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

Quincy University men's basketball coach Steve Hawkins has resigned after two seasons in charge to pursue another coaching opportunity. | Matt Schuckman photo

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…

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Cold-shooting Hawks fall in double overtime

Quincy University's Zion Richardson battles inside against William Jewell Saturday at Pepsi Arena. The Hawks fell 74-72 in double overtime. - Photo by Denny Sinnock, Quincy University

QUINCY – Despite shooting 1 of 15 from three-point range, the Quincy University Hawks still had ample opportunities to grab a win over William Jewell Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Arena. Orlando Thomas went coast to coast after a QU steal for a bucket to send the game into overtime, but QU missed its last three…

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Blistering beginning puts Hawks in command as they climb back to .500 mark in GLVC

Drury's Logan Applegate, who scored 22 points, pulls up for a jump shot during Thursday night's men's college basketball game against Quincy University at the O'Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield, Mo. QU's Isaiah Foster is in the background. | Photo courtesy of Payton Hannah, Drury University

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – There are fast starts, and then there is what the Quincy University men’s basketball team did Thursday night. The Hawks blitzed Drury by sinking their first nine shots, six of them from 3-point range, to take a 27-13 lead just six minutes into the contest. They held on for an 83-78 victory…

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Everyone in: Hawks seize opportunity to give bench players needed experience in lopsided win

Quincy University senior guard Nate Shockey brings the ball up the floor during Wednesday night's game against Hannibal-LaGrange at Pepsi Arena. | Photo courtesy Denny Sinnock, QU Athletics

QUINCY — The early-season schedule is giving the Quincy University men’s basketball team the opportunity to gain the one thing it lacks — experience. All 13 available players logged double-figure minutes Wednesday night as the Hawks overcame a sluggish start to cruise to a 92-39 victory over Hannibal-LaGrange University in their home opener in Pepsi…

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Schuckman: Coaching camaraderie that brought Izzo to town helps create fervor for QU season

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, left, and Quincy University coach Steve Hawkins entertain the crowd with a question-and-answer session during Sunday's tip-off banquet in QU's Pepsi Arena. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Logistically, it didn’t make sense. Tom Izzo didn’t care. Steve Hawkins needed the right person to headline the Quincy University men’s basketball program’s first tip-off banquet, and the Michigan State Hall of Fame coach willingly obliged, despite the whirlwind schedule it created. Izzo boarded a plane from East Lansing, Mich., to Quincy early…

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Photo gallery: QU tip-off banquet draws large crowd to hear Michigan State’s Tom Izzo speak

Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo, left, signs a copy of the book "Mr. March" for a fan prior to Sunday night's QU men's basketball program's tip-off banquet at Pepsi Arena. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Tom Izzo is entertaining. Steve Hawkins is, too. Put the Michigan State and Quincy University men’s basketball coaches on the stage together and time flies with the stories they tell. That’s what took place Sunday night in QU’s Pepsi Arena where Izzo served as the guest speaker at the QU basketball program’s first…

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Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo to speak at QU men’s basketball program’s Tip-Off Banquet

Tom Izzy's teams at Michigan State have won 10 regular-season Big Ten Championships and six Big Ten Tournaments while making eight Final Four appearances. | Photo courtesy of Michigan State University

QUINCY — Hall of Fame college basketball coach Tom Izzo will be the featured speaker during the Quincy University men’s basketball program’s annual Tip-Off Banquet, scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. Sept. 17 in Pepsi Arena on the QU campus. Izzo has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. Izzo was elected to…

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‘We’ve got some dogs, man’: QU men take top-seeded Indianapolis into double OT before losing

Quincy University's Malik Hardmon goes up for a shot between Indianapolis' Sean Craig, left, and Julian Steinfeld during Thursday afternoon's quarterfinal game in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament at Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo. | David Adam

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — An outsized and physically overmatched Quincy University men’s basketball team did everything it could on Thursday afternoon, but it couldn’t change the outcome — a gritty 79-77 double-overtime loss to top-seeded Indianapolis in the first round in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. What the Hawks did change this season, however,…

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Crim: Postseason fate still in question, but Hawks have undoubtedly made strides in Hawkins’ first season back

Steve Hawkins, shown talking with Malik Hardmon during a game against Grand Valley State earlier this season, has guided Quincy University within one victory of their first winning record since the 2016-17 season. | File photo by Matt Schuckman

QUINCY — As the Great Lakes Valley Conference enters the final week of the basketball regular season, the only certainty on the men’s side is that nationally-ranked Indianapolis will finish first and be the top seed for the league tournament March 2-5 in St. Charles, Mo. Otherwise, we’re left to decipher the GLVC’s rating system…

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Hawks lose rematch with William Jewell, drop third straight

Quincy's Mason Wujek goes up for a shot against William Jewell's Heri Tshiyoyo during Thursday night's GLVC game at Pepsi Arena. - Denny Sinnock

QUINCY — It was hard to say which was colder Thursday night: the Quincy University offense or the temperature outside Pepsi Arena. With the starting five struggling to score, the Hawks received a bit of a bench boost in the first half as the team fought its way to being only down two at the…

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Frustrated by fouls, Foster fuels final flourish as Hawks snap three-game losing streak

Quincy University's Isaiah Foster, right, dribbles while guarded by Maryville's Jaeden Smith during Saturday afternoon's college basketball game at Pepsi Arena. | David Adam

QUINCY — Sitting on the bench tested Isaiah Foster’s patience. Three fouls limited the freshman guard to just 4 minutes, 35 seconds of playing time Saturday until he checked into the game with 11:40 remaining in the second half. Foster helped the Quincy University men’s basketball team go on a 10-point run to take the…

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Crim: Hawks hope turbulent stretch subsides and more memorable moments await

The Quincy University men's basketball team has made considerable strides in Steve Hawkins' first season back on the bench. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY— Quincy University coach Steve Hawkins likes to compare a basketball season to an airplane flight. “There’s always going to be some turbulence,” he explained. His team is trying to navigate its choppiest stretch yet. After surprising preseason prognosticators by winning six of their first seven Great Lakes Valley Conference games to rise to the…

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Schuckman: Emotion hits Hawkins leading up to second home debut as QU men’s basketball coach

Quincy University men's basketball coach Steve Hawkins is now 1-1 in home debuts with the Hawks after beating Hannibal-LaGrange University 88-51 Wednesday night at Pepsi Arena. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Every version of the national anthem is unique and different. Singers with big, booming voices tend to drag out high notes, especially at the top of their vocal range. Nervous singers hurry through it, praying they don’t forget a word or miss a note and fight just to finish. Steve Hawkins would have…

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Photo gallery: Practice officially opens on second Hawkins era with QU men’s basketball program

The Quincy University men's basketball team breaks its huddle before starting practice Saturday morning at Pepsi Arena. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — More than two decades have passed since Steve Hawkins last walked into Pepsi Arena to coach the first official practice of the college basketball season, but his expectations for the Quincy University men’s basketball players aren’t any different. The Hawks better be prepared to tirelessly work to get better. Saturday morning, the Hawks…

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QU men’s basketball team to face tough road tests while launching Hawkins’ second stint as coach

Junior swingman Paul Zilinskas, left, will provide leadership as the Quincy University men's basketball team opens the 2022-23 season with four of its first five games on the road. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Ideally, Quincy University men’s basketball coach Steve Hawkins wouldn’t want to launch his second stint with the Hawks by playing four of the first five games on the road. “I wish there was a way to start our tenure here at home,” the veteran skipper said. This schedule doesn’t accommodate such a wish.…

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Schuckman: Path to Hawkins’ return as QU men’s basketball coach began with meal at Portillo’s

Quincy University athletic director Josh Rabe, right, shakes hands with new men's basketball coach Steve Hawkins as the veteran coach is introduced during Wednesday's press conference in the Hall of Fame Room on the QU campus. Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Steve Hawkins isn’t shy about his appreciation for quality cuisine. He is loyal to the restaurants he finds reliable and appetizing. So it came as no surprise Wednesday morning, hours before he was to be introduced as the new Quincy University men’s basketball coach, Hawkins ate breakfast at the Coach House, a longstanding…

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Hawk homecoming: QU hires former hoops coach Hawkins to return to helm of men’s program

Steve Hawkins discusses his decision to become the next Quincy University men's basketball coach during Wednesday's introductory press conference at the QU Hall of Fame room. Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Steve Hawkins made the 430-mile drive from Kalamazoo, Mich., to Quincy by himself Tuesday night, but he was hardly alone. “Word started to seep out the last couple of days in the coaching world,” said Hawkins, who was introduced Wednesday as the next Quincy University men’s basketball coach. “My phone … well, it…

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Crim: Hawkins remains passionate about coaching and committed to helping steer basketball in right direction

Former Quincy University men's basketball coach Steve Hawkins remains involved in the game, coaching high school basketball in Michigan and running his own consulting business. Submitted photo

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — When Steve Hawkins answered a phone call from a number he didn’t recognize in September, he wasn’t surprised the caller wanted to know if he would be interested in a basketball coaching opening. After all, he had fielded numerous inquiries since Western Michigan University administrators decided not to renew his contract in…

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