Wikipedia

Josh Hawkinson

Joshua Haakon Hawkinson (born June 23, 1995)[1] is an American-born Japanese professional basketball player for Sun Rockers Shibuya of the B.League. He played college basketball for the Washington State Cougars, where he finished his career as the school's all-time leader in rebounds and double-doubles.

Josh Hawkinson
Hawkinson with Japan in 2023
No. 8 – Sun Rockers Shibuya
PositionCenter / power forward
LeagueB.League
Personal information
Born (1995-06-23) June 23, 1995 (age 29)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Japanese
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolShorewood (Shoreline, Washington)
CollegeWashington State (2013–2017)
NBA draft2017: undrafted
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2020Toyotsu Fighting Eagles
2020–2023Shinshu Brave Warriors
2023–presentSun Rockers Shibuya
Career highlights and awards

Hawkinson began his professional career in Japan in 2017, later becoming a Japanese citizen in 2023. He played for the Japanese national team at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and at the 2024 Olympics.

Early life

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Hawkinson was born in Seattle, Washington, to Nels and Nancy Hawkinson. He has one younger sister Carlyn, and his family lives in Shoreline, Washington. Both of his parents played basketball collegiately; his dad at Trinity Western University and his mom at the University of Washington.[1]

Hawkinson attended Shorewood High School in Shoreline. Over his junior and senior seasons, Hawkinson led his team to a 32–14 record and averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks per game.[1] Hawkinson was very lightly recruited out of high school with no Power 5 conference schools interested in him, besides Washington State.[2]

College career

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Hawkinson began his college career in 2013 for Washington State and played limited minutes in a supporting role as a freshman. He served as a backup to upperclassmen D.J. Shelton and Jordan Railey and went on to average 1.2 points, and 1.6 rebounds in just 6 minutes per game.[1]

Following his freshman season, Washington States head coach Ken Bone was fired and replaced by new head coach Ernie Kent. Hawkinson thrived under Kent in his sophomore season at Washington State. His minutes per game skyrocketed from 6 to 33, and he became the second-most improved scorer in the nation from 1.2 to 14.7 points per game, and the most improved rebounder in the country from 1.6 to 10.8 rebounds per game. Hawkinson would go on to lead the league in rebounding and his 334 total rebounds and 20 double-doubles set single season Washington State records in both categories. He led the Pac-12 and NCAA in defensive rebounds per game at 8.7, and earned Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year[3] and All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention honors.

As a junior, Hawkinson was given team captain responsibilities and once again led the league in rebounding and double-doubles. He improved both his points per game from 14.7 to 15.4, and rebounds per game from 10.8 to 11.1 and tied his own single-season Washington State record with another 20 double-doubles. He earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention for the second straight season[4] and was named a Finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the year award.[5]

In his senior campaign, Hawkinson retained his team captain status and led his team to a sweep of the Washington Huskies for the first time since the 2010–11 season. Hawkinson went on to average 15.5 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game earning him All-Pac-12 Second Team honors.[6] Hawkinson would also be selected to the Second Team All-District 20 team by the NABC[7] and was named as a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the year award for the second straight year.[8] For his outstanding achievements both on and off the court, Hawkinson became the first Washington State player ever to be named a Senior CLASS Award First Team All-American.[9] and followed that up by winning the Tom Hansen Conference Medal[10] given to the Pac-12's "most outstanding senior student-athlete based on the exhibition of the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership."[11]

Academically, Hawkinson completed his bachelor's degree from Washington State University in just three years, receiving his degree in Management Operations in the summer of 2016 while being a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree. In his senior year, Hawkinson finished his Master's of Business Administration in Data Analytics, completing both his bachelor's and master's degrees in four years, and was named the 2017 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.[12] Hawkinson concluded his career tenth in points scored with 1,414 and set school records in double-doubles with 56 and rebounds with 1,015. He became the first Washington State player ever to amass 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, and was the 13th player in Pac-12 history to reach those marks.[13]

College statistics

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013–14 Washington State 28 0 6.4 .458 0.0 .600 1.6 0.2 0.0 0.1 1.2
2014–15 Washington State 31 29 32.7 .500 .200 .853 10.8 1.0 0.4 1.1 14.7
2015–16 Washington State 29 28 33.3 .543 .385 .778 11.1 1.5 0.7 1.1 15.4
2016–17 Washington State 31 31 35.4 .531 .406 .833 10.2 2.5 0.6 0.8 15.5
Career 119 88 27.4 .523 .350 .812 8.5 1.3 0.4 0.8 11.9

[14]

Professional career

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On June 26, 2017, Hawkinson signed his first professional contract with the Toyotsu Fighting Eagles of the Japanese B.League.[13] He played for the Fighting Eagles in the 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons.[15]

For the 2020–21 season, Hawkinson joined the Shinshu Brave Warriors.[15] He continued with the Brave Warriors in the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons.[15]

On June 12, 2023, Hawkinson signed with Sun Rockers Shibuya.[16]

National team career

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In February 2023, Hawkinson became a naturalized Japanese citizen.[17] He played for the Japanese national team at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup[18] and at the 2024 Olympics.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Josh Hawkinson Bio". WSU Cougars.
  2. ^ "Overlooked by hometown Huskies, Shoreline native Josh Hawkinson is a double-double machine at Washington State | UW Huskies Insider - the News Tribune". Archived from the original on 2016-07-31. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  3. ^ "Lacy First-Team All-Conference; Hawkinson Most Improved Player". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Josh Hawkinson named All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Josh Hawkinson named a finalist for the Abdul-Jabbar Award". Cougcenter. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  6. ^ "WSU Josh Hawkinson named to All-Pac-12 second team". Seattle Times. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  7. ^ "WSU Cougars". JOSH HAWKINSON NAMED NABC SECOND TEAM ALL-DISTRICT 20. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  8. ^ "JOSH HAWKINSON NAMED FINALIST FOR ABDUL-JABBAR AWARD FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT YEAR". WSU Cougars. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  9. ^ "JOSH HAWKINSON NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD® FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN". WSU Cougars. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Basketball's Josh Hawkinson and rowing's Nicole Hare awarded Tom Hansen Conference Medals". Cougcenter. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  11. ^ "Pac-12 names 2016–17 Tom Hansen Conference Medal Winners". PAC 12. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Hawkinson Named Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year". Cougcenter. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  13. ^ a b "JOSH HAWKINSON SIGNS PRO CONTRACT IN JAPAN". WSU Cougars. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Josh Hawkinson Stats". ESPN. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  15. ^ a b c "Josh Hawkinson". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  16. ^ "ジョシュ・ホーキンソン選手 加入のお知らせ". sunrockers.jp (in Japanese). June 12, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  17. ^ "信州のジョシュ・ホーキンソンが⽇本国籍取得「日本を背負うことを誇りに思います」". バスケットボールキング (in Japanese). 10 February 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  18. ^ "Joshua Hawkinson". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  19. ^ Josh Hawkinson Leads Japan in Scoring in Final Olympics Loss
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