Prep's 7-footer Hawes headed to UW to build on family legacy

When he walks onto the Washington campus next fall as one of the most heralded basketball recruits in the university's history, Spencer Hawes will be looking to build on a legacy.

Just not the one you might think.

Hawes, who leads No. 2 Seattle Prep into the Class 3A state boys tournament that begins today, chose the Huskies not to continue a family hoops tradition, but to build on UW's recent trend of winning with local players.

The legacy that concerns him has more to do with Nate Robinson and Brandon Roy than with Dad and Uncle Steve.

Family is important to the 7-foot center, whose father Jeff and uncle Steve played basketball for the Huskies, but the biggest decision of his life wasn't determined by family ties. For ultra-competitive Spencer Hawes, who used to yell at girls on the playground and isn't afraid to defend his conservative views to left-leaning classmates, the only legacy he's concerned with is winning.

"I think a lot of people made a bigger deal out of that than it really is for me," Hawes said of following relatives to Washington. "I was looking at the best situation for me. I wasn't looking at them having been there. I really didn't look at it any differently than the other schools. Continuing the legacy, I didn't really buy into that. I just thought, beyond all of that, that Washington was the best decision for me. This is where my best opportunity is."

Hawes sees an opportunity to be the local kid that takes a UW program already on the rise to even greater heights.

"It's a program that's been real close," said Hawes, who averages 20.1 points, 11 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.5 assists for the Panthers. "I think it's just a matter of, in the past, local players not sticking around. Now that we've got the local guys staying home, I think that I, along with the other guys, can provide that punch to take it to the next level.

"Guys like Brandon, Will [Conroy], Nate, they got it started. I want to be one of those Seattle guys that continues the tradition."

And as much as Spencer's relatives wanted to see him end up at Washington, they applied little pressure.

"We didn't do any recruiting at all," said his father Jeff. "We went on the trips, his visits at North Carolina and Stanford, but we stayed as neutral as we could so that he could make his own decision. Of course, we're delighted with the decision he made."

Said Spencer, "It's definitely going to be fun. Growing up around that program being a Huskies fan, it's cool to kind of be the next generation."

Fourth-generation Dawg

A childhood spent on the ski slopes, lacrosse and soccer fields and baseball diamonds helped shaped Hawes into a remarkably athletic big man.

Not surprising considering that Hawes' Huskies lineage started in a sport other than basketball.

Hawes will be the fourth generation of his family involved in Washington athletics. Great grandfather Edward Hawes was one of the school's first athletic managers and helped hire legendary crew coach Hiram Conibear in 1907. Edward Hawes also helped purchase the school's first racing shells. Spencer's grandfather, Kinne Hawes, continued the crew legacy, rowing for the Huskies in the late 1930s.

Kinne had two sons who started the basketball legacy.

Both Jeff and Steve Hawes starred at Mercer Island High School, eventually playing for the Huskies. Steve was a two-time All-American who played at Washington from 1970 to '72. The 6-9 center's 20.8 career scoring average is still the best in school history, and he is a member of the UW All-Century Team and Hall of Fame. He played in the NBA for 10 seasons, finishing with the Sonics.

Jeff played for the Huskies from 1972 to '74 and later played professionally in France and Finland.

"Any time I had a question about basketball I didn't have to go very far," said Spencer Hawes. "It's almost something I kind of take for granted. The things I've learned, things that I saw so many times growing up, it just became instinctual."

Hawes still plays occasional games of one-on-one with his 6-7 dad.

"He still has some old-school moves that he can get me with," said Spencer Hawes with a grin.

How does Spencer's game compare with that of Uncle Steve, who was one of the state's greatest high-school players?

"I'd say he's head and shoulders above where I ever was," Steve Hawes said.

Hawes' resumé backs up such praise. Last week, he was named to play in this month's McDonald's All-American game. He is ranked second among centers in the nation for his class, and in the top eight overall on several recruiting Web sites. If not for a change in NBA draft rules, Hawes might have skipped Montlake altogether.

Even if the NBA has to wait, Hawes already tasted the NBA lifestyle when friend and former teammate Martell Webster stopped by during the All-Star break. The sixth-overall pick in last year's draft let Hawes get behind the wheel of his new Bentley.

"I was driving his car, living the life a little," Hawes said.

And the NBA? "It's hard not to think about it, especially having Martell come home and hearing about it," he said. "But the fact is, right now, it's not an option. ... However long I'm there [UW], if it's one year or if it's four, I'm just going to live it up and have as good of a time as I can."

Dreams of Tobacco Road

Spencer Hawes didn't always dream of wearing purple and gold. He was always a fan, but during most of his childhood, the Huskies just weren't that good.

"I was thinking elsewhere when I was a kid," said Hawes, who triggers chants of "Spencer! Spencer!" from UW students when he walks into Edmundson Pavilion before games. "Places like Duke, Stanford, North Carolina."

He chose the Huskies over Stanford and North Carolina to help build on a winning tradition at home. To anyone who knows Hawes, it makes sense that his decision was based on winning.

The kid hates to lose. Can't stand it. At Saint Anne's Catholic School, he would yell at kids on the playground during pickup games.

"That used to get me in trouble back in middle school," he said. "I'd be yelling at girls, and people would look at me like, 'What are you doing? You're out here on the playground. It's recess.' But I took it seriously. I don't like to lose. If I thought something could be done better, I'd let people know.

"I've toned it down a lot. I don't yell at girls anymore. I've learned how to channel it a lot better to make it constructive."

Hawes is as competitive off the court as on it. As someone whose political beliefs lean a little — OK, a lot — further to the right than many Seattleites, the 3.7 student finds himself debating politics with classmates and teachers.

"He's competitive, and he's extremely smart and very well read," said Sandi Whiton, who teaches Hawes in African Studies. "He's very passionate about his politics. He feels strongly about them and is always willing to share his views with anyone and everyone."

Driving to Tacoma

That competitive fire also has driven Hawes during his senior season.

Last year, despite having Hawes and Webster, the Panthers failed to make the state tournament. Before the start of this season, Hawes went on a local radio station and guaranteed a trip to state, something his team backed up last week.

"This year coming in, I knew I didn't want to be that guy that never made it to state," he said. "I didn't want to go out like that. We got that part done, but we're not done yet. We can't get complacent and think that we're entitled to anything. We've got to try to go down there and win it."

If Seattle Prep does win it all, you can bet Dad and Uncle Steve will be there, just as they will be next season as Spencer Hawes builds on the Hawes' and Huskies' legacies.