Darrius Hawkins Dazzles as Sophomore and Talks Early Recruitment

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Homewood Flossmoor 2028 point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2467517' first='Darrius' last='Hawkins']</strong> has been a mainstay as one of the premier guards in his class since they entered high school.&nbsp; After being surrounded by a group of upperclassmen during his first season this year it was his show and he thrived!&nbsp; The guard ran the show averaging 18 points, 6 assists, and 3 dimes for HF leading them to a top seed in their sectional.&nbsp; He is a dynamic ball handler with his shifty ability to break down defenders off the bounce, slick pull up game, and stellar soft touch finishes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We spoke with Hawkins about his sophomore campaign being the guy for HF.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It was an amazing experience.&nbsp; Especially taking on that leadership role for my team.&nbsp; I didn't have that as a freshman.&nbsp; Me coming in this year and taking that lead role was a great experience.&nbsp; It helped me do things at the next level I am going to have to do in college.&nbsp; We didn't finish how we wanted to, but it was a great experience.&nbsp; Lessons come from losses.&nbsp; I definitely learned a lot of lessons from last season.&nbsp; It will help us come back stronger next season.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Where did he feel his game grew the most?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I feel like I progressed my leadership and being able to communicate at a higher level.&nbsp; Be that guy for them because it was their first time playing varsity for a lot of them.&nbsp; I was coming back having that experience.&nbsp; Being able to lead, talk, and communicate for them was amazing and it developed a lot.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Still in the early stages of recruiting, but it is picking up!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Recruiting is good right now.&nbsp; I am hearing from Illinois, Illinois State, Northern Illinois, and LIU-Brooklyn.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>LIU-Brooklyn and Northern Illinois (under previous staff) have extended offers. He will be playing with Brad Beal Elite 16U on the EYBL.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->