He had a dominating Los Angeles City playing career at Hamilton HS, making the LA City finals as a senior, and being named All-City all three years and averaging 33 points a game as a senior. He went one year to Santa Monica College, scoring 26 ppg and then transferred to UCLA where he was a key starter on three NCAA titles teams. He was College Player of the Year and remembered for the 1970 NCAA final win over Artis Gilmore when he was NCAA MVP. The 6-8 Wicks was the leading scorer on the 1970 and 1971 Bruin championship teams and also made Academic All-American.

He was the second overall pick in the 1971 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers and the NBA Rookie of the Year. He played 12 seasons and was a four-time NBA All-Star. He was inducted in 1985 into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame, in 2010 to the College Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2013 to the charter class of the Los Angeles City Athletics HOF. His number 35 UCLA jersey was retired in 1996. He currently resides in North Carolina.