Looking to Rebound: Hawley looks to guide the Saints back on track

First-year men’s basketball head coach John Hawley looked as if he was still playing ball for Eastern Oregon University as he busted his tail throughout the Saints’ practice Tuesday afternoon.

This isn’t Hawley’s first rodeo coaching basketball, though most of his experience comes from the high-school level. The soon-to-be 60-year-old has been coaching for over 30 years and has the Saints program excited.

Hawley replaces Geoff Gibor, who left the program last spring to follow other professional opportunities. When Gibor left, he said, “The program is in good hands with Coach Hawley taking over. He will do just fine.”

Prior to coming to Mt. Hood, Hawley served as the athletic director at Centennial High School and volunteered for the Saints men’s team during the 2013-2014 campaign.

Now, he said he feels his squad is ready for the regular season, which begins Nov. 20 when the Saints travel to Auburn, Wash., to square off with Green River Community College.

Before that, Mt. Hood will compete in the annual Clackamas Community College Jamboree on Halloween day. Game times and schedules weren’t available at press time.

During practice, the new coach emphasized better all-around team defense, but knows it’s too early to tell where his team stands on both ends of the floor.

Hands-on approach

As he ran back and forth down the court, he yelled words of wisdom to the players on his 13-man active roster, plus two redshirt freshmen. His eyes lit up and sparkled as his team executed its X’s and O’s.

Hawley said he would love to be even more hands-on, but, due to injury, he has to tame himself and limit how much he pushes the envelope. “If my knee was okay, I would be (playing more),” he said between breaths. “I’m supposed to have an operation on my knee, but I’m waiting it out for a while.”

The intense, bald coach spoke with a southern twang with his players during a break. Throughout practice he yelled out, “We got to be able to do the little things.”

He said the Saints have plenty of versatile scorers, and are sharing the ball “but we really need to work on our defense.”

Hawley couldn’t be more excited to have South Region all-star Jamal Muhammad, a sophomore from Lake Washington High School in the Seattle area, back in action.

The combo guard returns after leading Mt. Hood with 19.5 points per game, good for fourth place in the NWAC in 2014-15. He also averaged 2.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per contest. The Saints finished with a 9-5 record, good for fourth in the region, while going 13-15 overall.

Muhammad, who is being recruited by Oregon State University, Portland State University, University of Portland, Western Oregon University, among other schools, to finish his college career, is working more on his passing game this season. He said the scoring will come naturally when his number is called upon.

“I want to average anywhere from six to eight assists a game this season,” said Muhammad. “I’ve been studying (NBA) guys like Rajon Rondo, old school Steve Nash and Jason Kidd… Russell Westbrook. And when it comes to defense, I’ve been watching video on guys like Tony Allen. I want to be a lock-down defender, too.”

Improved chemistry

Third-year assistant coach Que Quarterman said the team’s vibe is much better this season, and players like Muhammad agree. “This year, Coach Hawley did a good job with recruiting two talented guys at each position,” said Quarterman. “Last year we didn’t have as much depth.”

Muhammad was quick to cite “great chemistry” when describing the Saints and teammates being on the same page, and believing this team can do some real damage this season if things can click on all cylinders.

“Last season we had too many guys worrying about minutes and getting their buckets,” he said. “This year everyone is getting along and trying to help one another get better and sometimes we have to scream at one another to help get back on track.”

Muhammad added, “I’m just trying to be the best player I can and help my team win as much as possible. That’s why I am putting up 500 shots before each practice and really worked a lot with coach Que last season.”

Quarterman said he expects a lot from 6-foot, 6-inch freshman wing Cody Thompson from North Valley High School in Grants Pass, along with a couple of other freshmen from the nearby area. “I’m looking for big things from Cody, along with freshmen Duncan Otis (6-foot, 6-inches from Sam Barlow High School) and Canyon Dwyre (also 6-foot, 6 inches from Sandy High). I’m expecting those freshmen to have an immediate impact on this team.”

Muhammad is eager to get on the court, though he said he’s more locked into scouting at the upcoming Jamboree.

“I’m not too worried about the scrimmage,” he said. “I’m more focused on watching all of the games in between ours to see other teams’ tendencies and how our team matches up with them. I think we are really going to surprise some people this season.”

The Saints play their first home game on Jan. 6 when they square off with South Region foe Clark Community College.