Kimani: “When it’s all said and done, [Hawkins is] going to be one of best wing players that has ever played,”

[8893]

UConn men’s basketball freshman Jordan Hawkins making adjustments that are paying off in wins for the Huskies

It looks like Jordan Hawkins is starting to get out of his own way. On Tuesday night, the freshman guard dropped 15 points in the UConn men’s basketball team’s 96-73 victory over George…

www.courant.com

 

[UconnU]

Worth noting how much better of a team we are when Hawkins is playing well. That stroke is so sweet.

 

[mauconnfan]

We know he can shoot it but I loved the 2 drives stop and drop offs to the low block guys, excellent stuff. Open court, fast pace better for him now unlike half court sets. Takes time, he’ll get there.

 

[Ratso]

uh, ok

 

[UconnU]

We know he can shoot it but I loved the 2 drives stop and drop offs to the low block guys, excellent stuff. Open court, fast pace better for him now unlike half court sets. Takes time, he’ll get there.

Not only does his style suit a faster pace well it also doesn’t give him as much time to think. I’d love to see him get the ball in transition more.

 

[bmayuc]

We know he can shoot it but I loved the 2 drives stop and drop offs to the low block guys, excellent stuff. Open court, fast pace better for him now unlike half court sets. Takes time, he’ll get there.

This is the perfect call out - teams have figured out if the game is a grinder they can basically muscle him and it throws his rhythm off and he is soft with the ball. Cuz if he has space to maneuver and an ounce of confidence... watch out the nets will be on fire.

With time and some weight room and mental preparation for next year to anticipate that type of treatment (think RIP soph year) he's going to score manyyyyyy points.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

This is the perfect call out - teams have figured out if the game is a grinder they can basically muscle him and it throws his rhythm off and he is soft with the ball. Cuz if he has space to maneuver and an ounce of confidence... watch out the nets will be on fire.

With time and some weight room and mental preparation for next year to anticipate that type of treatment (think RIP soph year) he's going to score manyyyyyy points.

I agree. Hawkins could be an 18-20 pt scorer next year. Hawkins and Jackson could be a dynamic duo then throw in Sonogo and hopefully Cole, yikes.

 

[uconngb]

uh, ok

Just a bit of hyperbole ya think??

 

[navery12]

I was hoping with Sanogo's breakout people would learn how to spell his name but it appears to have gotten so much worse this season

 

[Tenspro2002]

I guess they took the cues that he responds better to hype than to criticism.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

If Polley or Hawkins or better both get hot in the tournament this team can make a deep run.
The starting five will hold there own but the bench
will determine how far we get.
If one gets 15- 18 or combined 21- 24 we will be a difficult matchup.
The bench on this team has scoring potential we haven’t seen since 2004
Keep hoping bench scoring is the difference between good and great for this team.
The psychological effect on a team that plays hard for 10 minutes and the game is close, subs made and in minutes their down double figures as three’s fall is devastating,
Call down the thunder of Rashad Anderson

 

[inWV]

If Polley or Hawkins or better both get hot in the tournament this team can make a deep run.
The starting five will hold there own but the bench
will determine how far we get.
If one gets 15- 18 or combined 21- 24 we will be a difficult matchup.
The bench on this team has scoring potential we haven’t seen since 2004
Keep hoping bench scoring is the difference between good and great for this team.
The psychological effect on a team that plays hard for 10 minutes and the game is close, subs made and in minutes their down double figures as three’s fall is devastating,
Call down the thunder of Rashad Anderson

Polley/Hawkins combo scored 23 points in a combined 30 min of play. Its actually beneficial for Hawkins to have an older shooter on the team.

 

[uconnng8]

Our HC next year is just doing early damage control and making sure we keep our studs when our guy bounces below the MD line. I joke… I hope.

 

[LIuconn]

Kimani knows JH responds from positivity and not the other way around. Pump the kid up!!

 

[UconnU]

Kimani knows JH responds from positivity and not the other way around. Pump the kid up!!

Yep. He’s a totally different player when he’s playing with confidence.

 

[McLovin]

15 points in 13 minutes… the air fryer!

 

[willie99]

I concur

 

[HuskyHawk]

That's a pretty unwise and unfair tag to place on a young guy. So he'll be Kobe Bryant, that's the new expectation? Dr. J? Dominique Wilkins? Maybe just Reggie Miller, Dwane Wade or Drexler?

If he can crack the top 5 that played at UConn, that would still be something impressive. He has a long way to go for that.

 

[BGesus4]

That's a pretty unwise and unfair tag to place on a young guy. So he'll be Kobe Bryant, that's the new expectation? Dr. J? Dominique Wilkins? Maybe just Reggie Miller, Dwane Wade or Drexler?

If he can crack the top 5 that played at UConn, that would still be something impressive. He has a long way to go for that.

Yeah I wonder if it was a misquote or he meant, “one of the best wings at UConn”

 

[Palatine]

Old basketball proverb.... "If you miss a shot, shoot until you make one. If you make shot, shoot until you miss."

Another one that applies to shooters..... "You can't make a shot until you attempt it."

In short, Hawkins just has to get 'em up.

 

[August_West]

Worth noting how much better of a team we are when Hawkins is playing well. That stroke is so sweet.

He definitely is the X factor . We can beat most teams without him but if he wants to put up 10 a game frosh year for rest of year , there are a select few teams that could touch us.

 

[Waquoit]

Kimani knows JH responds from positivity and not the other way around. Pump the kid up!!

I think that's true, we can see how down he can get on himself. Still, that much pumping could fill the Met Life Blimp.

 

[Rico444]

I loved his aggressiveness in this last game. He was shot ready and as a result he hit a good percentage of his 3s. That move where the defender thought he was going to shoot again and fell down, then Hawkins drove and passed it off to a big for an easy layup was beautiful.

 

[david]

Yeah I wonder if it was a misquote or he meant, “one of the best wings at UConn”

If you read the article at the end the quote is “When it’s all said and done, he’s going to be one of best wing players that has ever played here,”

 

[8893]

If you read the article at the end the quote is “When it’s all said and done, he’s going to be one of best wing players that has ever played here,”

Hmmm…I wondered about that when I read it, and I’m pretty sure the word “here“ was not part of the quote when I posted the article because I would not have deleted it, and I copied and pasted it from the article (and added the brackets for context). But it does make more sense, and it’s how I took the intent of the quote irrespective.

 

[inWV]

If his defense is up to par, he can stay on the floor. If his shots fall, he draws attention, which also helps the team. Defenses loosen when Hawkins and/or Polleys shots fall.

 

[3rdbass]

“He dribbled less. He was dribbling less laterally. He was playing in a straight line. I think he played off his jump shot more, and if he does that, he will have a lot more nights like tonight.”

I think this quote is important. When Hawkins doesn't over dribble and is just a North to South one he is more effective. If the lane or shot isn't open just pass the ball back. Don't try to create something by probing as his dribbling leaves a lot to be desired at this stage.

Talking about defense his block on the Georgetown player in the second half was sweet and showed his ups.

 

[awfuldan]

Hmmm…I wondered about that when I read it, and I’m pretty sure the word “here“ was not part of the quote when I posted the article because I would not have deleted it, and I copied and pasted it from the article (and added the brackets for context). But it does make more sense, and it’s how I took the intent of the quote irrespective.

It definitely got changed. Must have been a misquote. Here is the reporters original post:

 

[superjohn]

Hawkins isn't going to be as good as Jordan but I would settle with him being as good as Drexler.

 

[Shamon30]

I hear a lot of Ray Allen comparisons, but he reminds me a little more of Jeremy Lamb.