‘He was a genuine guy’: Friends, community remember coach Billy Hicks

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (WTVQ) — Former Scott County High School basketball coach Billy Hicks has died. He was 71.

Scott County Coroner Mark Sutton confirmed Hicks died from likely natural causes.

Hicks resonated not only throughout eastern Kentucky but throughout central and all of Kentucky.

“I mean, the numbers itself — he’s the winningest coach ever, but I think it was the way he won, the style that he brought to the game. I think that’s what most people will remember about Billy. The passion, the genuine passion that he had,” said friend Kenny Rice.

Hicks, the winningest coach in Kentucky high school basketball history passed away Sunday night, leaving many Kentuckians grieving while also reminiscing on the impact he left on so many people.

“There’s a lot of positives, a lot of positive energy that he sent out to everyone that played for him or was associated with his program. Again that gets back to that talk about old school, but again that’s about really having a class and an understanding that this is special, I’m here for a reason, and that reason is to help people as well as to win ball games and let everyone know that the community does matter and the school does matter,” Rice added.

Hicks spent 38 years coaching, 25 of which were at Scott County. During his career, he won 1,013 games and was one of the first 100 people inducted into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

“He took a lot of pride in establishing himself and his program and community and many people in Georgetown who may not have been big basketball fans were big fans of Billy for that simple reason, you know he became one of them and was proud of that,” said Rice.

Rice explained the genuine passion Hicks had for the game and his intensity on the court. Even with the refs…

“That’s that old, special kind of coaching I don’t know if you’ll see anymore. It’s not just complaining, it’s nicely-getting a subtle dig in, or putting something in the back of a referee’s mind and he was one of the masters at working referees,” said Rice.

And as for his players…

“I mean he could communicate with his players, he could get them to buy into his system. He did that very quickly at Corbin and then at Scott County especially,” Rice added.

Overall, Hicks had an extremely successful coaching career and he will be missed dearly by the community, friends and family.

“It’s easy to remember Billy Hicks for winning ball games, winning state championships and winning more games than anyone else that is obvious you can look that up. For those of us who had a chance to know him, to talk to him and some certainly knew him better than I. It was an opportunity to meet a guy that really just had charisma, he was a genuine guy and he certainly conveyed that to his players,” Rice said.

Scott County Schools sent ABC 36 the following statement on Hicks’ legacy:

“Scott County Schools and the Scott County High School family are grieving the loss of beloved long-time basketball coach Billy Hicks. On the court, Coach Hicks was the winningest coach in Kentucky high school basketball history but his true greatness was in the strength of his character off the court.

As an educator and friend, Coach Hicks was a leader of men whose legacy and salt-of-the-earth kindness will forever be cherished by Scott County Schools. We express our deepest sympathy to his wife Betsy, daughter Ashley Johnson and her husband Jed, as well as his grandson and favorite fishing buddy.

After much discussion, the Billy Hicks Classic basketball tournament scheduled to begin on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, will proceed as planned. Family and friends closest to Coach Hicks believe this is what he would have wanted and that continuing in his honor will be an appropriate tribute to the game and community he held dear.

Cardinal basketball, Scott County High School, Scott County Schools, and the entire Scott County community are better for having known and loved our own Coach Billy Hicks.”