Built for the big stage

Friday, March 21, 2025

"He had to crawl through, cut himself, scrape himself all up to get to where he is right now."

With the Illawarra Hawks’ backs against the wall on Wednesday night, one man stood tall.

“Will Hickey was devastating,” Derek Rucker said on NBL Now.

One of the most improved players on the season, Hickey was inserted into the starting lineup in place of Trey Kell III (knee) and rose to the occasion in style.

“He figured out how to attack the bigs ... he kept being aggressive with his push and I thought his offensive triggering in that fourth quarter was key,” Rucker added.

“He was the one that set up (Darius) Days for that big dagger three.”

Hickey had a career-best 22 points, to go with 8 assists and six rebounds, and was hugely influential in the fourth quarter to secure a famous Game 4 win.

2001 Hawks Champion, Damon Lowery, explains that Hickey’s play doesn’t happen by accident.

“You develop a whole different kind of resolve when you got to go through the route that Will Hickey has taken,” he said.

“He didn’t come through the front or the back door. It might have been a crack in the side window. He had to crawl through, cut himself, scrape himself all up to get to where he is right now.”

Hickey began his NBL journey as a development player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix, then joined Melbourne United in the same role. In 2023, he joined the Hawks and continued to work hard until his opportunity came calling. When it did, he never looked back.

“I’m telling you, his spirit ... there’s something about this dude. If you are around him for five minutes, it’s just something about him. He’s got this air and people just are drawn to him,” Lowery said.

“There’s captains and then there’s leaders. Trey Kell III and Sam Froling, captains of the club, great faces and great people ... but when it’s time to get in the mud, give me Davo Hickey.”

Justin Tatum revealed post-game on Wednesday that Kell III is expected to return for the winner-take-all Game 5 on Sunday, but that won’t change the importance of Hickey.

“If Davo Hickey does what he’s been doing, not only is the Hawks going to be Champions, but Hickey will be the Championship Series MVP.”

Watch Game 5 on Sunday from 2.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN, 10 and 10 Play.