2021 Recruiting: Jordan Hawkins is playing out of his mind.

[gtcam]

I told folks here 2.5 years ago when I saw him as a going to be sophomore playing AAU that this kid was the real deal
Never thought he would be on the UConn watch list - Maryland/Georgetown/Nova was my thought at that time
He is fearless and aggressive, never mind skilled
He will play 2 seasons at UConn and be a top 10 pick

 

[husky429]

I'll post a recap later but... this kid is a ridiculous defender. Guarding the opponents best guard (a team that they say has a few+ D1 prospects and at least 1 4*)... he has a steal, block, and a forced TO in 3 minutes.

 

[UconnU]

I'll post a recap later but... this kid is a ridiculous defender. Guarding the opponents best guard (a team that they say has a few+ D1 prospects and at least 1 4*)... he has a steal, block, and a forced TO in 3 minutes.

How are you watching this? I went on the St James website and they want me to pay $50 lol.

 

[husky429]

How are you watching this? I went on the St James website and they want me to pay $50 lol.

50 bucks? jeez. Some guy on reddit posted a streaming link for it

 

[husky429]

14 PTS
5 REB (1 offensive)
2 AST (potential/ 1 foul assist)

2 TO
2 STL
2 BLK
1 charge drawn

4/8 2FG
1/5 3FG
3/3 FT

Played the “Blue Magic” who apparently are out of Richmond. A few D1 prospects on their team, so this isn’t a blowout like his other 2 games. Louisville bound Roosevelt Wheeler (#65 on 247) is their best player.

Played about 23 mins.

• Guards the opponents best guard pretty much all the time. Either him or the other hawkins.
• He has the ability to play really aggressively on D without being demonstrative--pretty rare. specifically, wouldn’t notice that he’s contesting in the help more than anyone, rarely gets beat 1v1, that kind of thing. Just solid.
• The 1 TO was because his teammate didn’t know what the set was and ran into him.
• The weak handle was noticeable again today. Not pretty if he’s taking more than 2-3 dribbles. Pretty bad at attacking the rim. Has a little bit on the baseline but that’s it. like very bad. No counter.
• Still a very slight player. Noticeably smaller than some teammates. But definitely bigger than a year ago
• Really athletic and long.
• Definitely an off night shooting the ball… but he’s proven to be a good shooter already. And the stroke looks faster than last year.
• Let his bad shooting get his defensive energy down in the 2nd quarter and early 3rd.
• I hate making player comparisons to our guys… but his game looks VERY MUCH like a young Ray Allen. Even the way he shoots with the stiff wrist flick.

 

[ToolzieFan]

14 PTS
5 REB (1 offensive)
1 AST (potential/ 1 foul assist)

2 TO
2 STL
2 BLK
1 charge drawn

4/8 2FG
1/5 3FG
3/3 FT

Played the “Blue Magic” who apparently are out of Richmond. A few D1 prospects on their team, so this isn’t a blowout like his other 2 games. Louisville bound Roosevelt Wheeler (#65 on 247) is their best player.

Played about 23 mins.

• Guards the opponents best guard pretty much all the time. Either him or the other hawkins.
• He has the ability to play really aggressively on D without being demonstrative--pretty rare. specifically, wouldn’t notice that he’s contesting in the help more than anyone, rarely gets beat 1v1, that kind of thing. Just solid.
• The 1 TO was because his teammate didn’t know what the set was and ran into him.
• The weak handle was noticeable again today. Not pretty if he’s taking more than 2-3 dribbles. Pretty bad at attacking the rim. Has a little bit on the baseline but that’s it. like very bad. No counter.
• Still a very slight player. Noticeably smaller than some teammates. But definitely bigger than a year ago
• Really athletic and long.
• Definitely an off night shooting the ball… but he’s proven to be a good shooter already. And the stroke looks faster than last year.
• Let his bad shooting get his defensive energy down in the 2nd quarter and early 3rd.
• I hate making player comparisons to our guys… but his game looks VERY MUCH like a young Ray Allen. Even the way he shoots with the stiff wrist flick.

I’m so excited about him. His defense and shooting will make him a contributor from day one, even if it’s not as a starter.

If he lacks a solid handle, then he sounds more like a 3 at first. That leads me to believe that we would benefit from bringing in another 2 with one of next year’s open scholarships.

 

[Huskyforlife]

14 PTS
5 REB (1 offensive)
1 AST (potential/ 1 foul assist)

2 TO
2 STL
2 BLK
1 charge drawn

4/8 2FG
1/5 3FG
3/3 FT

Played the “Blue Magic” who apparently are out of Richmond. A few D1 prospects on their team, so this isn’t a blowout like his other 2 games. Louisville bound Roosevelt Wheeler (#65 on 247) is their best player.

Played about 23 mins.

• Guards the opponents best guard pretty much all the time. Either him or the other hawkins.
• He has the ability to play really aggressively on D without being demonstrative--pretty rare. specifically, wouldn’t notice that he’s contesting in the help more than anyone, rarely gets beat 1v1, that kind of thing. Just solid.
• The 1 TO was because his teammate didn’t know what the set was and ran into him.
• The weak handle was noticeable again today. Not pretty if he’s taking more than 2-3 dribbles. Pretty bad at attacking the rim. Has a little bit on the baseline but that’s it. like very bad. No counter.
• Still a very slight player. Noticeably smaller than some teammates. But definitely bigger than a year ago
• Really athletic and long.
• Definitely an off night shooting the ball… but he’s proven to be a good shooter already. And the stroke looks faster than last year.
• Let his bad shooting get his defensive energy down in the 2nd quarter and early 3rd.
• I hate making player comparisons to our guys… but his game looks VERY MUCH like a young Ray Allen. Even the way he shoots with the stiff wrist flick.

Any impressions of Rodney Rice?

 

[husky429]

Any impressions of Rodney Rice?

I think he's a very realistic target for us. Good size, decent skill set... but he's not athletic enough to be a 5* at this point. Not a standout defender, but he's also young. Probably had 12-15 points would be my guess. He looks like he's still settling into being at a powerhouse program--next year will be the best time to get a sense of how he's improving.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I think he's a very realistic target for us. Good size, decent skill set... but he's not athletic enough to be a 5* at this point. Not a standout defender, but he's also young. Probably had 12-15 points would be my guess. He looks like he's still settling into being at a powerhouse program--next year will be the best time to get a sense of how he's improving.

Wonder if we stayed on him post Hunter.

 

[husky429]

Wonder if we stayed on him post Hunter.

No idea. From what I've gathered Justise Williams is the big priority at the combo-guard spot though. Might be Hurley's first consensus 5*

 

[Huskyforlife]

No idea. From what I've gathered Justise Williams is the big priority at the combo-guard spot though. Might be Hurley's first consensus 5*

Seems to be the case. Wonder if Floyd's commitment impacted that.

 

[auror]

No idea. From what I've gathered Justise Williams is the big priority at the combo-guard spot though. Might be Hurley's first consensus 5*

Tom Moore is on the case.

 

[Chief00]

Nice to get excited but my god, were those mannequins they were playing against???

Hawkins is a Dam Break recruit. He’s very good.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Hawkins is a Dam Break recruit. He’s very good.

Oh thank god. I was concerned.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Love the mentions of defense. As much as we liked Gaffney and Bouk coming in, they weren’t known for defense. Bouk has improved a lot from last year. Gaff a little. I think Andre Jackson is going to be a defensive beast eventually. Great instincts and length

I love the size of Hawkins and Floyd. I don’t mind Hurley going 3 guards if they are all 6’4“ to 6’6”. Diggins is smaller. Anybody have comments on his defense?

 

[Umami Zen]

I think he's a very realistic target for us. Good size, decent skill set... but he's not athletic enough to be a 5* at this point. Not a standout defender, but he's also young. Probably had 12-15 points would be my guess. He looks like he's still settling into being at a powerhouse program--next year will be the best time to get a sense of how he's improving.

429..Haven't seen a lot of tape on some of our 2022 targets (now that CF is on board).. Curious about your opinion on the following guys and is their redundancy in their game..

Justice.. Donald Hand Jr.. Yann Farrell.. Who's skill set/ size would/could fit for 2022?? In other words.. Is it between these three guys for a spot??(or someone not mentioned) Or could some combination of them theoretically co-exist with CF/JHawk/Sool/Gaffney??

Curiosity question.. Respect your opinion/eye-for-talent..And of course.. Who has moved on and who has stayed would be pure speculation so didn't want to go there.. More about prospective recruits and their similarities/differences re:skill sets. Maybe you think there's an obvious choice ??

Limiting this narrative to SG/SF/Wings vs other positions/needs..

 

[Chin Diesel]

I told folks here 2.5 years ago when I saw him as a going to be sophomore playing AAU that this kid was the real deal
Never thought he would be on the UConn watch list - Maryland/Georgetown/Nova was my thought at that time
He is fearless and aggressive, never mind skilled
He will play 2 seasons at UConn and be a top 10 pick

Now that's the way you throw down a gauntlet with a hot take. None of this "maybe", "could be", "potentially" wuss stuff. Straight up hard call prediction.

 

[husky429]

Love the mentions of defense. As much as we liked Gaffney and Bouk coming in, they weren’t known for defense. Bouk has improved a lot from last year. Gaff a little. I think Andre Jackson is going to be a defensive beast eventually. Great instincts and length

I love the size of Hawkins and Floyd. I don’t mind Hurley going 3 guards if they are all 6’4“ to 6’6”. Diggins is smaller. Anybody have comments on his defense?

Diggins at this juncture is a pretty disengaged defender. Doesn't slide his feet--he just reaches.

I don't think he'll ever be great because he isn't a super athlete, but I do think when he's not playing the entire game and having the ball in his hands 95% of the time, he'll be able to provide more on that end. Similar to RJ... reputation as a bad defender when he got here, but has shaped up to pretty darn good because he isn't a #1 option on his team.

 

[husky429]

429..Haven't seen a lot of tape on some of our 2022 targets (now that CF is on board).. Curious about your opinion on the following guys and is their redundancy in their game..

Justice.. Donald Hand Jr.. Yann Farrell.. Who's skill set/ size would/could fit for 2022?? In other words.. Is it between these three guys for a spot??(or someone not mentioned) Or could some combination of them theoretically co-exist with CF/JHawk/Sool/Gaffney??

Curiosity question.. Respect your opinion/eye-for-talent..And of course.. Who has moved on and who has stayed would be pure speculation so didn't want to go there.. More about prospective recruits and their similarities/differences re:skill sets. Maybe you think there's an obvious choice ??

Limiting this narrative to SG/SF/Wings vs other positions/needs..

I think Justice Williams, Zion Cruz, JJ Starling, Donald Hand Jr., Rodney Rice, Mark Armstrong, and probably a couple others I'm forgetting are probably one spot we're trying to fill. They're all kind of 1/2 combo types. I'm not sure how hard we're targeting any of them, but we're likely to have 4 spots open, so I don't think Corey Floyd Jr. recruitment impacts them too much. CFJr. is more of a 2/3 despite a little bit less size anyways.

Cam Whitmore, Yann Farrell and that kid from IMG (Jarace?) are probably the 3/4 type of players we're after.

Then Clingan and Lively at the 5. Not sure about Filipowski at the 4.

 

[HooperScooper]

14 PTS
5 REB (1 offensive)
2 AST (potential/ 1 foul assist)

2 TO
2 STL
2 BLK
1 charge drawn

4/8 2FG
1/5 3FG
3/3 FT

Played the “Blue Magic” who apparently are out of Richmond. A few D1 prospects on their team, so this isn’t a blowout like his other 2 games. Louisville bound Roosevelt Wheeler (#65 on 247) is their best player.

Played about 23 mins.

• Guards the opponents best guard pretty much all the time. Either him or the other hawkins.
• He has the ability to play really aggressively on D without being demonstrative--pretty rare. specifically, wouldn’t notice that he’s contesting in the help more than anyone, rarely gets beat 1v1, that kind of thing. Just solid.
• The 1 TO was because his teammate didn’t know what the set was and ran into him.
• The weak handle was noticeable again today. Not pretty if he’s taking more than 2-3 dribbles. Pretty bad at attacking the rim. Has a little bit on the baseline but that’s it. like very bad. No counter.
• Still a very slight player. Noticeably smaller than some teammates. But definitely bigger than a year ago
• Really athletic and long.
• Definitely an off night shooting the ball… but he’s proven to be a good shooter already. And the stroke looks faster than last year.
• Let his bad shooting get his defensive energy down in the 2nd quarter and early 3rd.
• I hate making player comparisons to our guys… but his game looks VERY MUCH like a young Ray Allen. Even the way he shoots with the stiff wrist flick.

Yours is better but here is Eric Bossi's assessment of the game.

I'm really curious to see what type of impact four-star shooting guard Jordan Hawkins is going to make at Connecticut. At 6-foot-4 he's got long arms and is a quick twitch guy who can turn the corner on a pick and roll or get above the rim in a hurry. He can also settle for jumpers and float in and out of games. Rail thin, he's getting coaching from Mike Jones at Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha that is going to prepare him for the next level and he's got all the tools to explode once he hits a weight room and gets a little more physical. He didn't shoot out of the world on Saturday, but the shot looks clean and he finished with a solid 14 point, five rebound effort.

The St. James NIBC Invitational: Tickets punched, the chase is on and hitting the radar

SPRINGFIELD, Va. -- Just outside of Washington D.C., St. James NIBC Invitational is now one week deep into an ambitious high school bubble featuring top talent from all around

247sports.com

 

[Umami Zen]

I think Justice Williams, Zion Cruz, JJ Starling, Donald Hand Jr., Rodney Rice, Mark Armstrong, and probably a couple others I'm forgetting are probably one spot we're trying to fill. They're all kind of 1/2 combo types. I'm not sure how hard we're targeting any of them, but we're likely to have 4 spots open, so I don't think Corey Floyd Jr. recruitment impacts them too much. CFJr. is more of a 2/3 despite a little bit less size anyways.

Cam Whitmore, Yann Farrell and that kid from IMG (Jarace?) are probably the 3/4 type of players we're after.

Then Clingan and Lively at the 5. Not sure about Filipowski at the 4.

Thanks.. Clears things up. .Reconfirms some of my thinking.. Will be interesting to see who is the next to jump on the train leaving for Storrs.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

 

[husky429]

accroding to this...https://twitter.com/_proinsight/status/1351193502160457729/photo/2

9/15 shooting doesn't make any sense. At minimum he would have had 18 points then, right?

Stats were....

17 PTS
5 REB
1 AST

0 TO
0 STL
1 BLK

4/5 2FG
2/4 3FG
3/4 FT

 

[BGesus4]

accroding to this...https://twitter.com/_proinsight/status/1351193502160457729/photo/2

9/15 shooting doesn't make any sense. At minimum he would have had 18 points then, right?

Stats were....

17 PTS
5 REB
1 AST

0 TO
0 STL
1 BLK

4/5 2FG
2/4 3FG
3/4 FT

I think it was Cardwell who was 9/15

 

[husky429]

His stats in the 3 games I have are

16.0 PPG
5.0 RPG
1.0 APG

1 TO
0.7 STL
1.0 BLK

18/31 FG = 58% (10.3 attempts)
13/19 2FG = 68% (6.3 attempts)
5/12 3FG = 42% (4 attempts)
7/9 FT = 78% (3 attempts)


FWIW last year in 6 games I saw he averaged.

11.5 PTS
3.0 REB
0.6 AST

1.2 TO
0.7 STL
0 BLK

25/50 FG = 50% (8.3 attempts per)
10/20 3FG = 50% (3.3 attempts per)
9/13 FT = 69% (2.6 attempts per)

Obviously just a super efficient scorer. The next step for him is going to be creating for himself. At least learning how to drive the ball 1v1