July 3, 2002

Chicago, Ill. - The UIC men's basketball team will have its sheriff back for the upcoming 2002-03 campaign as they announced this afternoon that 6-foot-8 forward/center Kyle Kickert (Palos Heights, Ill./Stagg) was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.

This will be just the third healthy year on the floor for Kickert, who began his collegiate career with league rival UW-Milwaukee.

After redshirting the 1997-98 season due to injury, Kickert played in 12 games in 1998-99 for the Panthers, averaging 0.8 points and 0.9 rebounds per game. He suffered through another injury-plagued season in 1999-2000, before opting to transfer to UIC.

Kickert, who sat out the 2000-01 campaign per NCAA transfer guidelines, averaged just 1.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game for the Flames last season as a reserve, but became an instant fan favorite with his physical style of play off the bench late in the year while helping UIC to the NCAA Tournament.

He garnered his nickname 'The Sheriff' after tallying a season best seven points and nine rebounds in the Flames' Horizon League Tournament win over UW-Milwaukee. Kickert would go on to average 4.5 ppg and 4.3 rpg during the championship, sparking his team to its first-ever postseason tournament title.