Some might have thought the popular walk-on would get to start on Senior Day, play a minute and then leave. But with under a minute remaining, Hicks still hadn’t entered the game.

The chant started again, and with 55 seconds remaining coach Bruce Weber inserted Hicks with the Illini leading by eight points. Then he lost his man on defense, gave up a 3-pointer and returned to the bench until the final seconds of the Illini’s 67-58 win.

Given one last opportunity, Hicks was thrown an in-bound pass and threw up a 3-pointer that hit nothing but net. It was an unnecessary but nice ending to his three seasons in the program.

“Chris Hicks is a great story,’’ Weber said. “I don’t think they’ll make a movie about him like Rudy. But he did the tryouts. The first year he got cut and he came back. He comes to practice every day with a smile and energy and understands his role. … He truly appreciates it. He’s a fan favorite because of his good nature and how he is as a person.’’

In three years, the 6-2 guard from Chicago has played in 32 games for an average of 1.8 minutes. He has scored 18 points with half coming on free throws. Before Saturday, he had missed all 13 3-pointers he had attempted.

“I was jumping around,” center Shaun Pruitt said. “It was meant to be. He’s like the unsung hero. He’s our energy guy who motivates us.”

When the seniors addressed the crowd after the game, Hicks thanks the fans for making a little boy’s dream come true.

Before making the team, he worked as a student trainer for the school’s track program. He was majoring in athletic training. But when he made the team in the fall of 2005, Hicks switched his major to kinesiology so he could handle the load.

“I knew it would be rough being in basketball and making it in life and doing the school work,’’ he said. “I would have regretted the decision not to try (basketball). It was too much fun.’’

After being cut the first year, Hicks sent a letter to assistant coach Wayne McClain so the coaches would know who he was. By his own evaluation, the former player at Whitney Young High, who averaged 12 points as a senior, dominated in his second tryout.

He has one more year of eligibility but has decided this will be the end of the road. He hopes to get into medical school and will begin that process when the season ends.

Weber apologized after Saturday’s game to Minnesota coach Tubby Smith for Hicks’ 3-pointer. Illinois coaches tell players not to take such shots when a game is decided.

But Weber knew when Hicks caught the pass that he wasn’t going to let the game end with the ball in his hands. Hicks smiled in Weber’s direction and let it fly.

When Weber approached Smith, the veteran coach seemed to react as if he knew what the moment meant to Hicks.

Said Weber: “He said, ‘Man, he’s a good shooter.’ ’’