Moe Hicks leaves DOBO position at St. John's

Maurice "Moe" Hicks, the former standout Rice High School coach who accepted a job as Director of Basketball Operations (DOBO) on Steve Lavin's first staff, has resigned from his position to return to coaching basketball. As DOBO, he was not allowed the training and on-court coaching time of full coaches.

Per the Red Storm Sports news release, a search to fill the spot is "nearing completion."

"We appreciate Moe's efforts and wish him the best as he returns to his passion of coaching basketball," coach Steve Lavin tweeted.

Hicks was also involved with the New York Gauchos AAU program, helping to maintain their status as a powerhouse of talent while he was there with Rice High players.

From the Rumble's post when Hicks was brought into the Red Storm coaching staff:

Mo Hicks is well known around the city with the New York Gauchos AAU program, but also from the Rice High School program that graduates excellent high major players, including Kansas State commit Shane Southwell, Kadeem Jack, Durand Scott at Miami (FL), Jermaine Sanders, and Connecticut's Kemba Walker. His Rice teams are known for player development and man-to-man defense, and Hicks' familiarity with New York City will help the Red Storm make more inroads with AAU programs.

The Johnnies did get New York star Moe Harkless, and seem to have connections to a number of New York City stars in the 2014 and 2015 classes, but Hicks' hiring did not open the floodgates of local talent to St. John's. To be fair, the Red Storm have looked nationally - with some success - in building the talent base.