Former All-State standout makes comeback with Peahens
Courtney Wicks is finally a healthy and happy 21-year-old young woman, playing college basketball at St. Peter’s College. Ever since she left high school, the simple idea of Wicks actually being healthy, happy and playing hoops at the same time really wasn’t so simple after all.
Wicks’ tumultuous four-year basketball sojourn had taken her from suburban Wayne, NJ to Happy Valley, Pa. to Syracuse, NY, and back to Wayne, where it appeared to reach a permanent dead end. What was destined to be a certain brilliant college basketball career had turned into a twisted puzzle, filled with questions about Wicks’ health, her desire and her basketball abilities.
Things got so bad a year ago for Wicks, the former All-State standout at Wayne Hills High School, that she was determined to walk away from the game for good.
"The game had caused me so much grief," Wicks said. "I figured I was done. Maybe college basketball isn’t meant for everyone. That’s the way I thought. I started thinking about life after basketball.”
There was plenty of joy when Wicks announced her intentions to attend Penn State four years ago. She was going to a prominent Big Ten program, headed by women’s basketball coaching legend Rene Portland. A standout pure scoring guard with lightning-quick speed, Wicks had the makings of being a college hoops star.
However, Wicks’ star never really shined in Happy Valley. Her personality clashed with Portland and she only played in 27 games over two seasons, all as a reserve, averaging just 3.8 points per game.
"I don’t think my style of play fit her style of basketball," Wicks said. "She would have practice at 6 a.m., so that meant I had to get up at 4 to get ready. And you couldn’t be late. It was maddening."
At the same time, Wicks battled a series of nagging injuries. She had some nasty side effects from a prescription that caused her to lose hair and lose her desire to play. Conflicts with the coach didn’t seen to help.
"We just really didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things," Wicks said. "I just didn’t fit in."
Finally, after a year and a half, nothing could repair the damage between Portland and Wicks. The clash between their two personalities was just too intense to continue. Just five games into the 1997-98 season, Wicks decided to transfer to Syracuse and enrolled in classes for the second semester that year.
"I think it was a combination of everything that made me want to leave," Wicks said. "I was unhappy about a lot of things."
In retrospect, Wicks thinks she would have been better off taking the full year away from school. Because for some reason, things weren’t exactly rosy in upstate New York either.
"I definitely had intentions of playing there," Wicks said. "Things just didn’t work out. At that time in my life, I wasn’t prepared for it. I wasn’t ready to deal with the real world."
A reclusive Wicks left Syracuse without ever playing there and returned to her home in Wayne, unsure of her future.
"I was just happy to be home," Wicks said. "I needed the support of my family." She took a full-time job working in retail. She figured her college days and basketball days were history.
"I made a decent salary, but I was always restless," Wicks said. "I felt like I wasn’t making progress. I couldn’t sleep. I needed to do something to kill time."
But it wasn’t playing basketball.
"I didn’t pick up a ball for a year," Wicks said. "I figured it was over."
However, Jeff Horoncich, the coach at Immaculate Heart, where Wicks’ younger sister, Megan, now plays, told St. Peter’s College coach Mike Granelli that Wicks was home and not playing anywhere. Of course, Granelli had to inquire. Talents like Wicks don’t come along every day
"We were interested just by reputation alone," Granelli said. "The expectations were high and we received rave reports about her. I remember seeing Courtney play for about five minutes at an AAU tournament at Lehman College when she was in high school. But I didn’t spend too much time trying to recruit her. I didn’t think we had a shot."
Now, as a transfer student with nowhere else to go, Wicks was very interested in St. Peter’s.
"I didn’t pick St. Peter’s," Wicks said. "They picked me. I figured I was kind of being black-listed, that no one would want me. It would be my third school. I asked, ‘Do you really want me?’ I was a little bitter, but I still loved the sport. When they said they really wanted me, I wasn’t going to shop around. I was going to St. Peter’s."
However, in order to play at St. Peter’s, Wicks had to qualify under the NCAA’s two-year non-participation rule, meaning she couldn’t play or practice for two full years. She would become eligible to play as a junior at the start of the second semester, but without any practice with the team. She will have another full year of eligibility remaining.
So Wicks, two years removed from competition and one year removed from even picking up a ball, began to work out on her own, only helped by her resident advisor from her dormitory, Dale Scully, as a trainer, for a full month.
"I was in the gym, running on my own, shooting on my own," Wicks said. "It was very hard."
"She practiced twice and then played," Granelli said. "I knew it was something that was going to take time. It’s only natural, after you haven’t played at all for two years. I was concerned about the normal things, how she would fit in, what it would mean for team chemistry. I wouldn’t say I was concerned about her health, because she received a clean bill from the doctors."
There are no questions or doubts about anything now. After eight games, Wicks has been a major find, averaging 11.9 points, including a high of 25 in a victory over Canisius last week.
"She’s a quality player who makes us a much better team," Granelli said. "She jumps very well and she’s very quick. But in fairness to her, she’s nowhere near what she’s going to be. We see what she can do and we know that she can do more. She has to get some things down, like her instincts."
Granelli added, "I’m amazed with what she’s been able to do so far. She’s a good role model of someone who has had to overcome a lot of adversity. With all she’s been through, it’s a remarkable comeback. Just from a mental aspect, it has to be tough to come back. But she’s handled it all so well."
Wicks is just happy to be herself again.
"I’m trying to fit in and trying to be patient, but I’m not that way," Wicks said. "[Coach] Granelli tells me that I just want to cause havoc, that I’m good at causing havoc. It’s coming back to me, even quicker than what I expected. Everything is getting back to normal. And I’m happy to be in New Jersey. It’s where I belong."
But, Wicks said, "I have learned that I’m not the same person I used to be. I always thought I was just going to be a student/athlete and that was it. But now, because of all I’ve been through, I’ve learned more about life. Things I never thought about before, I now think a lot about. I don’t do things just to get by anymore. I do things to succeed."
Courtney Wicks is happy and healthy and playing basketball again. That’s a success story in itself. q – Jim Hague
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TRIUMPHANT RETURN – After a two-year absence away from basketball, Courtney Wicks (left) has returned to the game, at St. Peter’s College, where she was more than welcomed by Coach Mike Granelli (right).