Eight schools highlight Hawes list

Spencer Hawes, the second best center in the class of 2006 behind Greg Oden, played his typical brand of cerebral and talented ball at the Kingwood Classic. Hawes, 6-foot-11, 225-pounds and out of Seattle (Wash.) Prep, told Rivals.com at the event that he is down to eight schools and has a couple visits in the works.

"I'm down to Duke, North Carolina, Connecticut, Kansas, Arizona, Stanford, UCLA and Washington," said Hawes, the No. 8 ranked player in the class of 2006. "Duke is the only school that hasn't offered, and well, you know Stanford can't officially offer until I'm admitted into school."

Despite his long school list, Hawes has picked out two California schools to visit.

"I'm planning on visiting UCLA at the beginning of June, and I'd like to visit Stanford sometime in May," he said. "I don't know who else I will visit."

With schools from the west coast to the east coast and in between on his list, Hawes is just looking for the school with the best situation for him in basketball and academics.

"I have no preference in regards to location," he said. "I'm just looking for the best school for me. I'll be looking at the components of the basketball program and the academic situation. I want to know which school can best prepare me for life with basketball or without basketball."

Hawes carries a 3.8 GPA and is planning to study Pre-Law in college.

On the court, Hawes is an extremely skilled big man with excellent hands. He has advanced footwork and post moves, which he can finish with either hand. He runs well and can ignite the fastbreak with either a crisp outlet pass or by busting out with the dribble. Defensively, he is very good at positioning himself and using his length. He is not an explosive shot blocker, however, and does need to put on weight for the college and pro game.