James (Hunter) Hickman '21 Recruiting Profile

At a young age I realized that wanting something in life is not good enough to be successful. One must convince them selves that they NEED to accomplish that goal, that life is not complete without. Only then will one have the motivation and unfailing determination to reach their goal.

I realized I needed to play college basketball in the 6th grade. I had always had aspirations to play high level basketball as a young child, but during this cold Febraury night is when my journey to college hoops truly started. I will always remember the bright lights that illuminated the hardwood floor of the CU Events Center at the Unversity of Colorado. My father and I made the trip from Littleton to Boulder in order to watch the Colorado Highschool Basketball Final 4 that was taking place there. Immediately when walking into the staduim the vastness of the whole thing filled me with awe. My father and I walked to our seats when I realized how may people were at the game and how loud it was. As I watched the game, the idea of playing in that atmosphere; a game with people filled with passion for their school cheering me on, fascinated me. For the highschool players in the game, they only got that expierience once, but I wanted something bigger, I NEEDED to play in a game like that everytime I stepped on the floor. Ever since then I've fallen in love with the idea of playing college basketball. My need to play at that level has made all the sacrificed hours doing homework, all the lonely hours in the gym before and after school, and all the extra reps after practice, worth it. This burning fire of my desire to play has carried on throughout highschool. On the first day of freshman year at Dakota Ridge Hidghschool, I walked into that school not knowing a single person, and I kept it that way for a coulple months after that. Not becuase I didn't like anyone there, but because I had a goal; I wanted Varsity minutes as a freshman. So I chose not to go things like homecoming or football games, for I was focusing on a bigger picture. Then, once I claimed my varsity and and JV jerseies as a freshman, the basketball team became my first friends.

I am willing to do these things becuase I need college basketball, and hopefully the time, effort, and determination I have put in will make college basketball need me in return.