Last night, for a lot of us sitting along the baseline, Deontae Hawkins of All-Ohio Red was that kid. The first kid to really pop during opening round play. Hawkins goes about 6- foot-7 innate qualities that made me think the kid really has a chance to move from a mid-major plus recruit to a bona fide high major stud. Hawkins is long, and while one of my favorite dudes in this business likes to talk about length not being a skill, if you look up and down the rosters of teams that go deep in NCAA tournament play, you’re going to find a great deal of athletic length. One head coach recently told his top assistant, who’s new to that particular staff and was brought in because he’s the complete package with a number of years in the business, “if I take all the kids you’re recruiting I’m gonna have a bunch of long/athletic guys.” The assistant’s response: “Yep, and we’re gonna win a lot of EEF-Ing games too!” Well, a guy like Hawkins, if developed properly strength and skill-wise (and he’s in no way grossly deficient in either department) will win you a lot of games at the next level if he continues to play with the passion and bounce that he exhibited last night. Hawkins ran the floor, finished through contact at the rim with authority, and showed enough handle and range to wet the taste buds of every scout watching. His body and lateral movement, not to mention his length, makes you envision a lock down defender once he’s told he has to do it to get on the court (like every kid is besides a handful).
www.nbebasketball.com