Rick Hickman has been named the men’s head basketball coach at Edison State Community College and will begin coaching the Chargers in the upcoming 2016-2017 season. Hickman joins Edison State with over 28 years of coaching experience at both the collegiate and high school levels.

Hickman began his coaching career at Graceland College in Indiana where he spent three seasons leading the men’s basketball team to a 53-28 winning record, Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Co-Championship, and a final four appearance in the NSCAA National Championship. During his time at Graceland College, Hickman also received the coveted Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award.

“I resigned from Graceland College several years ago due to a family illness and have since hoped to return to the college game,” said Hickman. “I assumed that in order for this to happen I would have to relocate to a different part of the country. So you can imagine how fortunate I feel to be able to do so right here in my back yard. I am excited to be a part of the Edison State community.”

Hickman spent a combined total of 17 years as head basketball coach at Troy Christian High School, Miami East High School, Bethel High School, and Parkway High School where he was instrumental in leading players to District Championships, Regional Runner-Up honors, Conference Championships, and earning OHSAA Top Ten State ranking three times. Overall, he held a 201-187 winning record in the OHSAA.

Building on his successful coaching career, Hickman will continue to hold high expectations for the Chargers. “Being contenders in the OCCAC conference and obtaining a birth in NJCAA postseason play need to be our focus and our goal. But the prerequisite to all of that is to get these young men to understand the correlation between character and success.”

“[Players need] to buy into discipline, perseverance, poise, determination, respect, hard work, creating unity and becoming a close-knit family. These are some of the intangibles that every coach hopes for and understands have to exist in order to be successful.”

“I expect our players to be committed each day to making themselves better, but more importantly to erase any and all self-imposed limitations they may have placed on themselves, on the floor, or in the classroom,” added Hickman. “I’ll expect them to believe in themselves, their teammates, and their mission as students and members of the Edison State basketball family and Piqua community.”