Benson brings in two for 2014
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head coach Chuck Benson has announced the signing of two Tennessee high school basketball players during the early signing period. Sequoyah High School’s Taylor Hawkins and Cookeville High School’s Mason Bates will join the Eagles in the 2014-15 academic year.
Taylor Hawkins high light reel
"Both have got that combination of good player, good student and good person that we look for in our kids," Benson said. "We think they're a perfect fit for this place."
Mason Bates, a 6-4, 200-pound guard, is averaging 16 points, 8.6 boards and 4.8 assists in his senior season for the Cavaliers. He's canned 56 percent of his shots and 36 percent of his threes this year. A year ago, he earned Watertown Christmas Classic honors and won the Newcomer of the Year award for the league.
He helped Cookeville to a district regular season and tournament championship and helped the Cavaliers to a regional title in his junior season.
"There was no question about him as a player. He's very versatile and has a ton of potential," Benson said. "His skill set is vast and he's got an outstanding basketball IQ. We think he'll be a guy that makes his mark in the future of this program."
Bates is a member of the Beta Club and a National Science and Bible award winner. He's the son of Barbara Bates. His sister, Destinee plays basketball for Tusculum and his cousin Tyler Jacquess plays basketball for Tennessee Wesleyan. Bates plans to major in education.
Taylor Hawkins is a 6-3, 215-pound guard. In his junior season playing for Daniel Curtis at Sequoyah High School, Hawkins averaged 19.4 points and 8.2 rebounds. He's pouring in 14.5 points and 6.4 boards a game in his senior year.
He's a two-time all-district and all-Monroe County selection and earned All-District Five tournament team and Tennessee Preps All-Region his junior season.
"He's athletic and has perimeter skills, plus he just has tremendous work ethic," Benson said. "Maybe one of the most important things about Taylor is that he desperately wanted to be here and is invested in what we want to do."
The son of Allen Hawkins, Taylor has carried a 3.6 GPA through high school and plans to study health science at Carson-Newman.
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