Hawkins would etch her name in history at the University of Maryland during her senior season, ranking seventh in single-season rebounds (331) and finished her career with 1,086, ranking fifth in program history. With leaks comes conversation, comes storylines, comes chatter, and I think that's good for growth," Bird said. "When something gets leaked, there's an asterisk of importance. And it's kind of cool to have a conversation around a WNBA jersey feeling that way." Hawkins expanded on the duo’s journey in the media conference after UConn had won its fifth men’s college basketball national title. Prior to that day, Hawkins and her sister had never played organized sports, but that experience served as the starting point of their basketball journey.

I just wasn’t making shots,” Hawkins said. “They did nothing defensively to disrupt me. I just wasn’t myself. Wasn’t making shots.” NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 10: Olivier-Maxence Prosper #12 of the Marquette Golden Eagles and Jordan Hawkins #24 of the Connecticut Huskies react after the buzzer during the second half in the Semifinal round at Madison Square Garden on March 10, 2023 in New York City. The Golden Eagles won 70-68. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) Sarah Stier/Getty Images Show More Show Less 3 of8 I know I didn’t have my best year. It was by far the worst professional year I’ve ever had,” Hawkins said.

Playoffs Series

During Sunday’s ceremony that was broadcast on YouTube, Hawkins told the audience his induction would not have been possible without support from his Bradley coaches and teammates. Players like Skylar Diggins-Smith, Bria Hartley and Dearica Hamby have all had similar experiences.

As a high school student-athlete at Riverdale Baptist, Hawkins admitted to not taking basketball seriously. The 6-foot-3 forward averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds in her senior year, receiving offers from schools like Delaware State, George Washington and Georgetown. But, it was the University of Maryland that would ultimately catch Hawkins’ attention. As a result, Hawkins took up a part-time job working an IT help desk for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission until she gave birth to her son, Emmanuel. In a phone conversation with her agent, she was told the team was concerned about her skill level not being up to expectations and that the organization didn’t think her shooting would improve. One of Hawkins’ other Bradley records is the single-game scoring mark of 63 points, in a 122-107 win over Detroit Mercy on Feb. 22, 1988. Hawkins called it “an unbelievable night” – but believes it could have been even higher. UConn spent the night in the city, set to return to Storrs on Saturday. Selection Sunday follows. The Huskies (25-8) are likely in line for a No. 3 seed, perhaps headed to Albany. Hawkins will make his NCAA Tournament debut next week and the Huskies, who suffered upset losses in 2021 and 2022, will look to advance for the first time under Hurley.The five of us had played our entire four years together. So it was one of those years where we wanted to go out with a bang, we wanted to give it all we had that year to make a serious push,” said Hawkins. In addition to the uniforms, Nike also is releasing a suite of products in team colors -- vests, T-shirts, pants, hoodies and more -- for players to customize their on-court and off-court looks, as well as a Team 13 collection -- the first WNBA fan apparel collection offered by Nike.

There were others, though, so many others — from Hawkins and from Newton and from Joey Calcaterra, who had first walked down the tunnel. He used his jersey to cover his face. On Thursday, Nike unveiled the collection, which adds a highly anticipated third jersey option (Rebel Edition) to the teams' Heroine Edition (home) and Explorer Edition (away) uniforms. The most prolific and celebrated player in the history of Bradley University men’s basketball is now a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Tristen Newton controlled the ball on the perimeter. With time dwindling, his first options were to drive or look for Sanogo down low, if a screen could create a mismatch and if he could get a pass there. Plan B was to look for a shooter — such as Hawkins near the top of the key or Alex Karaban to the right. Newton passed to Hawkins. He had virtually no time. He had even less space. He had no look at a shot that he could expect to make.Hawkins recalled receiving the news about not returning to the Dream during a final exit interview with former interim head coach Darius Taylor.