Jordan Hawkins had about 40 minutes from the time he was told he’d be making his first career NBA start until he was out there on the Smoothie King Center court on Tuesday night, chasing around Stephen Curry.
It must have been a surreal moment for the 21-year-old, nearly seven months removed from helping lead UConn to a national championship, with plenty of lifelong dreams accomplished and bucket-list items checked off in between.
Did Hawkins text any of his family or friends and let them know he’d be starting on Tuesday night?
“No, I didn’t tell nobody. I didn’t tell anybody,” he told reporters with a smile in the postgame press conference. He did admit that his phone was blowing up after the game.
LIVE: Jordan Hawkins https://t.co/wJ1tcbQVsP
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) October 31, 2023
“It was pretty cool, but I always downplay everything,” Hawkins said. “That’s what I do to keep myself sane. I was like OK, this is another time I’m starting. Nothing crazy.”
Hopefully they were watching anyway, as Hawkins scored 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting and 2-of-7 from three-point range in the Pelicans’ 130-102 loss. He also grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 2 assists and came up with 2 steals.
“He was solid,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green told reporters after the game. “We kind of threw him in last minute, and he was ready to play. He’s a good player, he’s going to be really good. He has a bright future. We know he can shoot the ball, he defended solid.”
Jordan Hawkins with the transition 3 pic.twitter.com/MvUl0lfIHG
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) October 31, 2023
Hawkins earned the start in the team’s third game of the season. He scored 3 points in nine minutes in the season opener and 9 points in 18 minutes in game two.
The rookie sat next to fellow former UConn star Swin Cash, who is the Pelicans’ Vice President of Basketball Operations and Team Development as he watched warmups, taking it all in as he prepared to go up against Curry, who he idolized as a kid and patterned his game after in college. What did he learn?
“He’s really good at basketball,” he said, shaking his head and smiling.
“It was pretty cool. I didn’t want to fanboy or anything, but I was watching him warm up and everything. Those are the things you’ve got to cherish, so I did. I caught myself saying, I’m guarding Steph Curry. It was kind of a crazy moment.”
Hawkins said he used to watch film of Curry before UConn games and try and incorporate some of the two-time MVP’s off-ball movement into his game.
“When I was in college, I used to watch him all the time, because that’s kind of how I played in college. Just non-stop movement. I used to take some of his tricks and put it in my bag. But it’s different when you really play him.”
UConn fans will get a chance to see Hawkins in his next game on Wednesday, as the Pelicans travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Jackson, Sanogo yet to make impact
UConn’s other rookies haven’t seen much action through three NBA games. Milwaukee Bucks forward Andre Jackson, who was taken with the 36th overall pick in the draft, has played just seven minutes so far, in a blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 29. He’s yet to score, having missed his only 3-point attempt, though he did come up with four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Adama Sanogo, who is on a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls, made the team’s opening night roster but has yet to appear in an NBA game.
Commercials Cooperation Advertisements:
(1) IT Teacher IT Freelance
立刻註冊及報名電腦補習課程吧!
电子计算机 -教育 -IT 電腦班” ( IT電腦補習 ) 提供一個方便的电子计算机 教育平台, 為大家配對信息技术, 電腦 老師, IT freelance 和 programming expert. 讓大家方便地就能找到合適的電腦補習, 電腦班, 家教, 私人老師.
We are a education and information platform which you can find a IT private tutorial teacher or freelance.
Also we provide different information about information technology, Computer, programming, mobile, Android, apple, game, movie, anime, animation…
(2) ITSec
www.ITSeceu.uk
Secure Your Computers from Cyber Threats and mitigate risks with professional services to defend Hackers.
ITSec provide IT Security and Compliance Services, including IT Compliance Services, Risk Assessment, IT Audit, Security Assessment and Audit, ISO 27001 Consulting and Certification, GDPR Compliance Services, Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), Penetration test, Ethical Hacking, Vulnerabilities scan, IT Consulting, Data Privacy Consulting, Data Protection Services, Information Security Consulting, Cyber Security Consulting, Network Security Audit, Security Awareness Training.
Contact us right away.
Email (Prefer using email to contact us):
SalesExecutive@ITSec.vip