Andre Ricks (born September 12, 1986) is a former

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

basketball player.

Early life

Andre Ricks was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

and is the son of Maxine Ricks and Daniel Paul. Andre comes from a legendary boxing family which includes his father Danny "MadDog" Paul who won the Olympics and Golden Gloves in 1978 representing legendary Kronk boxing team, uncle seven-time World Champion Thomas "Hitman" Hearns , and IBF World Champion Jimmy “The RingMaster” Paul. March 2001 Andre made a guest appearance playing against AND-1 Streetball Live Tour at Calihan Hall where he quickly earned a name for himself as “The Seatbelt”. Andre Ricks starred at Detroit

Pershing High School John J. Pershing High School is a four-year public high school in Detroit, Michigan. It is in Conant Gardens in proximity to the residential areas NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

recruits on the team. He averaged 18.3 points, 6.0 assists and 4.0 steals and averaged 16.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals per outing as a junior. Ricks played in Detroit all-star game and was named all-state in 2005. He was named third best point guard in the state by ''Prep Spotlight'',

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

and

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

. Ricks was ranked top ball handler in the state of Michigan by Prep Spotlight Magazine and ranked one of the top players in the state regardless of class by

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and

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. Ricks verbally committed to Western Michigan University as a sophomore in high school, making him the youngest basketball player to commit ever in Western Michigan History after only playing a year and a half of high school basketball.

College career

Andre Ricks WMU Western Michigan University Basketball

Ricks played four years at Western Michigan University. In 2007 Ricks was ranked fifth in the Mid-American Conference in three-point shooting for all games. In 2006 during the Western Michigan University Men's Basketball European Tour in Athens, Greece Ricks logged in his first career double-double with 22 points, 12 assist and 6 steals vs. Greek U National Team. In 2007 Ricks scored 10 points and had 4 assist against #11 Ranked

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. ...

. Andre Ricks also played a key role in Western Michigan's MAC West division championship. In December 2007 Ricks was named MAC West Player of the Week and CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Player of the Week after scoring a career-high 29 points against unbeaten

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

which was coached by hall of fame Coach Steve Fisher. In 2008, Ricks crossover move against

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

University was selected by ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays coming in at number 5. Ricks scored 10 points in 104 seconds on his way to 16 points in a nationally televised game on ESPN2 vs. Marist College and finished in a tie for 12th in scoring 38 points at the Old Spice Classic. 2008 Ricks made his tenth career start vs Temple University, Ricks scored 14 points and had 4 assist. Aundrey Ricks scored 15 points in the second half in the victory over Pepperdine University. Despite Ricks' performance on the court he battled a torn ligament in his left wrist during summer workouts which caused him to miss numerous of games during the 2008–2009 season. Ricks holds a Bachelor's Degree from Western Michigan University. In 2021, Ricks was accepted into Arizona State University Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication Graduate Program.

Professional career

Basketball

In 2009, Andre Ricks was selected as camp director of the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

youth basketball camp held at the Palace of Auburn Hills (home of the Pistons.). During the summer of 2011 Ricks coached the Adidas youth Basketball camp in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy.

Started From Scratch: 10 Principles to Success A Memoir By Andre Ricks

In 2020, Andre Ricks published his first book <
Started From Scratch: 10 Principles to Success, A Memoir
/u>. Ricks book provides the reader with 10 Principles to Success explained in chronological order using his life experiences to drive the message home. Ricks book is available at Barnes & Noble.

Awards and recognition

Ricks has been active at fundraisers and charity events. The City of

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...

Council Members recognized Ricks for his youth mentor program in 2007. In March 2011, Ricks Business Rawimpact was named newcomer business of The Year by the Kalamazoo, Gazette and

Western Herald The ''Western Herald'' is the student newspaper of Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It began printing in 1916. The paper was known as the ''Western Normal Herald'' from 1916 to 1927. It provides news about the students, cam ...

for his sports memorabilia flagship store Downtown,

Kalamazoo, MI Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...

.Patrick Nothaft In April 2012, Ricks and his brand Rawimpact was recognized by Western Michigan University and the

National Pan-Hellenic Council The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent ...

for sponsoring campus-wide festival that had record breaking numbers with student attendance.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricks, Andre Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Detroit Western Michigan University alumni Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball players 1986 births