Cerebral Hawkins tabbed for greatness

A boy, not yet 2 weeks old, is living in the Bay Area with his parents and sister. He was given the name Justin after a college basketball player his father met and became close to while writing a book.

The boy one day will meet the man whose name he holds.

And the father will be proud of both.

“I have so much faith in Justin, that I wanted my son to be named after someone who has every chance to be and do something substantial in life,” George Dohrmann said. “We didn’t name him after a basketball player. I have every belief that one day we will tell our son, ‘This is who Justin was, but more importantly, this is who he has become.’

“If he continues to challenge himself intellectually, what can’t he be? I can’t think of anything. He could run a company. He could run a city. He could be a CEO, an athletic director, the senior senator from the state or Nevada or California. Why can’t he be a congressman?

“Whatever he becomes, he will make a wise and thoughtful choice.”

The idea of Senior Day is to remember, to reflect, to recognize those whose playing careers for a certain athletic program have neared an end.

But that’s the thing about Justin Hawkins. What has come before is not the most interesting part.

It’s more about the potential for what might be.

Hawkins will join Anthony Marshall and Quintrell Thomas as seniors honored by UNLV before today’s game against Fresno State at the Thomas & Mack Center, a final regular-season opportunity for the three to compete before a home crowd that realizes a victory will secure a second-place finish for the Rebels in the Mountain West.

I’m not sure what role Hawkins will play in today’s game or those at the conference tournament here next week or when the Rebels open NCAA Tournament play.

His final season has morphed into the worst offensive spell since the guard’s arrival from Taft (Calif.) High School, one that has seen him make 23 of 92 3-point attempts this season, including only 4 of 37 in league play.

But his strength always has been at the defensive end, at pestering and forcing others into mistakes, a skill that won him a spot in Lon Kruger’s rotation as a freshman when the then-UNLV coach planned to redshirt Hawkins. He can still defend. He hasn’t lost the ability to pester.

Dohrmann is the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who met and grew close to Hawkins while researching the book “Play Their Hearts Out,” an eight-year journey in which Dohrmann followed a group of talented young players from Southern California across the country to elite Amateur Athletic Union events. Something always was different about Hawkins. He always was more than just another good player.

This is a snapshot of him through Dohrmann’s eyes, of one who knows the player best, who believes that while coaching is something Hawkins has spoken about pursuing, it might not allow him to achieve his full potential.

“Coaching is a noble profession,” Dohrmann said. “But if Justin is to remain in athletics, he’s the person who should be running an NBA franchise. He was always the mature one, the grounded one, even at 12 years old. He was always more aware of his surroundings, of people, of what it took to really succeed. He held a level of respect the other kids didn’t.

“His should be the highest and most noble pursuit. I suppose it could be coaching for him, but I also know it could be something much more.”

It’s tough for players to stop dreaming, to accept that the window of opportunity to compete is nearly closed, that their talent level just might have reached its intended peak. Hawkins has earned a degree in hotel administration, is pursuing a master’s in public administration and believes he can play somewhere professionally.

It might be a long shot, but there is a boy in the Bay Area, not yet 2 weeks old, who was named for someone who, while a basketball player, in no way should be defined by it.

“I think Justin views this last season as a little bittersweet,” Dohrmann said. “His shot hasn’t fallen. He is disappointed, not in how the team has performed but in how he has. He wanted to do more for the team as a senior.

“He was never a kid who thought he would come to UNLV and be The Man or a huge contributor. He always understood what his role would be. I think he wants to see if he can do more as a player, but he’s not one of those kids who can’t see beyond athletics. He realizes he will enter the real world sooner rather than later.”

When he does, it will be better for it.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on “Gridlock,” ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.