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Of course, Oliver is well aware of the University of Cincinnati’s Eric Hicks, the Bearcats’ 6-6, 240-pound relentless post presence that didn’t get a call in the NBA draft. Everyone in town is pulling for the kid (Oliver’s wife has been talking him up as she reads about his daily saga) and count her husband as intrigued.
“The kid’s intensity is unbelievable. He intimidates people,” Oliver says. “There are referees and cops there, but (opponents) forget about that for 40 minutes. Coach Pitino says he’s the most aggressive player he’s ever seen. He’s got the kind of mentality you’re almost thinking you could put him in a three-point stance and let him chase the quarterback.”
Oliver hasn’t heard what Hicks wants to do, but if he wants to keep trying to make it in basketball, Oliver hopes he can do it, is pulling for him, and invokes the name of former Kentucky forward Chuck Hayes.
Hayes may be a little bigger and a better scorer than Hicks, but everybody Oliver knows whiffed on their projections when Hayes hooked on in the NBA.
“Nobody thought he’d make it and we were all looking at him as a tight end,” Oliver says. “Why not? He had the size, the body, a solid player in the SEC. I saw him at Kentucky about a month and a half ago and I told him he proved us all wrong and I was happy for him. You can’t determine how badly a guy wants to make it, and how bad some of these teams are in the NBA. The talent pool in the NBA is shrinking.”
Yes, Oliver is keeping an eye on Hicks, but he also advises him, “If he thinks he can make it and no one else does, all he has to do is look at Chuck Hayes.”
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http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=5324
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Everybody here is keeping an eye on this kid.
On the lookout
On the lookout
Linear Mode
