Two months before Darrius Hawkins scored his first point for Homewood-Flossmoor, he had social media ablaze when he scored 61 points at an elite exposure camp.
In September, Hawkins lit it up during a game at the MSHTV camp in Fishers, Indiana.
“I felt like I couldn’t miss,” Hawkins said. “My teammates were getting me the ball and I was giving them the ball. I think we scored 110 or 115 points that game.”
It was another strong game Friday night for Hawkins and the Vikings.
The freshman guard scored eight points and played stellar defense as H-F rolled to a 76-60 SouthWest Suburban Conference victory over host Sandburg in Orland Park.
Brent Taylor led H-F (20-2, 10-0) with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Jayden Tyler tallied 18 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Arden Eaves added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Vikings, who win their seventh straight since a Dec. 29 loss to Rich Township in the Big Dipper.
Will Johnson led Sandburg (12-10, 3-7) with 20 points — 16 coming in the second half — and seven rebounds. Malachi Perkins ended up with 10 points for the Eagles.
While Hawkins has been heralded in capital letters and exclamation points by various internet accounts over the years, he doesn’t dwell on the attention. But he doesn’t shy away from it, either.
“I can’t help but see it when it’s in front of my face,” Hawkins said. “I’ll watch some of the videos once in a while. Not all the time. But I like it when they are saying nice things about me.”
Hawkins said he’s not related to former Westinghouse and NBA standout Hersey Hawkins, but the 5-foot-10 point guard has shown he can put the ball in the basket in similar fashion.
But with a group of veteran teammates on his side, Hawkins has refined other parts of his game to earn the trust of H-F coach Jamere Dismukes. He’s the first freshman to play varsity for Dismukes.
“Darrius plays great defense every play, so he’s doing a lot for us even if he is not scoring,” Dismukes said of Hawkins. “If you can play defense, I will put you on the floor.”
Hawkins, who came through with a career-high 20 points against Sandburg when the two teams met on Jan. 7, entered Friday with 2:30 left in the first quarter and quickly scored a basket.
He then stole the ball for a layup to put H-F ahead 18-10 but didn’t take many shots after that.
Dismukes, who had seen Hawkins play quite a few times before high school, wasn’t surprised.
“When I found out that he was in the district, my job was to keep him here,” Dismukes said. “He could go to any school in the state — you know how that goes. But he chose to stay here.”
Hawkins said that watching H-F win the Class 4A state championship last season helped him stay around and want to play for the Vikings.
“I got to hang around them and see the brotherhood,” Hawkins said. “I liked all of them. They were like brothers to me.”
Wofford recruit Tyler, meanwhile, said he appreciates Hawkins and what he has to offer.
“He’s a dog,” Tyler said. “He brings in that energy and always has the energy we need. He is never slacking. He’s never lazy. He’s a real big part of our team.”
While Hawkins might not be putting in 61 points a game, he said he has been learning a lot this season playing for a balanced team that has its sights set on repeating as state champions.
“I’m learning how to be a leader to my teammates,” he said. “I try to be a leader by example.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
