FAMILY TIES

A COUPLE OF COUSINS STOLE THE SHOW IN MARCH MADNESS

- MARK BECHTEL

AFTER LEADING UConn to its fifth men's national championship April 3 with 16 points, Huskies sophomore marksman Jordan Hawkins delivered the most memorable quote of March Madness: "The cookout gonna be lit."

He was referring to a family barbecue to celebrate not only his title but also the one captured by his cousin, LSU forward Angel Reese, the night earlier. Cookouts are a big thing in their extended family. When the cousins were growing up in Maryland, they and a couple hundred of their relatives would meet at a park in Gaithersburg. (Asked how many people were usually there, Hawkins says, "A lot." When pressed for a more exact number, he says, "A lot.") There'd be burgers and dogs on the grill and plenty of pickup basketball. "Everybody plays basketball in the family," says Reese. "It's fun when you go to a cookout and everybody's on the court playing and it's competitive."