Hawthorne Mentors Athlete Outside the Lines

GIBSON looks to take over leadership role on Aggie basketball team (6:30 p.m.)
By Jason Groves/Sun-News reporter
Article Launched: 10/21/2008 06:32:46 PM MDT

LAS CRUCES — Jonathan Gibson has never lacked for confidence on the basketball court.
But after the summer that he had, New Mexico State basketball fans should expect the 6-foot-2 junior guard to take another significant step in his young career.

Gibson spent the majority of the summer back home in California, working out with current Division I players, as well as matching up against NBA players during pick-up games on the UCLA campus.

"There were some big time players coming to college with a lot of hype so that helped with my confidence just playing and working out with them and playing with the pros," Gibson said.

"I still played my game out there. It made my game easier and I realized what I need to do and work on."

Gibson is the only returning starter to the Aggies this season as a junior. He was second on the team in scoring as a sophomore last year with 12.2 points per game, starting 32 games and shooting 41.9 percent from behind the 3-point line, which was fourth in the Western Athletic Conference.

Gibson played shooting guard for the majority of last season, but he will likely see time at both guard positions this season as freshman point guard Terrance Joyner has yet to practice as he hopes to gain academic clearance from the NCAA.

"I think I have matured," Gibson said. "My freshman year, I got my feet wet and now I know what to expect from myself and the team."

WAC coaches named Gibson to the WAC first-team preseason team as a junior.
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Sophomore guard Jahmar Young was a second-team selection. Young and sophomore forward Wendell McKines are the only other returning players with significant minutes under their belt, which makes Gibson a natural selection for a leadership role heading into the season on a team that has three true freshmen and three redshirt freshman that all figure to play a significant role.

"I think we are all trying to find roles at this point," Aggies head coach Marvin Menzies said. "Being a returning guy with a lot of minutes last year, we look to (Gibson) to give us some leadership and use his experience and help bring these freshmen along."
While in Los Angeles, Gibson trained with L.A. based trainer Fred Hawthorne.

Hawthorne owns Better Body Today, a training company that has developed the concept of Plyodynamics, which he says combined plyometrics and basketball. Hawthorne coached Gibson briefly at West Covina High in L.A., and has since developed a mentor-like relationship with Gibson.

Plyometrics is training the body using various exercises such as bounding, hopping and jumping.
Better Body has trained over 100 Division I athletes including former Aggies Justin Hawkins and Elijah Ingram.

"I've had Jon since he was in the ninth grade and I was a teacher in the district," Hawthorne said. "He has been doing (plyodynamics) for years now, which is why he is so quick. You wouldn't believe his workload this summer."

Hawthorne said a typical summer day for Gibson began at 8 a.m., with shooting drills. Hawthorne said Gibson would shoot between 500-700 shots per day in addition to speed, resistance or weight training. Then late in the afternoon, he would play pick up games at UCLA with current NBA players as well as college players from the L.A. area.

Gibson's group in the morning included a trio of Southern California players including freshman Demar Derozen. Derozen and Gibson played on Hawthorne's Salvatori's Future Stars club in the L.A. based Say No Classic, where Hawthorne said Gibson was second with 21 points per game behind Derozen's 30.

"This is the most focused that I have seen him," Hawthorne said. "(Former Aggies coach) Reggie Theus knew his potential, but he also wanted (Gibson) to fully understand the game of basketball. Now I think that he is grasping the leadership role and the steps that he needs to take to be a Division I basketball player and be an ambassador for New Mexico State."

Gibson was a freshman when Ingram finished his eligibility at NMSU, and he has said he learned a great deal from Hawkins in his three years on campus. He hopes to pass on that knowledge while helping NMSU compete in a league that is equally as young as the Aggies.

"I learned a lot from those guys and now I try to teach them some of the things that I've learned, just by example or by being more vocal on the court," Gibson said.

Jason Groves can be reached at jgroves@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5459

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