LONG BEACH STATE NOTEBOOK / JASON REID : Hawkins Gets Defensive, Then Gets Noticed

A 49er basketball fan recently walked across a crowded campus bookstore to compliment and thank Juaquin Hawkins for his performance, which Hawkins appreciated but found surprising.

Hawkins, of course, plays for Long Beach, but he wasn’t sure that fact was widely known. Hawkins, a junior forward, isn’t among the Big West Conference’s scoring leaders. For that matter, Hawkins isn’t among the 49ers’ statistical leaders.

Hawkins admits his offensive numbers aren’t worthy of praise. Unless 4.4 scoring and 2.9 rebounding averages are now in vogue.

So why would someone go out of his way to thank a player shooting 32% from the field and 43% from the free-throw line? One word: Defense.

Few bring more intensity--and skill--to that part of the game than Hawkins. At 6 feet 7 and 195 pounds, Hawkins regularly takes on the opposition’s best offensive player. Forward, guard or even center, Hawkins handles players of all shapes, sizes and skills.

Nicknamed Hawk for his presence on the floor as much for the obvious, Hawkins is second on the team with 26 steals. He leads the team in charges taken, a key category to any coach with a clue.

Although specific stats aren’t kept, 49er assistant coaches estimate Hawkins averages at least two charges drawn per game.

So here’s the significance: Charges against Hawkins limit the opposition to several fewer shot attempts per game. Can’t score if you don’t have the ball.

“I was very shocked,” Hawkins said of his bookstore encounter.

“(The fan) said just keep playing defense the way I do because not that many people these days play defense that way. What he said was kind of important to me because I know a lot of people probably look at scoring first.”

Except those in the 49er basketball offices.

Coach Seth Greenberg raves about Hawkins’ defensive prowess and his willingness to fulfill an integral, albeit less glamorous, role.

“Hawk,” Greenberg said, “gives you everything that doesn’t show up in the box score.”

Don’t be confused, though.

Hawkins enjoys scoring as much as the next how-can-I-get-on-ESPN-thinkin’ college basketball player. Hawkins scored in bunches as an undersized center at Lynwood High.

But he has been asked to do a different job.

“Everybody on our team has a role, and mine isn’t on the offense end,” he said. “I’m not going to be a scorer, I know that.”

Hawkins’ teammates realize his value.

“They tease anybody I guard (in practice),” Hawkins said. “They say, ‘Hawk is on him, don’t (pass) over there. Don’t even throw it to Hawk’s side.’ ”

As a sophomore, Hawkins was the 49ers’ sixth man and averaged 6.9 points and 4.6 rebounds. His current position is small forward, but Greenberg might move him to power forward next season.

Wherever he winds up, Hawkins said, really won’t matter. His mind-set won’t change.

“I have to defend,” Hawkins said. “I can go two or three games without scoring, but I can’t go one game without playing defense.”

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The homecoming: Mike Atkinson’s return home to San Jose was exciting and successful, as the 49ers won their sixth consecutive conference game, 83-70, over San Jose State on Saturday.

Atkinson, a senior forward whose family lives in San Jose, missed three games during the streak because of a right foot injury. He played 15 minutes and scored nine points on three-of-three shooting.

His emphatic second-half dunk punctuated the blowout victory.

The play of the game was especially meaningful for Atkinson because it occurred only a few feet from his father, Rich, who sat in a wheelchair on the baseline to the left of the basket. Rich Atkinson has multiple sclerosis.

“It was really nice,” said Atkinson, who did not play in last season’s game because of an injury.

“I don’t remember the last time I got to play this long in front of my family. Not since high school, anyway.”

Greenberg disrupted his usual front-court rotation to play Atkinson, whose foot still isn’t completely healed. Reserve freshman forward Akeli Jackson played only eight minutes.

“Mike has been very good to this program,” Greenberg said. “This is the last time he’s going to play up here, so that was one of the reasons I played him that many minutes. I owed Mike that.”

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Tough waiting game: Baseball Coach Dave Snow said Monday he is unsure if starting sophomore pitcher Marcus Jones (Esperanza High) is gone for the season after severely injuring his left ankle.

Jones, a Times all-county selection, badly dislocated his left ankle and tore ligaments Saturday after falling while covering first base in the first inning of Long Beach’s 3-2 nonconference loss at USC. Snow said Jones’ ankle is in a temporary cast and he was scheduled to undergo further medical evaluation Monday.

“I really don’t know what’s going to happen right now,” Snow said. “It’s hard to say because it’s not the type of thing that’s going to be decided (Monday).”

Losing Jones, no matter how long, is a major setback. He is the team’s No. 2 starter and had pitched well after struggling as a freshman.

Long Beach is 3-3 after losing two of its last three games. The 49ers are ranked 20th by Collegiate Baseball and 21st by Baseball America magazines.

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Hot blocker: Neil Mendel, a junior middle blocker on the men’s volleyball team, hit .480 and .609 in the 49ers’ two matches last week.

Long Beach (4-2, 3-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) is ranked No. 3 by Volleyball Magazine.

Notes

Junior swingman Jamie Davis broke out of a shooting slump by making five of eight shots, including two of three from behind the three-point line, and scoring 12 points in the victory over San Jose. In his previous eight games, Davis shot only 26.4% (14 of 53). Davis is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 9.4. . . . The softball team opened its nonconference season Thursday with a doubleheader split against Cal State Dominguez Hills. Dominguez Hills defeated Long Beach in the opener, 1-0. The 49ers won the second game, 7-0. . . . The women’s tennis team earned its first victory by defeating Loyola Marymount, 9-0, Thursday.