Former Washington State star Josh Hawkinson leading FIBA World Cup in rebounds after group stage

After three group stage games at the FIBA World Cup, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Slovenian-born Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic at the top of the tournament’s scoring leaderboard, averaging 30.0 points.

The name of the World Cup’s top rebounder, meanwhile, may not resonate the same on a global level, although it should be familiar to anyone who’s followed Washington State’s basketball program over the last decade.

Josh Hawkinson, who still holds WSU’s record for career double-doubles (56), is tied for the tournament lead with Cape Verde’s Edy Tavares, averaging 12.0 rebounds in three games while representing the Japanese national team.

A Shoreline, Washington, native, Hawkinson has spent the past six seasons playing professionally in the Japanese B.League for the Toyotsu Fighting Eagles and Shinshu Brace Warriors. He recently gained Japanese citizenship, allowing him to play for Japan in international competition.

Hawkinson is averaging a double-double at the World Cup, which is being held in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines, and ranks fourth at the tournament in scoring, averaging 23.3 points per game.

The former WSU standout is keeping good company near the top of the scoring leaderboard, trailing only Slovenia’s Doncic (30.0 ppg), a four-time NBA All-Star, former first-round draft pick and Arizona star Rondae Hollis Jefferson (27.7), who’s playing for Jordan, and Utah Jazz star Jordan Clarkson (24.0), who represents the Philippines.

In Japan’s tournament-opening loss to Germany, Hawkinson made just 1 of 5 shots from the field but went 7 of 8 at the free-throw line to finish with nine points and 10 rebounds.

He rebounded to post his first FIBA double-double, finishing with 28 points and 19 rebounds to help Japan beat a Finland team led by NBA star and former Arizona standout Lauri Markkanen. Hawkinson went 7 of 9 from the field and 14 of 15 from the free-throw line, leading Japan to its first win over a European country in the World Cup.

Japan closed out group stage play with a 109-89 loss to Australia, unable to capitalize on another strong scoring effort from Hawkinson, who totaled 33 points on 13-of-16 shooting from the field and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds.

Hawkinson and Japan were unable to reach the knockout round with a 1-2 record in Group E, but will resume FIBA World Cup play with Thursday’s consolation game against Venezuela at Okinawa Arena in Okinawa, Japan.

Former Gonzaga star Rui Hachimura, who’s set to enter his first full season with the Los Angeles Lakers, elected not to participate in the World Cup, but two other ex-Bulldogs are still in championship contention at the event.

Canada and Kelly Olynyk managed to breeze through the group stage, winning games against France, Lebanon and Latvia by an average margin of 33.6 points.

Olynyk, who just completed his 10th season in the NBA, is second on the Canadian team in points (15.0), rebounds (6.0) and assists (3.7). Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads Canada in all three categories.

The former Gonzaga big man, who finished his college career in 2013 as a consensus All-American, has made five field goals in each of Canada’s three games and scored a tournament-high 18 points in the opening game against France.

Canada, one of the tournament favorites, moves on to face Brazil on Friday at 6:15 a.m. in the knockout round.

Filip Petrusev scored eight points in just 6 minutes during Serbia’s opener against China before leaving the game with an ankle injury.

The former Gonzaga center and West Coast Conference Player of the Year didn’t play in group stage games against Puerto Rico and South Sudan. He will have a chance to return to the floor when Serbia, still unbeaten at the tournament, faces Italy on Friday in a knockout game.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few and the United States are still firmly in the mix for a FIBA World Cup title. After winning Group J with convincing victories over New Zealand (99-72), Greece (109-81) and Jordan (110-62), Few and the U.S. will prepare to play Montenegro at 1:30 a.m. (ESPN2) on Friday.