Hawes Listing a Number of High-Majors

The Friends of Hoop team has it’s fair share of high-major talent. With Martell Webster, Micah Downs, Jon Brockman and Mitchell Johnson on the roster, college coaches don’t have to look very hard to find a big time prospect. In their trips to see the Northwestern team, they’ve been able to get a glimpse of another intriguing player, 6-foot-11, 215-pound center Spencer Hawes.

The class of 2006 prospect from Seattle (Wash.) Prep product has raised the eyebrows of college coaches this summer. He’s shined at the Nike Hoop Jamboree, the Nike All-American camp and most recently the Nike Peach Jam. He’s shown a great understanding of the game and a willingness to battle inside as a true back to the basket player. That’s appealing to high-majors.

“I don’t even know who is recruiting me, to be honest with you,” Hawes said. “There is not really a list right now but Washington, Gonzaga, UCLA, Arizona, Stanford, NC State, Texas, Notre Dame and Kansas are some of the schools that send me stuff. I don’t want to leave anyone off but those are the ones that come to mind. I’ll cut it down later.”

He doesn’t try to force the issue when playing, but rather just play sound basketball. Playing alongside Brockman, arguably one of the top power forwards in 2005, Hawes has picked up some of his older teammate’s tricks of the trade.

“I’m hard worker. I’m not the tallest or biggest player but I try to work like I’m the biggest,” he said. “I try to be a warrior out there and play with confidence.”

With one more major tournament on the schedule for the 2004 AAU season, the Main Event in Las Vegas, Hawes is looking forward to his last go round in front of coaches.

“You learn things for yourself out here,” Hawes said as if he were on the frontline of a basketball battle. “I think I’ve held my own. I know I need to work on my strength and I did that when I took some time off when I injured my ankle. So I went to the weight room and learned how to make myself bigger.”

Don’t be surprised to see Hawes rise in the rankings when the summer concludes.