How Family Connection Led Mavrick Hawkins to Vanderbilt Commitment

NASHVILLE—It was late in the recruiting process of the 1991 class and Rick Ray thought he was close to getting Mavrick Hawkins’ dad Jeff Hawkins in the fold at Indiana State.

Then Kansas called.

It was a near no-brainer for Hawkins at that point and Ray knew it. The Kansas City native was heading to Kansas and there wasn’t all that much the young, energetic assistant at Indiana State could do.

Over 33 years later, Mavrick Hawkins sat there with just one college offer from University of Missouri-Kansas City while Ray and the Vanderbilt staff entered his recruitment again. It appeared as if Ray wasn’t going to be deterred this time. On Monday, the Vanderbilt assistant finally got someone from the Hawkins family to become a member of his program.

“I had a relationship with coach Ray from when he was at Colorado,” Hawkins told Vandy on SI. “It feels really great that Coach Byington and his staff believe in me and how I can help the team.”

The belief that Byington’s staff–which believes that Hawkins can eventually receive significant playing time down the line–has in Hawkins appears to be unique. The only program besides Vanderbilt to offer the 6-foot-2 guard was the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Hawkins has also not been assessed a star ranking by any major recruiting service.

Vanderbilt entered his recruitment over the summer while Hawkins was playing on the 3SSB circuit and hosted the under the radar guard on an official visit over Halloween weekend. That visit showed the 6-foot-2 all he needed to see.

“I think Vanderbilt’s system fits really great with my game,” Hawkins said, “Both how they get after it defensively and the pace in which they play on offense. It’s a great fit for me both as a player and as a student.”

Hawkins is the lowest-rated commit in Vanderbilt’s highly-ranked 2024 class–which includes four-star guards Ant Brown and Ethan Mgbako as well as four-star big man Jackson Sheffield–but his ability to control the game as well as his athleticism is appealing to the Vanderbilt staff.

The 6-foot-2 guard has primarily been utilized as a point guard that leads the offense as a result of his floor vision and ability to avoid turning it over, but is also a capable scorer from all three levels. It will take some adjusting before he becomes a power-five rotation player, but Hawkins does have some tools.

The vision behind taking a commitment from Hawkins isn’t difficult to see. Vanderbilt appears to believe they’ve found a good under the radar get as a result of Hawkins’ quickness and ability to control the game.

The Vanderbilt commit also appears to have the defensive tools to contribute for Vanderbilt down the line. At the very least, he’s got a want to defend.

“I would describe my game as an elite 3 and D player,” Hawkins said via a text message in the days following his commitment. “I can pick up 94ft and can shoot it really well. I’m a coach’s kid so I’ve grown up in a gym. My basketball IQ and court vision are two of my strengths as well.”

Who knows how his skillset eventually translates to the SEC–the Vanderbilt staff believes it will–but the mere opportunity to have the chance to prove that it can is a win for Hawkins.

Now it’s time to work. Now it’s time for Hawkins to prove that those who didn’t recruit him should have.

“Playing for a power 5 program has been one of my goals for a long time,” Hawkins said. “Vanderbilt education is top notch so I’m ready to dive in and become a better basketball player and get my degree from a world class University.”