Elijah Hawkins 5'11" PG from Howard

[RoyalShock]

A PG that can't be at 2:1 A/TO I wouldn't call good. He had 11 games where he failed to have more assists than turnovers. That's a problem.

His A/TO was less than 1.5/1.

And this wasn't against the greatest competition. I see no reason to believe that it would be better against much better competition than he saw in the MEAC.

While Porter was very close, the last PG we had with an A/TO of 2:1 or better was Landry. I think Burton's ratio wasn't much different than Hawkins. I'm also not sure the last time we had a PG average 6 assists.

But your point about the competition he's doing that against is valid. And it's difficult to know just how much their HC relied on him to be the catalyst.

I said this in the portal thread, but unless Mills and company can coach the high turnover rate out of him, I think he'd only be a backup to Cortes and I doubt he would be happy here.

[jcdshocker]

A PG that can't be at 2:1 A/TO I wouldn't call good. He had 11 games where he failed to have more assists than turnovers. That's a problem.

His A/TO was less than 1.5/1.

And this wasn't against the greatest competition. I see no reason to believe that it would be better against much better competition than he saw in the MEAC.

I somewhat agree that A/TO should be at least 2:1. But Porter did not quite have those numbers and he was 3rd Team all conference. You never know if under Mills, his TOs might go down. There are other qualities to measure point guards. Steals, scoring, leadership abilities, etc. I don’t know if Hawkins possesses these or not. Still worth looking at this kid, especially with no Abmas.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

Turnovers sometimes have more to do with the talent of the other players around you than they do with you. Just saying. I am not saying that is all that led to the high TO numbers for Hawkins but it could have played a part.

[SubGod22]

Turnovers sometimes have more to do with the talent of the other players around you than they do with you. Just saying. I am not saying that is all that led to the high TO numbers for Hawkins but it could have played a part.

I'd think assists play more into that than turnovers, but I get what you're saying. But if he had weak links that led to a number of turnovers and he wasn't able to adjust to them I don't think that speaks greatly of him learning to cut down on TOs either. You learn what passes can be handled by certain players. Where they want passes, how much heat they can handle on them. How aware they are of things.

[ShockTalk]

While Porter was very close, the last PG we had with an A/TO of 2:1 or better was Landry. I think Burton's ratio wasn't much different than Hawkins. I'm also not sure the last time we had a PG average 6 assists.

But your point about the competition he's doing that against is valid. And it's difficult to know just how much their HC relied on him to be the catalyst.

I said this in the portal thread, but unless Mills and company can coach the high turnover rate out of him, I think he'd only be a backup to Cortes and I doubt he would be happy here.

Trivia: You may want to qualify that to starting PG. Ricky Torres, who played 15+ mpg and couldn't hit a shot to save his soul, had 90 assists with only 37 TOs in the 18-19 season.

[Kung Wu]

I want three TRUE PGs. One damn good one, one understudy, and then a young backup if either of the other two get hurt or sick and that's aggressive enough to make the first two work hard during practice.

[SubGod22]

I don't know if we can afford three at this point. We still need a PF, or two, and a C along with another PG.

I guess we have the young understudy/emergency guy with the kid from Nigeria. So I guess we could have three.

[Kung Wu]

I don't know if we can afford three at this point. We still need a PF, or two, and a C along with another PG.

I guess we have the young understudy/emergency guy with the kid from Nigeria. So I guess we could have three.

Joy looks comfortable with the ball in his hands for sure, but in the game I watched he was playing the 2 and was not playing a true PG role. Might be because they had a more senior kid carrying the ball up court though. He was defending the PG, and can pass like a PG no doubt. I just didn't get to see him carrying the ball enough to get a feel for the limits of his handles.

[forevershockerfan]

Joy looks comfortable with the ball in his hands for sure, but in the game I watched he was playing the 2 and was not playing a true PG roll. Might be because they had a more senior kid carrying the ball up court though. He was defending the PG, and can pass like a PG no doubt. I just didn't get to see him carrying the ball enough to get a feel for the limits of his handles.

Thanks for your input on Joy. I'm wishing and hoping for a splash more than a splish. His ups are way above average.

I'm also hoping that some of our existing players adapt better into the new system. An example of this was the improvement that Henry Carr and Gary Cundiff made under Fogler's System their Senior year over their Junior year during HCGS final Season of coaching here.

Beyond that, I'm hoping Colby Rogers is as good as I hope he will be. Of our new recruits so far, I do think that Belverly will be solid on both sides of the court. These 2 players should both be starters IMO with what I see so far.

Remember how key it was getting Porter off the portal and back in our lineup? If KP splashes back into our Shocker garb, he will be at least 1 returning Shocker starter who will keep improving and would help us inside with solid passing to the shooters and scorers I hope we finally have. These final 4 recruits need to be lunkers for this new System if possible.

[1972Shocker]

I see Joy as being a project with a lot of physical tools to develop into a solid player. I really doubt he is being brought to be a key contributor this coming season. But as someone mentioned we have 13 scholarships to use and you don't need 13 guys expecting to play 20 minutes or more game. Now if you can find guys who are willing to be patient and develop that you can keep around long enough to get there is the challenge.

[SkoShox]

Can’t confirm but I’m pretty sure Elijah is in town this weekend. Unless he has a lookalike with a dad who wears Howard basketball apparel around a local bbq joint.

[WstateU]

Can’t confirm but I’m pretty sure Elijah is in town this weekend. Unless he has a lookalike with a dad who wears Howard basketball apparel around a local bbq joint.

Narrow it down a bit for ole WstateU; what bbq joint are we talkin' about?

Bite Me BBQ
B&C Barbeque
When Pigs Fly BBQ
or none of the above?

[TrackSuitAndTie]

Can’t confirm but I’m pretty sure Elijah is in town this weekend. Unless he has a lookalike with a dad who wears Howard basketball apparel around a local bbq joint.

Before I get my hopes up, did Elijah have a cookie cake with him?

[WuDrWu]

B & C BBQ are excellent supports of WSU Athletics. Not saying that's where he saw them.

[1972Shocker]

B & C BBQ are excellent supports of WSU Athletics. Not saying that's where he saw them.

Might be a good NIL opportunity for B & C and for Elijah.

"As the Shockers' point guard it is my job to lead my team on the court. When it's time to chow down I often will lead the team to B & C BBQ for some great eats."