"Never, never believe the polls,'' said the Kings' second-year center, a hard-right Republican. "I've got hope.''
What if the polls happen to be right this time and the Democrats win a landslide victory?
"The fact that this election is even in question right now, that we're even in the ballpark, says a lot about the party,'' Hawes was saying Monday at the Kings' game-day shootaround. "After the way most of America views the last eight years? I think it says a lot that we're even in consideration right now.''
Hawes' confidence as a 20-year-old says much about his potential as a player. In a Sacramento locker room filled with supporters of Barack Obama, he takes pride in his beliefs and enjoys inciting his teammates. He is certain that his attitude helps him on the court.
"It translates over,'' he said. "A lot of it's a competitive thing, that you like being in the middle of things and you like mixing it up on the court and off it.''
Over four starts, the 7-foot-1 Hawes is leading the Kings with 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks while averaging 12.5 points. Hawes has perimeter range, but instead of settling for jumpers, he prefers to up-fake and drive it inside; yet he's happiest of all posting up and applying his abundant footwork and ball skills to outwit his more experienced opponents around the basket. Of course, he gets carried away sometimes.
"Spence has all the tools. He just hasn't learned how to use them all yet,'' Kings coach Reggie Theus said. "We're right now trying to teach Spence how to stay with his power hand. Spence has exceptional skills, but he wants to use his right or left hand all the time and make two or three different fakes, and he looks like an AAU player when he does that.
"We're making the analogy that Tim Duncan likes to use his left hand, too, but he doesn't use it when he needs a basket. He goes to his power hand. So I'm trying to get into Spence's head that he has to have one or two shots that he can go to at all times. Let all the other skills happen off those one or two things.''
Theus provides excellent perspective on Hawes' assertiveness.
"I mean this with great affection, because I was a strong-personality child and I was handled: My dad grabbed me by the chest and shook me a few times, too,'' said Theus, a former All-Star guard. "Spence has to remain humble until he earns the right to be whoever he turns out to be. Not humble in the sense of not wanting to get it done or not feeling that you can get it done, but humble enough to know that you don't know it all yet. That you have not arrived.
"I like that little thing he has on the inside that makes him like that. That's what is ultimately going to make him a great player. It's very uncommon, so it will set him apart. But he has to handle it. He's playing a position where he doesn't match up yet, and he doesn't want to [anger] people either.''
Hawes must make sure to not antagonize the larger, more experienced centers around the league. Not only is Hawes learning to develop his skills after entering the league as a freshman from Washington, but he is also growing into his body. He weighs 240 pounds after a summer of dieting and lifting that transformed fat into muscle.
"I don't think I'm ever going to be a guy who's 265 or 270,'' Hawes said. "The way I play is running up and down the court and trying to be a shot-blocker. It's not a power game, and that's the way the game is going. Guys aren't as big as they were 10 years ago, and the game's not called the way it was. At the end of the day it's a skill game, and that's what the league is emphasizing.''
There's no doubting Hawes' certainty that he's on the right track.
"I think the general public hears the word 'cocky,' and they automatically think of it as a negative,'' Theus said. To succeed in this league, however, "It takes great self-assurance, a little bit of cockiness and self-confidence,'' Theus added. "Those are very positive things in sports, and they're very positive in the business world.''
