NATCHITOCHES – Two-time all-conference junior college forward DeQuan Hicks has signed to play the next two seasons for Northwestern State, Demons' head basketball coach Mike McConathy said Tuesday.
 
“The addition of DeQuan to our program is a very important piece to the puzzle. His size and skill level will make him a strong force on both ends of the floor,” said McConathy. “He has the ability to produce points in the paint, which is so important in our offense.”
 
Hicks (6-7, 230) was an All-Region V selection in 2011-12 at New Mexico Junior College, where he averaged 13 points and seven rebounds while shooting 59 percent from the field. He led his team to a 23-9 record in the always-tough Western Junior College Athletic Conference, helping coach Chris Tifft's team to its first appearance in the NJCAA Region V Tournament since 1998.
 
“DeQuan has produced solid numbers and helped his team win a lot of games in a conference that has produced the NJCAA national championship team four out of the last six seasons,” said McConathy. “Playing for coach Tifft and James Miller, their assistant coach, in a quality program at New Mexico Junior College the past two seasons, he has been in a structured system that will help him fit in perfectly with Demon basketball.”
 
As a freshman, he helped New Mexico JC to a 19-9 record as he averaged 11 points, six rebounds and shot 63 percent from the floor, earning the first of two-straight All-WJCAC honors.
 
Hicks finished his sophomore season ranked in the conference top 10 in points, rebounds, field goal aim, blocked shots and double-doubles.
 
He joins a program that has won five Southland Conference titles in McConathy's 13 seasons while winning a game in two different NCAA Tournaments (2001, 2006). The Demons have made six Southland Conference Tournament championship game appearances, including tying the league record with four straight.
 
The NSU basketball program ranks among the nation's elite when it comes to academic performance, graduating 49 of 59 seniors who have played in McConathy's 13 seasons. In the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate reports in 2010 and 2011, the Demons posted perfect 1,000 scores, while NSU hoops has ranked among state and conference leaders in APR each of the last five years.