(Information in this team report is as of October 1.)
Add one more name to the Nolan Richardson coaching tree.
Darrell Hawkins, a former standout player for Arkansas under Richardson, is now the head coach at Prairie View.
It's only on an interim basis, but Hawkins is going to take the job and run with it. Literally.
He plans to run, run and run some more at Prairie View ala Richardson's glory days at Arkansas where he unleashed his 40 minutes of hell style of basketball.
"That's how I want to play,'' Hawkins said. "What you see is what you get. We're not going to try to hide anything. If you don't want to play that way, then go somewhere else.''
Hawkins replaces former coach Jerry Francis, who was let go after three seasons. Francis led the Panthers to their first SWAC regular-season championship since 1962 in his first year. However, the last two years, the Panthers won just 11 games combined.
And, the administration grew tired of Francis' sometimes wild antics during practice and games.
After long discussion and debate, which included talk of possibly hiring former Alcorn State coach Dave Whitney, Prairie View decided to bump Hawkins up from assistant to head coach.
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