I was out to dinner with my boyfriend at a sports bar/restaurant during the 2008 draft. As soon as the Cavs picked J.J. Hickson, he had to drop his conversation with me to text and call a handful of his friends, all of them wondering "Who is this guy?"

Two years later, he's showing you just who he is -- and that is someone who is able to step up when two key players are out and others are running into foul trouble or just can't get past the defense.

I'll admit that I don't follow basketball, nor do I know much about it. But I enjoy watching the Cavaliers -- when they're doing well. When they're struggling, I get the Cleveland cardiac thing going on. Such was the case during today's game, when the Cavs couldn't get ahead of the Celtics. The bright point in the first half of the game was definitely Hickson.

I'm glad to see that he has developed and really become an integral part of the team.

-- Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com