I have written about this player before but one of my favorite stories of a HS player working into a completely different role in college is Hersey Hawkins... I first saw Hersey when he was playing CENTER...CENTER.. in high school for Chicago Westinghouse HS.. I happened to see them in a holiday tournament... Hersey was 6-3 and just relentless on the glass in HS.. Good on the press as well... He played from the foul line extended to the basket. Unfortunately, there isnt a market for basketball players that are 6-3 CENTERS for the next level... I will accelerate the details but through communication, Hersey's HS coach contacted the coach at Bradley and said this kid can shoot lights out from the outside, despite playing center in HS where he didnt shoot outside.. Plus, he was a heck of an athlete with a work ethic second to none. As it turns out, he led the nation in scoring as a SHOOTING GUARD at Bradley and had a long pro career as a shooting guard known for his 3 point shooting.. His best attribute was that he was willing to do whatever it took to help his team win games... If his team needed a defensive stop, he took the opposition's best outside player.. If they needed a rebound, he would get it... If it was a loose ball, he was there first.. If he was asked by the coach to do something that he knew he wasn't good at, he would work hard at it to improve to where it would be a strength to help the team. THAT IS THE TYPE OF PLAYER I WANT ON MY TEAM, REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY STARS OR OFFERS the players possess. That takes time and communication to confirm when recruiting a player.
If I had former Gophers to pick from, these are the players that I think had these attributes the most but certainly combined with ability as well..... My roster would include Damien Johnson, Dusty Rychart, Richard Coffey, John Thomas, Quincy Lewis, Willie Burton, Austin Hollins, Melvin Newbern, Bobby Jackson, Flip Saunders, and Nate Mason.. I would probably add Kevin Lynch and one big like Mychal Thompson or Kevin McHale... Add Travis Busch as a walkon(lol).. WIth the attitudes of these guys towards their own games and to their teammates, I would guarantee any coach would win with these guys. Doesn't matter the talent they play against because opponents would never be able to take a break against these players... These guys understand things like "If I am not scoring, I will help the team in this area of need"... "If I am scoring, I am going to CALL FOR THE BALL(WIllie Burton and Quincy Lewis would do that consistently)"... "If we get to crunch time, we will make our free throws" "We are going to lay it all out on the floor all the time, even if we get beat". These guys would be in the tournament every year, provided that they would stay injury/event free... High character guys that are always looking to improve their game for the sake of the team... Fiery players that would not let each other down.. Opponents knowing that they better play at their best because Minnesota would win most of the loose ball situations.. Mentally strong players... Guys that may have a bad game but would keep working at it to make the next game a good one..These guys would study their opponents and matchups to see where their teammates would have the advantage over the opponent guarding them and exploit that.. If there wasnt an advantage, they would outhustle their opponent.
ONE THING THAT IS NEVER MENTIONED IS THAT WITHIN "WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN A GAME" is the guy shooting the basketball... Sometimes it is SELFISH NOT TO SHOOT.... If a player has an advantage over his opponent, it is critical that he DOES SHOOT THE BALL(MAYBE EVEN OFTEN) TO ACCOMPLISH THE ROLE FOR THE TEAM IN THAT GAME... Shooting a lot does not NECESSARILY mean a ball player is a selfish player.. That very well may be the role that the team needs in him to be the best team they can possibly be.
I would contrast Hersey Hawkins to a player from Ohio that was a top 20 ballplayer in the nation a few years ago... A player that was recruited at Kansas, transferred to Arizona State, and now in the middle of his redshirt transfer year, transferred to New Mexico.. Been in trouble a few times since graduating from HS... This is a 6-8 kid who is about as talented as it gets.. Has the game for a small forward and the size of a power forward.. Can do almost everything but has not put it together yet....
When he was in HS, his Cleveland team played Lima Central Catholic 2 years in a row in the state championship. Lima was in a 2-3 zone favoring the defense against future Northwestern Wildcat, Derrick Pardon. Derrick was a top 150 player but not in the caliber of his teammate.. When Derrick was in foul trouble, this top 20 player saw a 2-3 zone from Lima.. Lima extended their guards so the key became wide open for this top 20 6-8 PLAYER to flare across the key.. Lima's tallest player was a D2 talent at 6-4... But this top 20 player decided he was going to hang around the perimeter. POSSESSION AFTER POSSESSION AFTER POSSESSION. At 6-8 and a TOP 20 PLAYER NATIONALLY, it would seem that he could easily flash across the key to take a post entry and work against the smaller opponent... It was obvious to me and coaches I was watching the game with at the time... All I read was college assistants talking about how talented this kid was.. He was talented, I agree.. But HE DID NOT DO WHAT HIS TEAM NEEDED HIM TO DO DESPITE THE COACH ASKING HIM TO HELP INSIDE.... Lima CC won the state champioship by a few baskets.. The CLeveland team returned the favor the next year but once again, this top 20 player did not help the team when they needed him the most... I still disagree with a lot of college coaches about this kid though I realize "the whole book is not written yet on this kid".. I do agree however that I would love to see this kid clean up his act and reach that potential... THat would be a joy and a great story to tell later on..
I am just a big fan of intangibles and digging deeper to recruit the character of the kid. Ability has to be there, yes.. SIze has to be there, yes... But I want those questions answered and DEMONSTRATED ON THE FLOOR about a kid that will work hard to improve his game and do what it takes to make his team a winning squad.
If I had former Gophers to pick from, these are the players that I think had these attributes the most but certainly combined with ability as well..... My roster would include Damien Johnson, Dusty Rychart, Richard Coffey, John Thomas, Quincy Lewis, Willie Burton, Austin Hollins, Melvin Newbern, Bobby Jackson, Flip Saunders, and Nate Mason.. I would probably add Kevin Lynch and one big like Mychal Thompson or Kevin McHale... Add Travis Busch as a walkon(lol).. WIth the attitudes of these guys towards their own games and to their teammates, I would guarantee any coach would win with these guys. Doesn't matter the talent they play against because opponents would never be able to take a break against these players... These guys understand things like "If I am not scoring, I will help the team in this area of need"... "If I am scoring, I am going to CALL FOR THE BALL(WIllie Burton and Quincy Lewis would do that consistently)"... "If we get to crunch time, we will make our free throws" "We are going to lay it all out on the floor all the time, even if we get beat". These guys would be in the tournament every year, provided that they would stay injury/event free... High character guys that are always looking to improve their game for the sake of the team... Fiery players that would not let each other down.. Opponents knowing that they better play at their best because Minnesota would win most of the loose ball situations.. Mentally strong players... Guys that may have a bad game but would keep working at it to make the next game a good one..These guys would study their opponents and matchups to see where their teammates would have the advantage over the opponent guarding them and exploit that.. If there wasnt an advantage, they would outhustle their opponent.
ONE THING THAT IS NEVER MENTIONED IS THAT WITHIN "WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN A GAME" is the guy shooting the basketball... Sometimes it is SELFISH NOT TO SHOOT.... If a player has an advantage over his opponent, it is critical that he DOES SHOOT THE BALL(MAYBE EVEN OFTEN) TO ACCOMPLISH THE ROLE FOR THE TEAM IN THAT GAME... Shooting a lot does not NECESSARILY mean a ball player is a selfish player.. That very well may be the role that the team needs in him to be the best team they can possibly be.
I would contrast Hersey Hawkins to a player from Ohio that was a top 20 ballplayer in the nation a few years ago... A player that was recruited at Kansas, transferred to Arizona State, and now in the middle of his redshirt transfer year, transferred to New Mexico.. Been in trouble a few times since graduating from HS... This is a 6-8 kid who is about as talented as it gets.. Has the game for a small forward and the size of a power forward.. Can do almost everything but has not put it together yet....
When he was in HS, his Cleveland team played Lima Central Catholic 2 years in a row in the state championship. Lima was in a 2-3 zone favoring the defense against future Northwestern Wildcat, Derrick Pardon. Derrick was a top 150 player but not in the caliber of his teammate.. When Derrick was in foul trouble, this top 20 player saw a 2-3 zone from Lima.. Lima extended their guards so the key became wide open for this top 20 6-8 PLAYER to flare across the key.. Lima's tallest player was a D2 talent at 6-4... But this top 20 player decided he was going to hang around the perimeter. POSSESSION AFTER POSSESSION AFTER POSSESSION. At 6-8 and a TOP 20 PLAYER NATIONALLY, it would seem that he could easily flash across the key to take a post entry and work against the smaller opponent... It was obvious to me and coaches I was watching the game with at the time... All I read was college assistants talking about how talented this kid was.. He was talented, I agree.. But HE DID NOT DO WHAT HIS TEAM NEEDED HIM TO DO DESPITE THE COACH ASKING HIM TO HELP INSIDE.... Lima CC won the state champioship by a few baskets.. The CLeveland team returned the favor the next year but once again, this top 20 player did not help the team when they needed him the most... I still disagree with a lot of college coaches about this kid though I realize "the whole book is not written yet on this kid".. I do agree however that I would love to see this kid clean up his act and reach that potential... THat would be a joy and a great story to tell later on..
I am just a big fan of intangibles and digging deeper to recruit the character of the kid. Ability has to be there, yes.. SIze has to be there, yes... But I want those questions answered and DEMONSTRATED ON THE FLOOR about a kid that will work hard to improve his game and do what it takes to make his team a winning squad.
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