Tony Hicks to Louisville: Latest Transfer Details, Comments and Reaction

Guard Tony Hicks led the Penn Quakers in scoring the past two seasons, but he will finish his collegiate career as a member of the Louisville Cardinals.

Mike Rutherford of SB Nation's Card Chronicle reported Tuesday that “Hicks will graduate from Penn in May and then enroll at U of L this summer” for his last season of college hoops. Hicks himself tweeted Tuesday, “All about the Ville.”

Hicks will immediately be eligible as a graduate transfer. He averaged 13.2 points per game last season and 14.9 in 2013-14 as the Penn’s go-to offensive player. He also averaged 10.4 points a night in 2012-13 and has more than 1,000 career points on his collegiate resume.

Hicks is a capable three-point shooter (37.1 percent last season) who can also attack the basket off the dribble.

Rutherford passed along Hicks’ comments when the guard elected to transfer from Penn:

"

This is a personal decision, and I wrestled long and hard with it because I have thoroughly enjoyed playing for Penn the last three years and wearing the Red and the Blue. I want to wish the guys on the team and the coaches all the best for this season and future seasons, and I will definitely be backing them in The Palestra during these next several months.

"

This is far from coach Rick Pitino’s first experience with graduate transfers. In fact, Damion Lee (17.6 points a night) and Trey Lewis (14.3 points a night) lead the Cardinals in scoring this season after taking the graduate-transfer route.

Considering both are guards who will not be around for the 2016-17 campaign, the Cardinals could use a proven scorer such as Hicks to handle the ball and keep the offense afloat.

Jeff Greer of the Courier-Journal noted Hicks is actually a close friend of Lee’s from when the latter was at Drexel. Hicks took an unofficial visit to Louisville during Sunday’s contest against Wake Forest and eventually pledged to the program.

Greer highlighted the fact “the Cards were looking for some backcourt help with the departures of Lee and Lewis. ... Former walk-on David Levitch and redshirt Ryan McMahon are the only other two ball-handling guards on the roster who will be back next season.”

Hicks provides the ball-handling help the Cardinals desperately need.