DENVER ? New Mexico State guard/forward Justin Hawkins has been named the Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball player of the week for November 26-December 2. This is the first career WAC Player of the Week honor for the senior.
Hawkins, a senior from Anaheim, Calif. (Utah), averaged 27.7 points and 8.7 rebounds last week in three games for the Aggies. He was 22-for-43 from the field and 9-of-18 from the 3-point line. He also shot 85.7 percent from the free throw line. Hawkins tied his career-high performance in the first meeting of the year with I-10 rival UTEP, Nov. 27, when he had 29 points. He also had a career-high five 3-pointers. Hawkins followed that performance with a double-double consisting of 26 points and 11 rebounds in the first round of the Lou Henson Classic, Nov. 30. On Dec. 1, he had a game-high 28 points versus North Texas on 16-of-20 shooting from the line. Hawkins also added three assists, a block and a pair of steals. This season, he leads the Aggies in both scoring (19.5) and rebounding (8.5).
The other nominations were senior forward Matt Nelson; senior guard Eddie Miller, Fresno State; senior guard Riley Luettgerodt, Hawai?i; sophomore guard Kyle Gibson, Louisiana Tech; junior forward DeVonte Thomas, San Jose State and senior guard Jaycee Carroll, Utah State.