During the North Carolina men’s basketball team’s seven-game winning streak in January, the senior forward scored in double figures five times and twice had at least 20 points; teasing a Brice Johnson-level jump wasn’t out of the question for the 2016 ACC Sixth Man of the Year.
But now, after an injury and a string of poor outings, Hicks has become one of the Tar Heels’ biggest question marks as they enter the postseason.
“He had a stretch there ... that his numbers were really outstanding,” head coach Roy Williams said. “And he’s gotta get back to that if we’re going to be as good a team as we want to be.”
Things started going downhill for Hicks on Feb. 8, when he injured his hamstring during practice. He was held out the following night at Duke — a game in which the Tar Heels were outrebounded and struggled scoring down low.
In his first game back, Hicks stayed on the floor just seven minutes because of foul trouble. Two games later, he played just 14 minutes and scored 0 points — the first time he had been held scoreless in a game since Feb. 28, 2015.
So why the drop off? First, it might be worth noting that Hicks hasn’t really seen a situation like this in the past.
“I’m not used to dealing with injury because it never happens to me,” he said.
Never isn’t an exaggeration. Before missing the road Duke game this season, Hicks had played in all 137 of UNC’s games since he was a first-year in 2013-14. When he’s played that long without any setbacks, it’s reasonable to think missing time threw him into a funk.
