Bickett brings discipline, successful style to Rock Falls

But the new system Bickett has brought in – his patented diamond press and an efficient-yet-explosive offense – has Rock Falls' veterans learning a new way to play the game.

"It's non-stop movement," senior point guard Alex Leaf said. "There are no dead points during practice; we use every possible minute of every 2-hour practice. The style is slightly different, more under control and taking care of the ball. We want to get up and down the court, but we want to do it in a way where we're not all over the place."

Both Leaf and senior shooting guard Jace Anderson say they love the new attitude and energy Bickett brings to the table. While the system may be new, they say it's been an easy adjustment because the longtime coach has been very upfront about what he expects from his players.

"We know what he wants from us," Leaf said. "Play hard, push ourselves and each other to get better, and give it all we've got every time we step on the court … and we definitely respect that."

The players also respect the way in which Bickett goes about things. While he does work them hard, a lot of the things he teaches aren't necessarily about basketball. Bickett's goal is to change attitude and work ethic, but in school and at home as well as on the hardwood.

"We're a lot more disciplined," said Anderson, who led the Rockets with 10.7 points per game last season, "and it's not just on the court."

"We feel if we can clean up some of those little things," Bickett said, "the basketball stuff will take care of itself."

It always helps a new coach to have strong credentials, and Bickett has that in spades. While the Rockets are too young to remember his run of state tournament trips at BV, let alone his playing days at Ohio, they're very aware of the past history of winning that Bickett brings to the table.

"Knowing that he had success in the past makes it really easy to buy into what he wants to do," Anderson said. "It really makes you want to push harder, because we know that same thing could happen for us if we work hard enough."