Journal-World File PhotoDon’t be surprised if 5-foot-11, 175-pound Jeff Hawkins stretches to 6-foot on Kansas University’s men’s basketball roster next season.
“Sometimes guards get listed taller than they are,” notes Hawkins, who cites the case of one of his favorite NBA players Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson. “I watch a lot of NBA Somebody like Iverson, they say he’s 6-foot, or 6-1. He’s probably the same height as me.
“I think I’m tall enough.”
Hawkins a consensus all-state pick after averaging 19.6 points, 4.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 steals for 19-7 Kansas City Sumner High last season stretched his frame to the limit, exploding for a windmill dunk during a slam contest before the recent HyVee All-Star Classic at Avila College.
“Everyone got real excited. I kind of got excited myself. I’d not done that dunk since my junior year,” Hawkins said of the one-handed dunk he just might be convinced to try at the 2001 Late Night With Roy Williams.
“A lot of people came up to me and were like, ‘Dang, when did you start jumping like that?’ I’ve been doing that for a year.”
Hawkins, who scored 14 points and dished six assists as the Kansas stars beat Missouri in the recent HyVee game, wasn’t invited to the McDonald’s all-star game or any of the other national prep star contests, despite the fact he orally committed to KU last November.
The continuing snubs of recruiting zealots, who fail to list Hawkins among the top 200 prospects in the country, do not bother the quick playmaker, who will red-shirt his first year at KU, then receive a scholarship the next four years.
College coaches are well aware of his potential.
“I had another (recruiting) opportunity with UCLA at the end of the season,” Hawkins revealed.
He said he was asked to take a campus visit to the Pac-10 school. He has signed nothing that binds him to KU’s program.
“They were trying to get me to come for a visit. Maybe three weeks ago, the former assistant at UCLA, Michael Holton, called me from Portland,” Hawkins said. “He called about recruiting me (at Portland, where Holton is now head coach), but I told him I wasn’t interested. I think Tulsa has been sending my coach some stuff, too. I’m not interested in going anywhere else. I like KU a lot. I’m pretty confident I will be able to contribute at KU. I can’t wait.”
Hawkins has been working out diligently since a disappointing end to his senior season in March.
Topeka Hayden survived a 35-point scoring onslaught from Hawkins to beat the Sabres in the Class 4A semifinals in Salina.
“I lift weights three times a week, mostly bench press, at the YMCA,” said Hawkins, who also has been doing hundreds of sit-ups a day. “Everybody says I’m getting bigger. I want to get to 185 to 190 pounds. I know going to the next level I will have to be stronger. I’ve noticed some big guards out there. They look like football players.
“I have good instruction because they (KU coaches) sent me a video three weeks ago on how to do all the stuff,” Hawkins added, referring to offseason conditioning. “It’s extended stuff to tone your body.”
Hawkins is already mentally preparing himself for sitting out his freshman year at KU. As a red-shirt, he can practice, but not play in games.
“I think I need to get a little quicker. I’ll work on my defense a lot more, watch a lot of tapes and everything. I want to be a defensive guy,” Hawkins said, noting he figures to benefit from guarding incoming freshman point guard Aaron Miles at practice, not to mention junior Kirk Hinrich.
“I will try to work him real hard,” Hawkins said of Miles. “Just because he’s one of the top point guards, I won’t back down. I want to push him and him to push me. The good thing is he’ll be there with me. Playing against one of the top point guards he can only get me better.”
Teammate likes Hawkins’ game
Hawkins’ AAU teammate and future KU teammate Wayne Simien of Leavenworth is high on Hawkins’ abilities.
“I think he’s definitely a sleeper and steal for the University of Kansas,” said Simien, like Hawkins an all-stater. “He passed up a lot of schools to come here and play close to home.
“Over the summer he’s played against some of the nationally ranked point guards and always held his own. He can pass the basketball. He’s a good decision-maker. As far as his shot when he gets hot, he can fill it up.
“I watched him play the sub-state championship game this year against Spring Hill. Coach Williams was there, too. He was pulling from deep. I’m really glad he’s going to be my teammate at KU.”
Hawkins plans to attend summer school in June. Interestingly, he may not need the head start in the classroom. Hawkins has attained an academic scholarship for his freshman year based on his high standardized test scores and the fact he’s a National Merit Scholar.
He has to maintain a certain GPA to keep the academic scholarship, which shouldn’t matter much because he’s scheduled to go on an athletics scholarship after his red-shirt season.
His current academic scholarship will not affect KU’s hoops scholarship limit, KU officials indicated.
“At first, I told the coaches I was not going to do summer school. I was going to relax before my first year of college. But I want to get a lot of (academic) stuff out of the way early,” Hawkins said. “My goals next year are academic more than basketball. I’m trying to get all A’s.”
He realizes he’ll have more time to concentrate on studies, since he won’t have to concentrate on playing in the games.
“It’s not really scary to red-shirt. This way, nobody will see me play for a year. Next year they’ll say, ‘Dang, he really improved since high school.’ It gives me a lot of motivation,” Hawkins said.
“Some people are real happy about me going to KU. Some people say, ‘Why are you gonna go there and sit out a year?’ I say, ‘You’ll see. You’ll see.”’
