Countdown Completed, Elijah Hawkins Sets Season Assist Record - 211 And Counting

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Elijah, “The Prophet”, Hawkins is sitting at 141 today, based on his current production, he breaks the record between the 28-29 game of this season.
“The Prophet” nickname is not copyrighted and may be used by one and all at their leisure, including the media and announcers on televised games.

Per our friends @ Wikipedia -

The NCAA did not officially record assists as a stat until the 1983–84 season, and blocks and steals until the 1985–86 season, but Minnesota's record books includes players in these stats before these seasons.

Season Rk Player Assists Season 1 Marcus Carr 207[9] 2019-20 2 Ta'lon Cooper 196[11] 2022–23 3 Arriel McDonald 179 1993-94 4 Nate Mason 169 2016-17 5 Melvin Newbern 167 1989-90 6 Ray Williams 166 1976-77 7 DeAndre Mathieu 160 2013-14 8 Kevin Burleson 160 2002-03 9 Adam Boone 146 2005-06 10 Kevin Burleson 146 2001-02

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

Elijah, “The Prophet”, Hawkins is sitting at 117 today, based on his current production, he breaks the record between the 26-27 game of this season.
“The Prophet” nickname is not copyrighted and may be used by one and all at their leisure, including the media and announcers on televised games.

Per our friends @ Wikipedia -

The NCAA did not officially record assists as a stat until the 1983–84 season, and blocks and steals until the 1985–86 season, but Minnesota's record books includes players in these stats before these seasons.

Season Rk Player Assists Season 1 Marcus Carr 207[9] 2019-20 2 Ta'lon Cooper 196[11] 2022–23 3 Arriel McDonald 179 1993-94 4 Nate Mason 169 2016-17 5 Melvin Newbern 167 1989-90 6 Ray Williams 166 1976-77 7 DeAndre Mathieu 160 2013-14 8 Kevin Burleson 160 2002-03 9 Adam Boone 146 2005-06 10 Kevin Burleson 146 2001-02

Good work! It's a lot to ask but a truly remarkable feat would be finishing as the national assists leader. He's fallen to 2nd in recent days (a guy from Quinnipiac currently leads him 7.9 assists pg. to 7.8 assists pg.). According to Wikipedia, Minnesota has never had a national assist leader but neither has the Big Ten. Perhaps the conference plays at too slow of a pace and the tough, half-court style limits scoring too much for that to happen.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Good work! It's a lot to ask but a truly remarkable feat would be finishing as the national assists leader. He's fallen to 2nd in recent days (a guy from Quinnipiac currently leads him 7.9 assists pg. to 7.8 assists pg.). According to Wikipedia, Minnesota has never had a national assist leader but neither has the Big Ten. Perhaps the conference plays at too slow of a pace and the tough, half-court style limits scoring too much for that to happen.

Thanks!

I’m aware of our Quinnipiac nemesis, Savion Lewis, and he’s being tracked in my other Hawkins assist thread.

Hawkins’ everything I hoped Mathieu would be. And more!

Bring on them Hoosiers

 

[BTChamp]

Ta'lon had 196? I didn't think they made 196 shots last year. Including free throws.

 

[Formerswish]

Thanks!

I’m aware of our Quinnipiac nemesis, Savion Lewis, and he’s being tracked in my other Hawkins assist thread.

Hawkins’ everything I hoped Mathieu would be. And more!

Bring on them Hoosiers

Good work! It's a lot to ask but a truly remarkable feat would be finishing as the national assists leader. He's fallen to 2nd in recent days (a guy from Quinnipiac currently leads him 7.9 assists pg. to 7.8 assists pg.). According to Wikipedia, Minnesota has never had a national assist leader but neither has the Big Ten. Perhaps the conference plays at too slow of a pace and the tough, half-court style limits scoring too much for that to happen.

Agreed that the Big Ten is not a conference that's likely to have a national assist leader. Too physical, and too slow a pace for for that to happen.

One of the remarkable things we've seen so far is the evolution of Hawkins into a much better decision-maker in the passes he throws. Notice how many times now that he takes the baseline and just keeps his dribble until he finds someone, and if he doesn't, he makes a safer pass. Some of our players are understanding how to make a basket cut when Hawkins drives, and Payne and Fox have cashed in a number of times.

This is a guy who has gone from playing a schedule for Howard University last year and averaged 6 assists and 4 turnovers a game (not a good average) to now averaging 7.8 assists and 2.7 turnovers. And by the way, he's averaging 2 steals a game as well. Now there were games against some fairly inferior opponents early this season, but he has actually not hurt his ratio in Big Ten games.

What he has done is truly amazing, and there are a lot of games left to play, but his improvement in a short span of time is really impressive. And while most of this is Hawkins himself, a lot of this has been from some damn good coaching.

I'm not ready to crown Ben Johnson as the best coach in Big Ten history, and there are a lot of games left, but he has to get credit for a lot of Hawkins improvement. And thank goodness, because they needed some good guard play!

 

[Classof 66]

Ta'lon had 196? I didn't think they made 196 shots last year. Including free throws.

Ta'lon is a great passer. Just not quick enough to take someone off dribble or penetrate. Hawk excels in those areas with his ultra quickness. Hawk also is a much better 3 point shooter. Happy that Ta'lon is doing well at South Carolina but There is no comparison. Hawk also is so much more enjoyable to watch.

 

[007gopherfan]

As great a passer Hawkins has been so far, I think it will help the Gophers win more games if he can look to score a bit more on his drives or at least get fouled and to the line. If he gets caught up in only trying to get assists teams will focus on that and afraid we will see more turnovers. He has a great shot too.

 

[Bad Gopher]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Elijah and the Prophets would be a great name for a band.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Elijah and the Prophets would be a great name for a band.

Great name for an NIT/NCAA tourney team

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

As great a passer Hawkins has been so far, I think it will help the Gophers win more games if he can look to score a bit more on his drives or at least get fouled and to the line. If he gets caught up in only trying to get assists teams will focus on that and afraid we will see more turnovers. He has a great shot too.

Really do understand your wanting him to get to the line more. Sometimes he takes a real beating. About once a game it appears that he is seriously hurt from contact on a drive. Then there was the drive he had where he was adamant there was contact. Ha! Bad result. Think he is second behind Garcia on free throw attempts. He’s seems fearless enough for me with his size. He capitalized on going to the hole and Reese didn’t come over to contest because he wanted to defend a dish off. It was a big basket.
Guess what I’m saying is, hope he stays healthy.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Really do understand your wanting him to get to the line more. Sometimes he takes a real beating. About once a game it appears that he is seriously hurt from contact on a drive. Then there was the drive he had where he was adamant there was contact. Ha! Bad result. Think he is second behind Garcia on free throw attempts. He’s seems fearless enough for me with his size. He capitalized on going to the hole and Reese didn’t come over to contest because he wanted to defend a dish off. It was a big basket.
Guess what I’m saying is, hope he stays healthy.

He good -

• 

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

One of the remarkable things we've seen so far is the evolution of Hawkins into a much better decision-maker in the passes he throws. Notice how many times now that he takes the baseline and just keeps his dribble until he finds someone, and if he doesn't, he makes a safer pass. Some of our players are understanding how to make a basket cut when Hawkins drives, and Payne and Fox have cashed in a number of times.

After the game on Sunday, I browsed through a Maryland fan site. It was the usual stuff: bitching about the coach, complaining about the players and comparing all of the above unfavorably to past teams of the program. Also, as usual, there was almost no credit given to the opponent except for one comment:

"Me like this MN point guard!"

I've reflected a bit lately on the team's recruiting last summer. Recall that we picked up Hawkins fairly late after we failed to land any of the following players who all listed our program as one of their finalists:

Claudell Harris (went to Boston College)
Latrell Wrightsell (went to Alabama)
Charles Pride (went to St. Bonaventure)

Of course, the usual suspects around here delighted in Johnson's recruiting failures. Those three individuals are all doing fine at their new locations although, not so surprisingly, Wrightsell isn't starting for Alabama.

The three players above probably would have been higher scorers than Hawkins but I don't think we could have gotten as much as Hawkins gives us from any one of them. Hawkins deserves that ultimate compliment: He makes his teammates better.

 

[Drake University Gopher]

Guess what I’m saying is, hope he stays healthy.

Geez don’t taunt the basketball gods. I was thinking of the one thing that might lead to our season falling apart and Johnson still getting fired (don’t ask me how I got there). The man has to stay healthy. This team is fun to watch and I think it has so much to do with his impact.

 

[Chico Gopher]

While I'm glad he's playing well and adjusted to be more under control as the season has gone on, I guess I'm a little more invested in the team than the premature countdown to an individual record. It's awesome to have a dynamic point guard, but I'm far more concerned about he and the team continuing to play well, improve and pick up enough wins to qualify for the post season.

For me, the time to pay attention to individual records is at the end of the season, or maybe when he gets with-in 5-10 of the mark (if everything comes together and it actually happens), but not 9-12 games prior to when it could possibly happen. Seems a little weird to me. I'm not really superstitious, but some of my friends would consider this "challenging the basketball gods".

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

While I'm glad he's playing well and adjusted to be more under control as the season has gone on, I guess I'm a little more invested in the team than the premature countdown to an individual record. It's awesome to have a dynamic point guard, but I'm far more concerned about he and the team continuing to play well, improve and pick up enough wins to qualify for the post season.

For me, the time to pay attention to individual records is at the end of the season, or maybe when he gets with-in 5-10 of the mark (if everything comes together and it actually happens), but not 9-12 games prior to when it could possibly happen. Seems a little weird to me. I'm not really superstitious, but some of my friends would consider this "challenging the basketball gods".

@Gopher_In_NYC isn’t going to listen to you Chico, he’s the man.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

@Gopher_In_NYC isn’t going to listen to you Chico, he’s the man.

Thanks for the chuckle and old old school reference, I almost missed it -

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

While I'm glad he's playing well and adjusted to be more under control as the season has gone on, I guess I'm a little more invested in the team than the premature countdown to an individual record.

In my experience, the better a PG plays, the better a team plays = science !!!

It's awesome to have a dynamic point guard, but I'm far more concerned about he and the team continuing to play well, improve and pick up enough wins to qualify for the post season.

Where did I say I wasn’t? Please be specific

I’m on record, bro about saying we’re trending towards being a tourney team , feel free to check my posts

For me, the time to pay attention to individual records is at the end of the season, or maybe when he gets with-in 5-10 of the mark (if everything comes together and it actually happens), but not 9-12 games prior to when it could possibly happen.

Isn’t freedom great buddy.

You have the freedom to get irked about something fun and my attempt to bring some joy to the season on an anonymous chat board, because it’s all sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Serious .

Seems a little weird to me.

Your post or my joy?

I'm not really superstitious, but some of my friends would consider this "challenging the basketball gods".

Ruh Roh, I’ve invoked the wrath of your friends and “the basketball gods.” I’m going to continue to smile in Queens, cause that’s how us Tiggers roll and not let Eeyore’s cast their shade on my .

“Most people are as happy as they make their minds up to be,” Will Rodgers.

 

[Chico Gopher]

@Gopher_In_NYC isn’t going to listen to you Chico, he’s the man.

Whoo-wee! Hahaha. I can see that I've been schooled. The overreaction to one guys opinion was certainly entertaining! Certainly learned my lesson!

 

[Chico Gopher]

In my experience, the better a PG plays, the better a team plays = science !!!


Where did I say I wasn’t? Please be specific

I’m on record, bro about saying we’re trending towards being a tourney team , feel free to check my posts

Isn’t freedom great buddy.

You have the freedom to get irked about something fun and my attempt to bring some joy to the season on an anonymous chat board, because it’s all sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Serious .


Your post or my joy?

Ruh Roh, I’ve invoked the wrath of your friends and “the basketball gods.” I’m going to continue to smile in Queens, cause that’s how us Tiggers roll and not let Eeyore’s cast their shade on my .

“Most people are as happy as they make their minds up to be,” Will Rodgers.

Cool down Brotha! but I'm far more concerned about he and the team continuing to play well, improve and pick up enough wins to qualify for the post season.

Not sure where anything in that statement says YOU don't care about team success. But if that's what you read into it......... well, not much I can do about that. Have a fine day!

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Cool down Brotha! but I'm far more concerned about he and the team continuing to play well, improve and pick up enough wins to qualify for the post season.

Not sure where anything in that statement says YOU don't care about team success. But if that's what you read into it......... well, not much I can do about that. Have a fine day!

My friends and the “grammar gods” told me it was implied in your sentence structure, so if I’m mistaken, it’s their fault, not mine.

As I’m not grammatically superstitious

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Go get ‘em Hawk, time for you to move into the Top 10!

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Elijah, “The Prophet”, Hawkins is sitting at 141 today, based on his current production, he breaks the record between the 28-29 game of this season.
“The Prophet” nickname is not copyrighted and may be used by one and all at their leisure, including the media and announcers on televised games.

Per our friends @ Wikipedia -

The NCAA did not officially record assists as a stat until the 1983–84 season, and blocks and steals until the 1985–86 season, but Minnesota's record books includes players in these stats before these seasons.

Season Rk Player Assists Season 1 Marcus Carr 207[9] 2019-20 2 Ta'lon Cooper 196[11] 2022–23 3 Arriel McDonald 179 1993-94 4 Nate Mason 169 2016-17 5 Melvin Newbern 167 1989-90 6 Ray Williams 166 1976-77 7 DeAndre Mathieu 160 2013-14 8 Kevin Burleson 160 2002-03 9 Adam Boone 146 2005-06 10 Kevin Burleson 146 2001-02

He is currently ninth with 156!!

I’m hoping for another double dish delight Tuesday.

 

[LongLiveMilesTarver]

Much maligned "ball hog" Marcus Carr sitting there at number one in a season that wasn't even finished.

I think Carr and Westbrook get a lot of undue criticism from gophers fans.

 

[HitMeAgainIAmStillMoving]

I see Hawkins play and I don't see a soul on the team who can do what he does for us next year. I saw a lot of Ray Williams as a pro player, and Hawkins is a short Ray.
*EDIT I have recently learned to read and now know Hawk can come back.

 

[Johnnyboy18]

I see Hawkins play and I don't see a soul on the team who can do what he does for us next year. I saw a lot of Ray Williams as a pro player, and Hawkins is a short Ray.

Besides Hawkins himself because he has one more year?

 

[HitMeAgainIAmStillMoving]

Besides Hawkins himself because he has one more year?

My bad, too used to players transfering in for final year.

 

[CoMn]

He is currently ninth with 156!!

I’m hoping for another double dish delight Tuesday.

Elijah, “The Prophet”, Hawkins is sitting at 141 today, based on his current production, he breaks the record between the 28-29 game of this season.
“The Prophet” nickname is not copyrighted and may be used by one and all at their leisure, including the media and announcers on televised games.

Per our friends @ Wikipedia -

The NCAA did not officially record assists as a stat until the 1983–84 season, and blocks and steals until the 1985–86 season, but Minnesota's record books includes players in these stats before these seasons.

Season Rk Player Assists Season 1 Marcus Carr 207[9] 2019-20 2 Ta'lon Cooper 196[11] 2022–23 3 Arriel McDonald 179 1993-94 4 Nate Mason 169 2016-17 5 Melvin Newbern 167 1989-90 6 Ray Williams 166 1976-77 7 DeAndre Mathieu 160 2013-14 8 Kevin Burleson 160 2002-03 9 Adam Boone 146 2005-06 10 Kevin Burleson 146 2001-02

Looks like Ben's PGs might be #1 and #3 out of 3 years. That's GOOD team basketball!

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

Hawkins has picked up his 3 point shooting since getting into conference play. 18 for 42 for .429 and it's been much needed. (Was 9 for 32 out of conference .281 quite an improvement)

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

I see Hawkins play and I don't see a soul on the team who can do what he does for us next year. I saw a lot of Ray Williams as a pro player, and Hawkins is a short Ray.
*EDIT I have recently learned to read and now know Hawk can come back.

It’s great that Ike can “apprentice” under Hawk for a year, before flying solo.

 

[Holy Man]

Hawkins has picked up his 3 point shooting since getting into conference play. 18 for 42 for .429 and it's been much needed. (Was 9 for 32 out of conference .281 quite an improvement)

Better stats in conference games is amazing by itself, but given how terrible the non con schedule was, this factoid is even more amazing.