Another 'Hawk' Flies on the Basketball Court
by Steve Hecht, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
March 16, 2006 Schenley graduate Shawn Hawkins took the long road to college basketball stardom.
Hawkins was a key member on Schenley's 2000-01 team that finished 29-3 and advanced to the PIAA Class AAAA championship game before losing to Coatesville.
Two other members of that team -- 6-foot-9 Nate Gerwig and 6-5 Jack Higgins -- ended up with NCAA Division I basketball scholarships. Gerwig went to Kent State, while Higgins ended up at Duquesne.
Hawkins, after spending two years at Columbus State Junior College in Ohio, eventually landed a Division I scholarship -- going more than 2,000 miles away to play at Long Beach State.
And, he excelled.
Hawkins, a 6-6, 225-pound senior forward, averaged 13.1 points and a team-best six rebounds a game for the 49ers (18-12), who concluded their season Saturday with a 78-70 loss to Pacific in the championship game of the Big West Conference tournament at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center. Had Long Beach won the game, it would have landed a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Hawkins was superb in his final college game against Pacific, making 9 of 15 shots from the floor, including five 3-pointers, and scoring a career-high 27 points. He had 12 points in a 94-91 win against Cal-State Fullerton in the quarterfinals and 16 in a 75-73 victory against UC Irvine in the semifinals and was named to the Big West all-tournament team.
All in all, it was a pretty good year for Hawkins and Long Beach. Through the final week of the regular season, Long Beach was No. 1 in NCAA Division I in scoring offense at 83.7 a game. Last year, Hawkins averaged 11.2 points, five rebounds a game when Long Beach finished 10-20 and averaged 23 points less a game at 60.7.
"We struggled initially this season," said Long Beach State coach Larry Reynolds, in his fourth season as the 49ers' coach. "We brought in seven new players. It took a while to get going, but we had more talent [than last year]."
Reynolds said his club went from one that walked the ball up the court last year to an up-tempo, running club this season.
Long Beach State started the season at 2-6, but went 16-6 the rest of the way.
"There was definitely a lot of running involved this year. It's definitely been fun," said Hawkins. "There was a lot more possessions, four or five guys averaging in double figures."
According to Reynolds, Long Beach State basically used a four-guard offense with a 6-9 post player. Hawkins, who finished second on the 49ers in 3-pointers with 48, was considered one of the four guards.
Reynolds said "outside shooting and versatility" were two areas where Hawkins improved during his stay at Long Beach.
Hawkins cited "confidence" and "ballhandling" as facets of the game where he progressed the most since leaving Schenley.
A Black Studies major, Hawkins said he has also improved his study habits quite a bit since high school and is scheduled to earn his degree in May. And he has certainly learned to live on his own -- far, far away from home.
"I miss home and the people dear to me," said Hawkins. "But I've learned how to make it on my own. It's been a real good learning experience."
On March 2, in his final home game, Hawkins had two people very dear to him show up to see him play and he scored a team-high 17 points on Senior Night in an 82-76 overtime win against UC Riverside.
Shawn's mother, Shawna Hawkins, came from the Hill District to watch her son. Also there was former NBA great, Connie Hawkins, Shawn's grandfather.
Shawn said he talks to his famous grandfather two or three times a week for "basketball advice and life advice."
He also has a tattoo with a saying on it that he uses for inspiration: "The race is not given to the swift, but those that endure to the end."
"I've had two great years here at Long Beach," said Hawkins. "After Schenley, Nate Gerwig, Jack Higgins and myself went down three different roads. I ended up being on a good one." |
