St. Martin’s Rodrick Sikes on Division I path

The junior college route is working out just fine for Rodrick Sikes.

The former St. Martin basketball star is drawing plenty of interest from Division I schools as he winds down his two-year stint at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit.

The 6-foot-1 sophomore picked up a scholarship offer from South Alabama on Saturday to bring his total of Division offers to six. The five other offers are from Morehead State, Albany, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern University and Jackson State.

Sikes plans to take his time in making the right decision.

“I don't have a favorite right now,” Sikes said. “The academic side is my biggest thing and I want to go somewhere I can win. I can do that at South Alabama, but I told them I'm not going to rush my decision. I plan on making visits as soon as the season is over with.”

Sikes is averaging 22.5 points a game this season for the Bears, who are 16-6 and 10-3 in the MACJC South Division following a 92-87 win in overtime at Hinds Monday night.

Those numbers have drawn the interest of 21 schools, but only six have come through with offers.

Sikes had an up and down start to his career at SMCC, but he found his way late last season when he helped lead the team to its first MACJC state title in 53 years.

He scored 31 points in a 94-83 overtime win over Jones County Junior College in the title game last season.

“I think the state tournament gave me momentum going into this season,” Sikes said. “It was just a matter of picking up where I left off. One of my problems last season was being consistent. For the most part, every game I've played in I've scored double digits or done something good. I haven't had a 'bad' game this year. My coaches just want me to get consistent. That's been my main focus and I've been doing a good job of that.”

His success as a 3-point shooter is what has drawn more interest from Division I programs as sophomore.

“I struggled a lot from the three last year. I shot 25 percent,” Sikes said. “I told my head coach before the season that I'd be one of the top shooters this season. I don't think he believed me. Now, I'm shooting (39.3) percent from three. That makes the game so much easier.”

Sikes also wanted to show Division I programs that he could step up his play on the defensive end and he's delivered so far as a sophomore.

“A lot of schools looked me at me when I was a freshman and worried about my defense,” Sikes said. “Now, every game he puts me on their best player.”

While a chance to play Division I basketball awaits, Sikes and his teammates are focused on winning another state title and potentially going farther.

“I definitely think we're capable of getting to nationals,” Sikes said. “We had a really good last year, but we can be better. We've already locked up our spot in the state tournament.

“As a team, we've been playing together very well.”

This story was originally published February 21, 2017 at 3:41 PM with the headline "St. Martin’s Rodrick Sikes on Division I path."