Hall Gives Quincy Outside Chance

When Quincy University men’s basketball Coach Steve Hawkins signed former Crespi High and College of Canyons swingman Rasaan Hall to a letter of intent two years ago, Hawkins’ expectations were modest.

The coach knew he was getting a tenacious player with a lot of heart, who, at 6 feet 4, 205 pounds, had a guard’s body but a low-post player’s game.

Because he played on teams that lacked height, Hall had to patrol the backboards and wasn’t able to develop much of an outside shot.

That didn’t concern Hawkins, who viewed Hall as a leader and role player who could possibly help the Hawks win an NCAA Division II championship.

“He’s the kind of guy you want in your foxhole,” Hawkins said. “Rasaan is a very intelligent basketball player who has a strong desire to win.”

Hall has given more than he bargained for.

Two summers ago, the senior worked to develop an outside shot and he has set a regular-season Quincy record by shooting 54.2% from three-point range. He ranked fourth in that category among Division II players.

Furthermore, Hall, who has made 67 of 126 three-point shots, leads the Hawks in scoring at 16 points per game.

His 18 points in a 116-94 victory over Oakland of Michigan Tuesday in the first round of the NCAA Division II tournament helped Quincy (22-6) win its first playoff game since 1986, when it competed in the NAIA.

The fourth-seeded Hawks will face top-seeded Northern Kentucky (24-3) at 12:15 p.m. today in the Great Lakes Regional semifinal at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati. The winner advances to the round of eight.

“Last year we were excited to be the first team to make it to the Division II tournament for Quincy,” Hall said. “Now we want to take care of business.”

Hall’s business, of late, has been scoring--and not by accident. He spent most of the 1993 summer learning the long-range shot with former Crespi Coach Chris Nichevich and teammate Rob Leff.

Hawkins found Hall’s point production better than expected last year, when the junior transfer averaged 11.5 points, second-best on the team. Hall made 47 three-point shots, but his average from that range (36.7%) was just that--average.

After making two of six three-point shots against Oakland, Hall’s accuracy is 53.2% (he is shooting 57.4% overall and 77.4% from the free-throw line).

Other than getting open shots, Hall can’t explain his improvement and doesn’t care to dwell on it.

“I try not to think about it but just go out and play my game,” he said. “I’m getting great passes, great screens. I’ve been getting a great opportunity to score, and the shots have been going in for me.”

On a Quincy team that has two players who stand 6-9 and another at 6-8, Hall plays power forward and usually takes his shots from the wing.

“But Coach Hawkins never brought me in here to shoot the three-ball,” Hall said. “He brought me in here to play underneath with the big guys and to play defense.”

Said Hawkins: “Defense is his strong suit, but he can score from anywhere on the floor. He’s a kid who could run the floor.”

He scored 27 against Missouri Rolla and 29 against Southern Illinois Edwardsville, and he posted 24 points on four occasions. But Hall’s scoring average hovered at around 12 points until midseason.

Over the past 13 games, Hall is averaging 19.7 points, scoring in double figures in each.

“I had a talk with one of our assistant coaches and he just said, ‘Embrace each game,’ ” Hall said. “I thought I was giving 100% in each one of them. But I guess there was something I wasn’t tapping into.

“If you had an ideal way to go out . . . this is the way you go out.”

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Around the Country: Senior guard David Langley (Canyons) also had 18 points and added seven rebounds and five assists against Oakland, while freshman forward Matt Steffe (Hart) added 10. Langley is threatening to break Marty Benbrock’s Quincy free-throw percentage record of 82.1%. Langley is shooting 82.6% from the line. . . . Westmont junior guard Sean Martin (Agoura/Moorpark College) was selected first-team All-Golden State Athletic Conference after averaging 14.8 points and five assists a game in conference play. Martin broke a school record with 10 three-point baskets against Western Washington in January.

In women’s basketball, sophomore reserve guard Marion Jones (Thousand Oaks) averages 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds 5.2 assists and 3.6 steals for defending NCAA champion North Carolina. . . . Oregon State junior guard Anjanette Dionne (Hart) is tied for sixth in the Pacific 10 Conference in steals per game (2.4) and ranks 10th in assists (four per game).

In baseball, junior first baseman Mike Muir (Chatsworth) carried a team-high .385 batting average for Michigan in February.

In softball, first baseman Amy Chellevold (Thousand Oaks) leads Arizona (14-0) with a .510 batting average. She has a home run and 10 runs batted in. . . . Jenny Dalton (Glendale) is batting .429 and Arizona teammate Krista Gomez (Alemany) is at .459. Dalton has six home runs and 27 runs batted in. Nancy Evans (Hoover) is 7-0 with a 2.93 earned run average for the Wildcats. . . . Michigan freshman pitcher/shortstop Sara Griffin (Simi Valley) is 3-2 with a team-high 27 strikeouts. Griffin had a run-scoring single to help the No. 10 Wolverines upset second-ranked UCLA recently.