Sportando, Pick Talk Exclusively With Maccabi's Ricky Hickman

Throughout his career, Ricky Hickman's ability to play at high levels was always doubted. He saw his NC-Greensboro college teammate Kyle Hines earn a multi-year contract with European giant Olympiakos, en route to winning an epic Euroleague title.

Hickman also witnessed his recent Italian League backcourt pal James White ink a deal with the New York Knicks. His surroundings continued to question him but Hickman kept his mouth shut and let his game do the talking.

In February, while playing in the Italian Cup, Hickman led Pesaro to the Semi-finals round before losing to Bennet Cantu. His superior play, athletic abilities and on-court leadership generated a great deal of interest from high quality European teams, including Israeli power -- Maccabi Tel Aviv.

"They (Maccabi) were following me for a while," Hickman told Sportando via Skype in an exclusive media appearance since signing with Tel Aviv. "Maccabi was looking at me since the Italian Cup when we qualified for the Semi-finals. I knew they were watching me so I thought that at the end of the year, if they were still there, I'd strongly consider going to Israel. Luckily, they happened to still be around.

Hickman's rise to glory was a grind, but after stints in Hungary, Romania, Finland and Germany, the 6-foot-3 Charlotte native found success in Italy. He recently signed a 1+1 team option deal with Euroleague power Maccabi Tel Aviv and is currently the team's most superior threat.

Prior to signing with Maccabi, Hickman reveals he was heavily scouted before committing to David Blatt and Tel Aviv, passing out on potential earnings of over $200-300k. "Italian Siena, Armani Milano, Bennet Cantu and Russian Unics Kazan and Spartak St. Petersburg were in contact with my agent about job offers," he said.  

Hickman talked about why he chose Maccabi over the others. "I was thinking about Maccabi over teams that offered more money, but my goal was obviously to join a team where I'd make a good living but at the same time, be in a good situation and play at a high level. When the time came to make my decision, the team that offered me both of those was Maccabi, so it made my decision easier."

Despite Maccabi losing Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Theodoros Papaloukas, Richard Hendrix, Keith Langford, Yogev Ohayon and possibly Lior Eliyahu, Hickman appeared pleased with the team's recent signings, "Sylven Landesberg was one of the top scorers in Israel so I know he can hoop," and Nik Caner Medley, "is a great pickup for us." Regarding those of left the Holy Land: "Personally, I can't speak on other's situations but as a basketball player, everybody needs to make their own decisions and go with what's best for them. For me, I think that Maccabi is a team to be reckoned with, and I can't see them not putting together a good competitive team -- I'm not really worried about guys leaving," said Hickman.

Hickman finished last season in Italy with averages of 16.1 points (fifth in the league), 2.9 assists and 2.9 boards per game, and together with newly acquired teammate Giorgi Shermadini, Hickman took part in the Italian League All-Star game.

Since agreeing terms with Maccabi, Hickman is showered with love by the team's devoted and overly excited supporters, swamping his Twitter handle and Facebook account. "The fans really seem great. It seems as if I'm almost playing for a country, so I'm really excited and can't wait to get out there and play."

When asked about his conversations with head coach David Blatt, Hickman said, "We didn't really talk about the Israeli League, rather about the opportunity we're both getting to work together."

"Coach Blatt feels like he could help me grow and I believe he could help me grow as a person and player as well, so if there's a coach I would like to debut my Euroleague career with why not it be coach Blatt," said Hickman.

Regarding potential accomplishments with Tel Aviv Hickman noted, "Anytime you make it to the (Euroleague) final four it's an accomplishment. That's our goal and it's where we're I'm shooting for right now."

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