Hawkins should get more run against Binghamton

STORRS — Jordan Hawkins gave a glimpse of how good a player he can be in his collegiate debut on Wednesday night.

He’ll likely get a chance to show more than just a glimpse on Saturday, when No. 23 UConn hosts Binghamton at XL Center (noon, FS2).

Hawkins, who missed the first two games of the season with an ankle injury, felt fine coming off Wednesday’s 8-minute debut.

Dan Hurley plans to unfurl the 6-foot-5 freshman guard a bit more against Binghamton (1-2). He wants Hawkins to be a key part of the Huskies’ rotation in next week’s Battle 4 Atlantis, which starts on Wednesday against a strong Auburn team.

“We want to play nine guys,” Hurley noted. “We feel like of the young guys, he’s by far the most ready to take the court with eight other guys and effectively be ready to hit the ground running. He’s a major player for us on this year’s team.”

Hawkins had a bit of a soft opening against LIU, not entering the game until about midway through the second half, when the game was already well out of reach. He jacked up a 3-pointer 30 seconds into his career that missed, and wound up missing both his 3-pointers and shooting just 1-for-4 from the floor. But he grabbed four rebounds and had three steals, one of them leading to an assist on an Andre Jackson dunk, and certainly brimmed with potential.

“He’s aggressive,” senior guard Tyrese Martin noted. “He’s young, but he’s aggressive. He knows what he does great, and he does that consistently. He gets to a spot for his jump shots, makes the open shots. He’s doing pretty well right now, and I can’t wait to see him get going in a game.”

Martin figures Hawkins will

Jessica Hill / Associated Press UConn’s Jordan Hawkins should get a little more playing time when the Huskies face Binghamton on Saturday.