throughout the years," she said. "I played with confidence and I thank God that Doug and his coaching staff allowed me to be me, allowed to me display my talent while growing as a player and an individual."
For former DePaul women's basketball player Tawona Alhaleem Hicks, basketball was her way out and - so much more.
Hicks maximized her opportunities to shine at a high-level Division I program, and the impact she had on the Blue Demons' women's basketball program has resulted in her induction Feb. 2 into the DePaul Athletics Hall of Fame.
She grew up in Flint, Mich. where there were admittedly not a lot of opportunities for her.
"Basketball means a lot to me because I mean, I grew up playing," she said. "I started when I was nine years old so that was pretty much all I knew. That was my way out of where I grew up. There weren't a lot of opportunities where I grew up, and it helped shape my life."
While she didn't attend or play at DePaul right out of high school, she found her way to John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill., where she played two years of junior college ball. Her coach at the time, Gary Barton, knew Doug Bruno and the rest is history.
Hicks made the move to DePaul where she played her remaining two years before making the transition to player-coach her third year as a Blue Demon.
She certainly made her presence felt in the two years she played in Lincoln Park.
Hicks helped lead the Blue Demons to the NCAA tournament her first year as DePaul went 20-9, finishing second in the Great Midwest Conference.
After that season, she was selected to the All-Great Midwest Team and also the league's All-Newcomer Team.
The following season, Hicks and her teammates advanced to the NCAA Second Round and won the inaugural Conference USA championship. That team finished the season 21-10.
In the DePaul record book for single-season marks, Hicks is No. 7 all-time in three-point percentage. She connected on 54-of-129 attempts from deep for a sparkling conversion rate of nearly 42 percent in 1994-95.
"When I became a player-coach my third year, I wasn't playing during that time," Hicks said. "But I enjoyed being put in that position where I was able to be somewhat of their coach.
"I think that was a real good moment for me because it gave me that coaching experience. Eventually, I did have to use that once I went and played overseas."
Hicks spent 13 years overseas fortified by that DePaul player-coach experience and helped others she was playing with. She used the mentality to help coach the younger players who were competing at the international pro level.
"It helped me to be a leader," Hicks explained. "Overseas you're playing with younger players, and you have to deal with those younger ones. It helped me mature, improve on my patience and find a way to play with the younger women. I was coaching them through and passing on what I had learned at DePaul."
Hicks said she developed her maturity and patience to help pass on the game through her experiences with her own coach – Doug Bruno.
"Doug was and still is a teacher of the game, so I was taking what I learned from him and using it and passing it on to someone else," she said.
The legacy that DePaul has embedded on her and the one she left at DePaul means everything to her.
"This award is not only a blessing, but it just solidifies all of the hard work and dedication that I put into basketball throughout the years," she said. "I played with confidence and I thank God that Doug and his coaching staff allowed me to be me, allowed to me display my talent while growing as a player and an individual."
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