“That’s for all the kids in Gaithersburg, Maryland that didn’t think they could do it. I did it. Now you can do it.” Jordan Hawkins gave a shout out to his hometown right after helping lead the UConn Huskies to the NCAA men’s basketball championship in April.
The Gaithersburg native scored 16 points in the national championship game — including a clutch 3-pointer down the stretch — against San Diego State and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
The UConn team was honored at the White House on May 26. Hawkins talked to MCM after the ceremony.
Hawkins talked to @mymcmedia about being honored so close to home and his cousin Angel Reese whose LSU Tigers were honored by President Biden earlier in the day. And of course that eagerly anticipated family cookout! pic.twitter.com/SrJU9I46eX
— Joe Yasharoff (@JYash) May 26, 2023
Gaithersburg’s own Jordan Hawkins selected by New Orleans with 14th pick in NBA Draft. @mymcmedia https://t.co/M0JeZPWAzc
— Joe Yasharoff (@JYash) June 23, 2023
Hawkins played at Gaithersburg High School for two years, averaging 20.2 points per game his sophomore season, then transferred to DeMatha for his final two years of high school. In the 2020-21 season, Hawkins averaged 19.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game for the Stags and was named Gatorade Maryland Player of the Year.
A day before UConn won the title, Hawkins’ cousin Angel Reese led LSU to the women’s NCAA national championship making for quite a family dynamic and the promise of an epic family barbecue that both have talked about.
Hawkins was taken 14th overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. He is averaging 10.7 points per game, the sixth leading rookie scorer in the NBA this season. Hawkins scored a career-high 31 points against Denver on Nov. 6.
