‘There were a lot of tears’: Hawkins resigns as QU men’s basketball coach after two seasons at helm

QUINCY — When opportunity knocked, Steve Hawkins needed to listen.

He owed that to his family.

After discussing an offer to join NCAA Division I coaching staff with his wife, Kelly, the Quincy University men’s basketball coach knew the time was right to make a move.

Monday, he officially resigned as the Hawks’ coach, two seasons into his second stint at the helm. Hawkins informed his team of the decision during an afternoon meeting, and QU athletic director Josh Rabe confirmed Hawkins had tendered his resignation.

“I have to do what’s best for my family, first and foremost,” Hawkins said. “I had an opportunity come up that I was not expecting and wasn’t looking for. It was entirely too good to pass up working with someone that I really trust and believe in.”

Hawkins is expected to be named an assistant coach at Southern Illinois University next week. SIU coach Scott Nagy was hired late last month and has been piecing his staff together. Last week, Nagy announced four additions to his staff, which included one assistant coach, two player development coaches and a director of operations.

Hawkins has 20 years of experience coaching at the D-I level, having left QU in 2000 after nine seasons as head coach to become an assistant at Western Michigan. In 2003, he was named the Broncos’ head coach, a position he held for 17 seasons while compiling a 291-262 record with two NCAA Tournament appearances.

In 2022, Hawkins returned to Quincy, replacing Ryan Hellenthal as the Hawks’ coach.

Leaving a second time wasn’t easy.

“After talking it over with my wife, it was by far the most difficult decision I’ve ever made,” said the 61-year-old Hawkins, who has a 453-405 career coaching record. “And that’s the truth by the way. This is the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make. There were a lot of tears with my daughters and my wife and myself.

“At the end of the day, there was what I wanted to do, which was stay in Quincy, and there was what I should do, which is take care of my family. I had to do what I had to do as a father and a husband. It was a straight family decision.”

That meant telling his other family goodbye during that team meeting.

“That’s always difficult,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins spent the past two seasons guiding the Hawks to a 25-32 record. They went 14-15 in his first season, reaching the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament and pushing top-seeded Indianapolis to double overtime in an opening-round loss.

Last winter, the Hawks finished 11-17 overall and 6-14 in the GLVC as they struggled offensively. QU finished 13th in the 14-team league in 3-point shooting and 14th in field-goal percentage, shooting just 41.6 percent.

Still, Hawkins believed the strides made in developing culture within the locker room and the program were bound to produce success in the coming years.

“I’m really, really proud of what we were able to do in two years,” Hawkins said. “(Rabe) hired me to come in and stabilize everything and get it pointed back in a good direction. I felt we did that. We took a step back record-wise this year, but I felt from a culture standpoint this thing was ready to take off.

“We have the interest of the community back. Ticket sales were up. Booster club membership was up. We had everything moving in the right direction. … This thing was ready to take sail and be able to be in a position to sustain the success and be in the top half of the league and compete for a championship. I really honestly felt that way.”

The Hawks were close at times last season, especially down the stretch. Six of their final nine losses were by nine points or less, including two one-possession games. 

Since the season ended, four players have entered the transfer portal — sophomore point guard Isaiah Foster, sophomore guard Orlando Thomas, senior guard Zion Richardson and senior guard Nate Shockey. 

Richardson and Shockey will be grad transfers with one year of eligibility remaining, and neither was expected to return to QU since they had finished their degrees.

The Hawks have received commitments from four players — John Wood Community College forward Logan Robbins, Quincy High School swingman Camden Brown, Australian forward Tiernan Stynes and Greenwood Christian Academy (Ind.) guard Max Booher.