Jordan Bettinger
Staff Writer
Big Foot. Giant. Ogre.
These are nicknames a 7-foot-tall teenager might expect to hear quite often throughout his life. But Shorty?
“Of course, we know he’s tall,” explains dorm suitemate Andy Zimmerman, “but it’s fun to call him Shorty, just because he’s just so tall.”
The “he” Zimmerman speaks of is Norman Russell Hicks, a freshman center on the men’s basketball team. Hicks, who prefers to be called Russell, came all the way down from Canada to be a student here at Pepperdine.
Hicks attended Westlane High in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He had a stellar career at Westlane, winning numerous honors during his time there. This included an impressive trifecta of awards following his senior year: team MVP, St. Catherine’s Standard Tournament MVP and the George Hilshiem Trophy, which is given to the best player in the Niagara region.
The summer provided Hicks with even more time to shine. He was one of just 22 players chosen to participate in the Adidas All-Canadian High School Basketball game. Hicks torched the nets in this annual contest between the best players in Canada, shooting 60 percent from the field. He also managed to advance to the finals of the three-point competition held before the game.
After being pursued by other Division 1 schools, including Florida State of the stacked Atlantic Coast Conference, Hicks eventually settled on Pepperdine. Leaving home for college is difficult for any freshman, but coming to another country while making that transition was even tougher.
“I told him to quit saying ‘eh’ and he will be fine,” men’s assistant coach Patrick Whitlock joked. “I don’t think the barrier is that great since the countries are so similar. I also think having fellow Canadian Kingsley Costain has helped. He seems to have adjusted very well.”
Roommate Chad Macbeth agreed with Whitlock’s assessment of Hicks’ adjustment to Pepperdine thus far.
“He seems to be adjusting to life in beautiful Malibu and in the U.S,” Macbeth said. “He misses his family a lot because they are so far away from here. Russell is a pretty nice and funny guy overall, I think he’s an excellent roommate.”
Pepperdine was expected to compete in the talented West Coast Conference this year behind the leadership of seniors like Glen McGowan and Yakouba Diawara. However, injuries and struggles on the road have limited Pepperdine this season. Despite the team’s struggles, Westphal praised Hicks and said he has major upside.
“Russell is inexperienced and needs to work on getting stronger,” Westphal says. “But he has the potential to be a Cedric Suitt-like shot-blocker. He has good hands and a nice shooting touch for someone his size. As he gets stronger and continues to work he will have a big impact at Pepperdine and possibly beyond.”
A comparison to Suitt, a former Pepperdine standout shot-blocker, is a compliment coming from anyone. Yet praise like this from a former NBA player and coach like Westphal is enough to significantly boost the ego of any basketball player.
Westphal has already proved his confidence in Hicks this season by giving him crunch-time minutes in big situation, including Saturday night’s game against Portland in which Hicks set career highs in both points and blocks, with 14 and eight, respectively.
Whitlock supports Westphal’s decision to give Hicks some playing time early in his career here.
“I expect Russell to come and compete every day,” Whitlock said, “He will gradually improve throughout the season.”
Hicks has been there to offer comic relief both on and off the court.
“Russell is somewhat quiet, but has a dry sense of humor,” Whitlock said. “He can actually be quite funny.”
Macbeth also believes that Hicks is one funny guy.
“He talks in his sleep a lot,” Macbeth said, “I will walk in the room and he will totally be talking to himself, which is pretty funny. I convinced him the other day that ‘gym” was pronounced ‘gime’. He completely believed me until I let him know like an hour or so after that I was kidding.”
His suitemate said that even though Hicks may look imposing on a basketball court, his height causes awkward moments in Pepperdine’s dorm rooms.
“The shower head was so uncomfortably low for him in our suite bathroom that maintenance had to come and install one of those removable shower heads,” Zimmerman said. “When Russell takes a shower, the shower door only comes up to the bottom of his chest. So whenever I go into the bathroom while he is showering, he always smiles down at me and says ‘Hello Andy.’ It’s just the funniest thing in the world.”
All joking aside, Hicks is serious about improving this year and getting Pepperdine back into contention for an NCAA tournament bid. The expectations for him to contribute are definitely there.
“Russell has all the tools to be a big-time player,” Whitlock said, “He only practiced twice a week in high school, so he is still learning. The sky is the limit for him.”
Only the rest of this season will tell just how big Shorty can play.
02-17-2005
