Dom Amore: Life in the NBA agreeing with UConn’s Jordan Hawkins
BOSTON — Jordan Hawkins’ name was called Sunday and he strode out to the center of the XL Center for a wave.
And something happened, something that barely seemed possible.
“Yeah, that standing ovation I got, man, it kind of made me emotional,” Hawkins said. “That’s a place I put a lot of work in, a special moment for me for sure.”
It takes a lot to faze Hawkins, 21, an NBA rookie matter-of-fact enough to describe his introductions to LeBron James and Steph Curry as, “That was cool. That was dope. … Yeah.”
Once you’re part of a national championship team, go to the NBA via the lottery, you’ve checked the necessary boxes for a rousing welcome upon any return to Connecticut, but Hawkins is in The League now, taking the grind, the ups, the downs, all that goes with living his best life in stride. Never too high or low, Hawkins is still shooting the ball like a sax player blowing smooth jazz, always in rhythm, never rushed, never laborious.
Following the Pelicans’ shootaround Monday morning, hours before their game against the Celtics at TD Garden, there was Hawkins getting up a few dozen more 3-point shots, maybe letting out a quick curse word after a miss, as in once or twice in about 10 minutes.
“I’d been around a lot of special people in that (UConn) program,” he said, taking a courtside seat for a chat with The Courant. “People that looked out for me so that, now that I’m here, they made sure I was straight so I could do it myself.”
Andre Jackson is carving out a niche with the Bucks by force of will. Adama Sanogo has shuttled between the G League and the Bulls, looking for the permanent role. Hawkins, 6 feet 5, taken by New Orleans with the 14th overall pick, has been one of the more talked-about rookies in the NBA, averaging 10.8 points in 22 minutes per game, shooting 39.4 percent on threes.
“I came in with the attitude I belong here,” said Hawkins, 21. “There’s a reason I got drafted where I got drafted. I put in the work, and shown I can be an NBA player. All I had to do was show other people.”
Hawkins hit double figures in the third game of the season, and scored 31 against Denver on Nov. 6, going 7-for-14 on threes. He made 31 threes in his first 11 games, best start ever for a rookie in that category.
Pelicans coach Willie Green has said he’s reminded of Ray Allen, Steph Curry, JJ Reddick and Klay Thompson in Hawkins’ skill set and makeup.
“His confidence,” Green said. “He’s extremely confident in his ability and I love that about him. He comes into every game, every practice, and it doesn’t matter how many times he misses, he’s going to shoot it again. We feel very comfortable putting on the floor, and he’s excited about getting on the floor and competing. He’s a competitor.”
Despite all this, the Pelicans sent Hawkins down to the G League on Dec. 28. There was consternation among Hawkins fans back in Connecticut, but he took it like a professional.
“They made it really clear it wasn’t a punishment or anything,” he said. “They just wanted me to work on my game because I wasn’t really playing as much at that time of the season. Development of my game on the defensive end, keeping my rhythm on offense, I just looked at it as an opportunity to play basketball.”
He reported to Birmingham without sulking, and in his first game Hawkins scored 32 points, with seven rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 33 minutes.
There was no second game. Hawkins was back with New Orleans by New Year’s Eve.
“Listen, it starts at home before they get here,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “Craig and Jasmine, the job they did with their son. The accountability, never the victim. Any time there were struggles at UConn, it was a Jordan issue, not a coach-screwing-him issue. When you have that type of base, and talent, there’s a mindset there. He’s the perfect modern NBA player, his skill set and the way he shoots, but when he went down to the G League he handled it like a pro, like a man.”
Dom Amore: UConn’s Andre Jackson Jr. a ‘prototype’ fit with Bucks, NBA
Hawkins scored in double figures in four of the first five games in January, then dropped 34 on the Mavericks Jan. 13, going 6-for-12 on threes.
“I feel like the big games at UConn were a little different because it settles in a little bit more,” Hawkins said. “Here, you drop 30 and you’ve probably got a back-to-back, you’ve got to just go ahead, do it again.”
His next big output: 21 points in 24 minutes vs. Charlotte on Jan. 17.
The Pelicans (26-20) are fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, have depth and veterans, which keeps Hawkins’ minutes from growing the way they might somewhere else. Players like Larry Nance Jr., a nine-year NBA veteran, CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram, Naji Marshall are among teammates who have helped guide Hawkins through Year One.
“The guys who’ve been in the league a couple of years now,” Hawkins said. “Larry’s done a great job, teaching me the ins and outs to the league, what it means to be a vet, how you carry yourself like a vet.”
Hawkins passed all the tests to get here, starting with his career at DeMatha Catholic in Maryland, one of the highest-profile high school programs in the U.S., and UConn, where he fulfilled the expectation of helping the program return to the top.
The NBA, where Hawkins is earning $4.2 million this season, presents new challenges, the grinding schedule, more media access, less for patience from fans in and out of the arenas. None of it fazes Jordan Hawkins, who has made being unfazed a much an art as his shooting stroke. He never pressured himself to be a lottery pick; he just “ran his race, his marathon,” he says, and things have happened as though inevitable.
“My last year at UConn, Coach Hurley was talking about how I had to act a certain way, do certain things the same way every single day,” Hawkins said. “Be the same person every single day. That’s what I try to do, come to the gym every day and be the same guy no matter what’s going on in my outside life. Being an every day guy, someone they can rely on.”
Dom Amore: Adama Sanogo puts his UConn experience to work as he grows into his pro career
