Basketball is a team sport, but late in close games it helps to have a player who can occasionally get his own shot and carry the team alone.
Sophomore guard Anthony Hickey has played that role for the Tigers as of late.
The Tigers were trailing 68-67 against Mississippi State on Saturday with 7.9 seconds left when Hickey took the ball and drove the length of the court to hit the game-winning floater with 1.4 seconds left.
“He’s what I like to call a warrior and a winner,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones. “He doesn’t shy away or back away from those opportunities at the end of games.”
Hickey struggled to find his shot for most of the game, starting off just 2-of-11 from the field. He recovered to make his last three field goals and scored seven of his team-high 12 points in the final 46.7 seconds.
“I don’t really get down on myself, and I have big shoulders,” Hickey said. “I’d rather everyone be mad at me because I missed the shot than be mad at my teammates.”
The game-winning floater was the second of Hickey’s go-ahead buckets, as he also pulled up and made a 15-foot jump shot to give the Tigers a 67-66 lead with 16 seconds to play.
He said he thought anyone could have taken the shot, and he considered himself to be just “one of the options” for Jones to choose from.
Junior forward Shavon Coleman disagreed.
“He is a very quick point guard,” Coleman said. “Not too many people can guard him toe-to-toe. When we need a bucket, Hickey is probably who we’re giving the ball to because he can get to the basket and make something happen.”
His latest heroics followed Hickey’s 20-point effort in the Tigers’ 73-70 win against No. 17 Missouri on Jan. 30, during which Hickey scored 14 of his team-high 20 points in the second half.
Hickey has increased his scoring, averaging 14.5 points over his last six games to make him the Tigers’ leading scorer at 12.4 points per game.
“Anthony has made great strides as a player,” said sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III. “He does a lot for us offensively, and he is becoming a great leader for us in the locker room. It’s great to see what he is evolving into.”
Hickey said others’ confidence in him with the game on the line is the biggest reason he has been taking and making so many late shots.
“The key is coach giving me the freedom out there,” Hickey said. “Being a point guard, that lets me make plays. My team has confidence in me, and I have confidence in them, so we depend on each other.”
