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Gold Coast basketball player suffers stroke

Juaquin Hawkins, who played for the NBA's Houston Rockets in 2002-2003, suffered a stroke and will miss the remainder of Australia's National Basketball League season for the Gold Coast Blaze.

Team officials said yesterday that Hawkins, 34, is expected to make a full recovery.

Hawkins, who also had four exhibition games with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2004, played in the Gold Coast's win over Townsville on Dec. 31 but did not play against the Melbourne Tigers two days later.

At first Hawkins was thought to be suffering heat stroke and exhaustion, but team officials said further hospital tests indicated he suffered a stroke.

Hawkins, who played in college for Long Beach State, was averaging 13.6 points in 19 games with the NBL's first-year club.

He was Gold Coast's first international signing.

Team officials said Hawkins was resting at his Gold Coast home with his family and has decided to stay in Australia for the rest of the season.

"A stroke is not something you would have predicted especially for such a fit, athletic player like Juaquin," Blaze chief executive Dave Claxton said.

"The facts are that he is out for the season and the doctor is expecting him to make a full recovery. It's a medical thing. Only time will tell," he said.
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