Minnesota Basketball: Gophers land Howard transfer guard, Elijah Hawkins

Point guard and backcourt depth were primary needs for the Gophers this offseason. After securing Mike Mitchell Jr. as the team’s likely starting PG, Ben Johnson and staff have landed Elijah Hawkins to provide more minutes at guard.

Elijah Hawkins

Pos: PG
Ht: 5’11”
Wt: 152

Hawkins spent the past 2 years as the starting point guard for the Howard Bison. As a sophomore, he was their leading scorer, led them to the program’s first NCAA Tournament since 1992 and was 1st team All-MEAC. His actual stats were 13 ppg, 3.6 rebounds and 6 assists per game while also shooting 46.6% from three!

He’ll bring some energy and defense to the Gohper backcourt as well and he will have 2 years of eligibility remaining.

What is next?

More help is still needed. The frontcourt should be good, another wing or shooter is needed. There may be some competition between Hawkins and Mitchell Jr for the starting PG spot, but I think it is assumed that Hawkins is more likely to come off the bench. Both players added are very good three-point shooters and should really help the Gopher backcourt.

But again...more help is needed. One more contributing perimeter player is really important to round out this transfer class and give the Gophers a great shot at being more competitive next season.