Hickman the new coach for Parkway

It took less than a month for Parkway to find a replacement to lead the boys basketball program.

Rick Hickman has been chosen to replace Will Snyder as the coach of the Panthers after Snyder resigned from the position last month after two years (4-38 record).

Hickman has a wealth of coaching experience since graduating from Cedarville University in 1980. He coached at Bethesda High School in Indiana for seven years and then went to Graceland College for three years. Following the college stint, Hickman was then head coach at Troy Christian (103-66 in eight years), an assistant at Miami East, head coach at Bethel High school for three years (48-19) and a part-time volunteer assistant at Cedarville University last year.

"I have been a head coach in a lot of different situations through the years and I'm excited for this opportunity to be at Parkway," said Hickman, who also played collegiately for Cedarville University from 1977-80. "I had a couple of other opportunities, but I wanted to stay in this area and it's a privilege to have this opportunity."

Parkway athletic director Doug Hughes is proud to have Hickman to lead the Panthers into the future.

"Rick is a proven winner who we feel has the knowledge, experience and character to lead our basketball program," said Hughes.

Hickman is known as a defensive coach and it will be a focal point for the Panthers moving forward.

"We will take pride in our defense and will build off of that," said the 55-year old. "I've been successful with matchup zone in the past, but we will adapt to the personnel that we have. I like to run a motion offense and try to push the ball as much as possible, but I want our team to remain very disciplined."

Hickman is familiar with the Midwest Athletic Conference and is aware of the challenges that lie ahead.

"The MAC has great teams with great coaching right on down the line. It's a very tough league with a lot of tradition," said Hickman. "My focus at the onset is to stress and focus on the intangibles that every successful program has. I've learned through the years how important it is to build relationships and develop a close-knit group. I want to take what has been successful for me in the past and follow that route."