Moe Hicks, one of the city’s all-time winningest high school coaches, is going back to his roots.

The former director of men’s basketball operations at St. John’s, Hicks told The Post he has accepted a position as the athletic director at AAU powerhouse New Heights and hopes to land a high school job soon as well.

“I missed coaching on the high school level, I missed coming out to games,” he said Friday at a workout for Saturday’s Big Strick Classic, a showcase for top prospects in honor of former streetball legend John “The Franchise” Strickland. “I haven’t seen live high school games in three years.”

In 2010, Hicks left juggernaut Rice, which closed down a year later under financial duress, for St. John’s. After three years working under Steve Lavin in an administrative role, Hicks felt it was time to move on. The itch to coach wasn’t going away.

Hicks, a Harlem native who won five state championships and six city crowns in 16 years at Rice, had nothing negative to say about Lavin or the Red Storm, but didn’t see an opportunity to coach there after being passed over last year for an assistant position when Mike Dunlap. Furthermore, Hicks feel he’s of more value at the grassroots level, where he can help develop players and mold young minds. In addition to coaching at Rice, Hicks also was a major figure on the AAU circuit with the Gauchos before taking the St. John’s position. His good friend, Dwayne Mitchell, now runs the Gauchos, so Hicks opted for New Heights instead.

“This is my passion,” said Hicks, who has coached a bevy of elite players, such as Kemba Walker, Durand Scott, Russ Smith, Kenny Satterfield, Andre Barrett and Anthony Glover. “This is what I was meant to do.”

“At this point, I don’t have aspirations of going back to college. At the [grassroots] level, I can have a greater impact on New York players and the future of the city.”

zbraziller@nypost.com