AJ Hawkins

[WSU Cowboy]

Congratulations to AJ. He got married this last weekend!!! AJ here is wishing you and your bride
a wonderful life together.

[WstateU]

I realize highlights can be deceiving, but... Wowie Kazowie! :good:

P.S. The 360 was sweet!

[wu_shizzle]

The alley from beyond half court was sick.

Two guys were standing in the paint going "What the..."

Between AJ, DKyles and EO, they better bolt down the roof of the Chuck extra tight.

[rrshock]

In due time, AJ will very well be one of our "go to" players.

About 5 seconds into the first game. That's the time it will happen.

[The Mad Hatter]

I realize highlights can be deceiving, but... Wowie Kazowie! :good:

P.S. The 360 was sweet!

Highlights can be deceiving, but it gets a lot of credibility from:

A. It being highlights of Division I competition (including at Syracuse with the big block on Harris).

B. It corresponding to the fact that he was averaging double digit scoring as an underclassman (not just all the good plays that a player with poor stats ever made).

C. It matches up with the athleticism that the coaches have talked about and that has been obvious to anyone watching when he as been on the court (such as Shocker Madness).

I think that you should feel free to make that an unmitigated "Wowie Kazowie!"

[rrshock]

I realize highlights can be deceiving, but... Wowie Kazowie! :good:

P.S. The 360 was sweet!

Highlights can be deceiving, but it gets a lot of credibility from:

A. It being highlights of Division I competition (including at Syracuse with the big block on Harris).

B. It corresponding to the fact that he was averaging double digit scoring as an underclassman (not just all the good plays that a player with poor stats ever made).

C. It matches up with the athleticism that the coaches have talked about and that has been obvious to anyone watching when he as been on the court (such as Shocker Madness).

I think that you should feel free to make that an unmitigated "Wowie Kazowie!"

I'll second that!

AJ is the real deal. I think we all will enjoy what he has to offer when he steps on the court.

[WstateU]

I realize highlights can be deceiving, but... Wowie Kazowie! :good:

P.S. The 360 was sweet!

Highlights can be deceiving, but it gets a lot of credibility from:

A. It being highlights of Division I competition (including at Syracuse with the big block on Harris).

B. It corresponding to the fact that he was averaging double digit scoring as an underclassman (not just all the good plays that a player with poor stats ever made).

C. It matches up with the athleticism that the coaches have talked about and that has been obvious to anyone watching when he as been on the court (such as Shocker Madness).

I think that you should feel free to make that an unmitigated "Wowie Kazowie!"

"Wowie Kazowie!" :D

[SubGod22]

That's better.

[mvc champs]

Man, AJ looks good. I am not going to go out on a limb and proclaim he is going to be better than PJ, because PJ is my man, but he will be more explosive

[The Mad Hatter]

Man, AJ looks good. I am not going to go out on a limb and proclaim he is going to be better than PJ, because PJ is my man, but he will be more explosive

There is no question that he is more explosive. What made PJ special was his ability to do everything (scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks). My guess is that AJ will be better than PJ in scoring, but not quite as good as him in some of the other areas. Time will tell, but it certainly appears that AJ will take a lot of the sting out of PJ departing.

[SubGod22]

Man, AJ looks good. I am not going to go out on a limb and proclaim he is going to be better than PJ, because PJ is my man, but he will be more explosive

There is no question that he is more explosive. What made PJ special was his ability to do everything (scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks). My guess is that AJ will be better than PJ in scoring, but not quite as good as him in some of the other areas. Time will tell, but it certainly appears that AJ will take a lot of the sting out of PJ departing.

Thank God. PJ was the one guy who could create for himself and get into traffic and finish. I sometimes wish he would have done it more but it was a nice thing to have.

[rrshock]

Man, AJ looks good. I am not going to go out on a limb and proclaim he is going to be better than PJ, because PJ is my man, but he will be more explosive

There is no question that he is more explosive. What made PJ special was his ability to do everything (scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks). My guess is that AJ will be better than PJ in scoring, but not quite as good as him in some of the other areas. Time will tell, but it certainly appears that AJ will take a lot of the sting out of PJ departing.

Thank God. PJ was the one guy who could create for himself and get into traffic and finish. I sometimes wish he would have done it more but it was a nice thing to have.

I guess we can think of AJ as a 2 year extension on PJ? At least it will be close.

[RoyalShock]

Six years of PJAJ! (Pizazz, but with an accent!)

[mattdalt]

I have not seen the young man play, so this is pure speculation. During the course of the season, when HCGM was referencing AJ, he seemed to pick his words carefully. He wanted everyone to know how good AJ is, without putting down PJ. I got the impression that if you are impressed with PJ, you are about to see a bigger, stronger, much better version of PJ by the name of AJ.

I even thought I heard, on more than one occasion, that AJ was dominating practice, and by practice, I guessed he meant PJ.

PJ is good, WSU needs better, to make a consistent run in the tourney.

And yes I know that PJ was an integral part of the sweet 16 run, but life is a lot easier with the POY on your team, and let's face it, who saw PJ having a career game against Tennessee?

[Wuzee]

Gotta chime in on this.

I went up to Koch last summer to see the individual workouts. The wing guards were the group working when I was there (PJ, AJ, Lance and Graham).

They played a game of 2 on 2 with the loser doing pushups. It was PJ and Graham vs AJ and Lance. Not only did AJ not school PJ ... PJ and Graham took them 10-0. My sense was that PJ could have taken AJ to the rack anytime he wanted. The opposite was not true.

Coach was up mocking AJ from half court, yelling "That's A-10 defense. That ain't gonna cut it, A.J. ... You're in the Valley now."

Of course, that was only one day, but what it may indicate is that A) A.J. has used his off year wisely and really busted his tail in practice; and B) It's a great day to be a Shocker.