Penn basketball lands second 2012 commit - Tony Hicks

Coach Jerome Allen and his staff received a commitment from Tony Hicks, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound guard out of Chicago today, according to multiple reports. Scout.com's Evan Daniels tweeted the news, citing Hicks' high school coach, Gary DeCesare, as his source. Hicks joins fellow guard Jamal Lewis in Penn basketball's Class of 2012 recruitment, and like Lewis, he seems like a highly talented pickup for the Quakers.

Rated an 87 by ESPN (Lewis is ranked an 84) Hicks previously had offers from Loyola, Dayton, and South Florida, according to this report.

Here's a snippet of the ESPN scouting report (which lists Hicks' commitment to Penn) on the guard's strengths, from late December of last year:

Some guys think they can play, others just go about their business. Hicks isn't the biggest wing prospect in the country but he's got moxy and wants it in crunch time. He brings a scorer's mindset to the equation.

ESPN Chicago posted this nice blurb

“I wanted to go somewhere I was wanted the most,” Hicks said on Monday. “I felt Penn wanted me the most. They called me every day they could. It was just a really good feel. The team are a bunch of cool guys. The coaches had the same type of environment as St. Rita. You can’t get much better than them academically.”
“I think he’s one of the most underrated players around,” St. Rita coach Gary DeCesare said. “He’s done a very, very good job this summer working on his game. He’s a scoring guard, but he could also play the point.”