Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Shane Hawkins Named Men's Basketball Assistant Coach
05/27/2004 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
May 27, 2004
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University men's basketball coach Chris Lowery named Shane Hawkins assistant coach on Thursday. Hawkins, a Saluki alum and the most prolific 3-point shooter in school history, has served the last two seasons as the program's graduate assistant.
"Shane is a terrific young coach who has meant a lot to SIU as both a player and graduate assistant," Lowery said. "He has been very instrumental in our player development and also has great expertise at teaching the motion offense. It is always a plus to have our players learn from a member of the Saluki family."
As a player at SIU from 1995-98, Hawkins made a school-record 314 shots from 3-point range and 39 percent of his attempts from behind the arc. He ranks 14th in career scoring with 1,384 points and second in assists with 435. Hawkins' stellar career included a trip to the NCAA Tournament during his freshman year, in which he made 7-of-8 3-point shots in a 96-92 loss to Syracuse.
Hawkins worked with the Saluki basketball program as a student assistant during the 1998-99 season while he finished his degree in health education. From there, he found his first coaching job at Barton County Community College (Kan.), where he served as an assistant from 1999-2001. Hawkins handled recruiting, worked with the team's perimeter players, and monitored the academic progress of student-athletes, among other responsibilities.
In 2001, Hawkins joined the staff at Southwestern Illinois College (Ill.), where he also served as recruiting coordinator. In three years as a JUCO assistant coach, Hawkins' teams had a combined 85-18 record. He helped coach 10 future Division I players and three All-Americans.
Hawkins' responsibilities will include recruiting, team travel, summer camps and supervision of player academics. He fills the opening on the staff created when Paul Lusk left last week to join Gene Keady and Matt Painter at Purdue.
