Alumni Deshone Hicks (class of ’23) crossed the Atlantic to start his professional basketball career. Hicks has been in Finland since August and is hoping to help pave the way for other basketball players aspiring to go pro.

“It’s been very cool and a blessing to be out here putting on for my Ferrum family and also the D3 community as a whole,” Hicks said.

Hicks joined the Finland Raider Basket pro team, which is a part of the Euro-basket first division league. He has also landed the starting spot as the point guard of the Raider team.

While living there, Hicks is continuing to adapt to his new routine, and he noticed some differences between home back in the States and his new home in Finland.

“Things such as European time zone being six hours ahead of the U.S, food being healthier, gas prices being high, and of course the Finnish language,” Hicks said.

While the English language takes up more than half of the country of Finland, Hicks still relies on the use of Google Translate when ordering food at restaurants, and he said his transition has been made easier with the help of the staff and the people he has interacted with.

“The whole Raider staff has been making the transition as smooth as possible for me.” Hicks said, “I think the coolest thing I’ve witnessed so far is how friendly everyone is here.”

He also said he enjoys seeing how healthy everyone looks and even came across elementary school kids riding scooters and bikes together all around the city. This is contrary to his life back in the States where cars reign and walking and riding bikes are viewed as an occasional adventure and less of an essential means of transportation.

“All in all life, here in Finland has been treating me well, and I can’t wait to update y’all in a few weeks,” Hicks said.

Hicks stays in an apartment provided to him by the Raider organization. First-division Euro-basket players have the luxury of having their housing situation taken care of, similar to DI schools in the United States.

Hicks credits his work ethic to his success, and the coaches from Ferrum second his statement.

“I’ve known Deshone since before I even started coaching college basketball, and the work ethic has always been there,” Assistant Basketball Coach Garrett Dorfman said. “The way he worked on his game by himself is what stands out to me the most. You walk by the court and see him in there practicing the same moves he uses in the games.”

Dorfman said during those times there was no trainer, no camera, just a young guy from Durham, NC using his imagination in an empty gym.

“To see him overseas is exciting. He has worked hard for this moment,” Dorfman, said.

Dorfman’s first year here was Hicks’ also. Their connection grew from there, Dorfman said, and they both helped contribute to Hicks receiving the “Best Newcomer” award during the Ferrum Awards alongside Head Coach Patrick Corrigan.

“Shone is as talented of a guard as I’ve ever coached,” Corrigan said. “He knows where all 10 guys are on the court at any given moment and is an incredibly difficult 1-on-1 matchup for opponents. (He) can hit 25-foot threes off the bounce or blow by you.

Corrigan said Hicks grew most here by having a role on the team with a lot of responsibility to create offense for the team, playing a lot of minutes, and helping close out games.

“He could create for himself and others at a high volume and high efficiency,” Corrigan said.

Hicks is currently averaging 31 PPG, 6 APG, and 6 RPG, and says he is happy but not satisfied, as there is more work to do.