Oh, Hello: Temple Wing Zach Hicks Commits to Penn State

After a slightly down few days on the transfer portal trail, Penn State basketball received some very good news on Thursday afternoon when rising junior Temple wing Zach Hicks announced his commitment to Penn State.

Hicks chose Penn State over other finalists Georgetown, UTEP, and a return to Temple. Sorry Adam Fisher. It’s not personal. Just business.

With the addition of Hicks, the Nittany Lions now have six scholarship players on the roster: Ace Baldwin, Nick Kern, Kanye Clary, Jameel Brown, Demetrius Lilley, and now the aforementioned Hicks. Kebba Njie and Evan Mahaffey still remain in the portal, while Penn State will host former Georgetown center Qudus Wahab for a visit this coming weekend.

Hicks’ game is simple: the kid is going to rip threes. 76% of his shots last season were threes, and for his career he’s hit them at a very good clip — 36.3% over two years. While he isn’t going to be someone who is flying off screens in the way Andrew Funk did, he does a great job repositioning himself along the arc while his teammates drive to the basket. Really, he’s a beautiful fit with Ace Baldwin.

Defensively, Hicks doesn’t have the foot speed to stay with smaller guards, while he lacks the bulk to guard “up” a position. But he does have a long, lanky frame — he’s listed at 6-foot-7, 185 pounds — that allows him to be adequate on defense. So while he might not be all that versatile of a defender, he isn’t someone who will be hunted down either.

All in all, a very good get for Penn State. There just aren’t many big wings who can shoot like Hicks does on volume. The shooting gravity and spacing his game should bring to the offense should help mightily.