Despite recent on-court struggles, Hawkins is finding balance

By Ryan Greene

Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009 | 2:30 a.m.

Sure, part of it has to do with the mental effect of a minor shooting slump.

But the stronger force behind UNLV freshman guard Justin Hawkins' recent struggles on the floor involves the other part of the freshman introduction into college life.

Like any newbie on campus, he's dealt with figuring out how to successfully balance his priorities as both a key contributor off the bench and a diligent student in the classroom.

Only Hawkins' learning curve is more visible than that of most college freshmen, given his status as a member of the school's most publicized athletic program.

"I kind of got flustered, kind of got my priorities not mixed up, but there was a lot going on," he said. "I was cramming for finals, and I also had to be in the gym at the same time. You could say time-management issues."

Hawkins surprised many with his early contributions.

In UNLV's first five games of the season, he was on the floor 17.8 minutes per contest, averaging 7.8 points on 12-of-26 shooting and 2.8 rebounds.

Against Arizona on Dec. 2 — his first time playing in front of a hostile crowd on the road as a Rebel — Hawkins was scoreless in eight minutes.

Since then, he hasn't quite rediscovered his footing in terms of production. In that five-game stretch, he has played nine minutes a game, shot just 1-of-6 from the floor and grabbed only two rebounds.

"Well, his confidence offensively hasn't been what it was earlier," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "But he'll bounce back. It's just a matter of time.

"I think, typically, it's a matter of shots not going in, but making a couple takes care of that quickly."

Those opportunities to hit shots will continue to come, Kruger said, as the recent struggles have not buried Hawkins in the depths of any kind of set rotation.

That knowledge has had Hawkins in the gym after practice regularly hoisting extra shots.

Now that he has the time, of course. His hectic week of final exams wrapped up Wednesday, lifting a weight from his shoulders.

"I'm starting to get more confident," he said. "Since finals were over with, I'm in the gym a lot more. For next semester, I 'll know how to balance it between studying and playing basketball.

"I can't say I studied too much, but I think the times I did study were maybe the wrong times."

It's a good thing he's figured out how to balance his time after just one semester, because he's about to become a double major. His original plan was to get a business administration degree, but now he's going for another in hotel management.

And despite the struggles managing his schedule in the first semester, he still carried a 3.1 GPA.

On top of that, he learned a valuable lesson on the court, too.

"With this team, we're so competitive that if you have a little drop-off, you can go from sixth man to tenth man in a matter of days," he said. "So it's just crazy. But I think me being a freshman, time management is the biggest issue."

Willis sits out of practice, could sit out today

Hawkins may receive more minutes than usual today with South Carolina Upstate (1-8) visiting the Thomas & Mack Center for a 7 p.m. tipoff against UNLV (9-1).

Junior guard Tre'Von Willis — the Rebels' leading scorer this season with a 16.1 ppg average — sat out Friday morning's practice with an ankle injury.

He twisted his left ankle toward the end of the first half in Thursday's 72-63 victory over Weber State but still managed to play 11 minutes after the intermission. However, he limped out of the arena afterward and was walking gingerly Friday as his teammates ran drills.

"I don't think the back is as much of a worry to him right now, because the ankle's pretty sore," Kruger said of Willis, who has experienced mild back soreness in the last week. "He wasn't full speed in the second half, but I thought he battled it pretty well. It was stiff this morning.

"We'll see how he feels. If he can play, he'll play. If he can't, then of course he won't. But I have no idea."

Regardless, Kruger said he'll go with the same starting lineup — Oscar Bellfield, Kendall Wallace, Derrick Jasper, Chace Stanback and Matt Shaw — for the third consecutive game.

Yes, another potential transfer: Gordon visits today

UNLV has become a haven for those who couldn't quite find their niche at bigger programs in recent years.

Now, Kruger may have another name to add to that list, which already includes Willis, Jasper, Stanback, Quintrell Thomas and, of course, his son, Kevin Kruger.

Drew Gordon, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound sophomore forward out of Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose, Calif., will visit the Mack tonight.

He left Ben Howland's team at UCLA following a Nov. 29 loss to Long Beach State, with the two not seeing eye-to-eye. At that point, he was averaging 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Coming out of high school, Gordon was ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 45-overall prospect in his class.

He has already taken visits to New Mexico and Notre Dame in what is a whirlwind recruiting process. He's also thought to be looking seriously at San Diego State.

He's apparently making an effort to enroll at his next destination in time for the spring semester, which would make him eligible for more than half of the 2010-11 season.