University of Minnesota head men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson has announced the addition of Elijah Hawkins (Washington, D.C.) to the Golden Gopher program. Hawkins, who completed his sophomore year at Howard, is scheduled to join the team this summer.
“Elijah is a mature young man, who has always been a winner,” Johnson said. “He’s a tough, gritty competitor that plays with an edge. Elijah has an alpha mentality and really loves to work on his craft. We’re excited to add another playmaking guard with NCAA tournament experience to the roster.”
Hawkins, a 5-11, 152-pound guard, started in 55 of 59 games as the Bison point guard the past two seasons. In 2022-23, Hawkins led Howard to its first NCAA Tournament berth in 31 years and a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title (MEAC). Last year, he averaged a team-best 12.9 points, 6.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 46.6 three-point percentage. For his efforts, Hawkins was named an All-MEAC First Team selection and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-District Team. In his sophomore campaign, Hawkins established career bests in points (20), minutes (39), three pointers made (5) and attempts (8) as well as assists (13) and rebounds (7). As a freshman in 2021-22, Hawkins was named the MEAC Rookie of the Year, an All-MEAC Second Team selection and a NABC All-District Team selection. As a rookie, Hawkins averaged 13 points, 5.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 28 games, including 26 starts. During his Howard tenure, Hawkins was named a conference player of the week twice in 2022-23 and a nine-time rookie of the week recipient.
A 2021 graduate of DeMatha Catholic, Hawkins saw significant time as a starter his junior and senior seasons and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee. Ranked as the 13th-best player in the Maryland/DC area that year, Hawkins also played with New World AAU.
(info courtesy of Gopher Sports)