The big question at the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational basketball tournament this week was how did Fairfield (Conn.) University sign Yorel Hawkins of Apex.

"Tell me how everybody in North Carolina missed on him," said basketball recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports. "He is fantastic. You're talking about someone who could develop into a Josh Howard-type player."

Hawkins -- named for his father Leroy, spelled backwards -- made the Glaxo his own showcase. He scored 29 points in the Cougars' opener against eventual tournament runner-up Woodland Hills (Calif.) Taft, added 25 points on Thursday in a 66-54 loss to Kinston and scored 39 in a 67-56 win over Middle Creek in the seventh-place game.

Hawkins' 93 points were the eighth-highest scoring total in the 35-year history of the event.

Among those ahead of him are Donald Williams (Garner), an NCAA most valuable player at North Carolina; Rodney Monroe (Hagerstown, Md.), one of the top scorers in ACC history at N.C. State; Michael Miller (Mitchell, S.D.), an NBA standout; Penny Hardaway (Memphis Treadwell), another NBA star; and Phil Ford (Rocky Mount), one of the best players ever in the ACC at North Carolina.

If Hawkins had not signed his national letter of intent during the early signing period in November, he now would be pursued by bigger and more well-known programs.

But Hawkins said he is comfortable with his college choice.

"I feel good about my decision," Hawkins said. "I have a relationship with my coaches at Fairfield that is fantastic."

Fairfield coach Ed Cooley offered a scholarship while many in-state schools still were evaluating.

"The days before the signing period, I got lots of calls asking me to hold off because their school wanted to look at me again," Hawkins said. "I had already visited Fairfield and I was sold on the school."

A BIG SURPRISE: One of the players who caught scouts' attention during the Glaxo was 6-foot-10 Broughton senior Sam Mason.

He struggled some in the Caps' opening loss to Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict's but showed potential in the second round when matched against Middle Creek.

"I think he's a prospect," Gibbons said. "He really hustles. He has a nice shot, and he does a lot of good things. And he is 6-10."

Gibbons also was impressed with Middle Creek's 6-8 Marcus Kitts, a William & Mary recruit.

"He really has nice moves inside," Gibbons said. "He's another one that could have helped an awful lot of teams in North Carolina."

SNEAKY PLAYER: Southern Durham's Julian Gamble, a 6-9 commitment to the ACC's Miami, is a player whose contributions sneak up on you. In Thursday's win over Goldsboro, for example, he scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds without ever seeming to shine.

"I need to get stronger," Gamble said. "I weigh 255 [pounds] right now, but it is not all muscle. I know I have work to do."

PUERTO RICO CONNECTION: Boonville Starmount's 6-9 junior Victor Davila showed that he is among the best young players in North Carolina during the tournament, but he basically is unfazed by the recruiting attention he is receiving.

A native of Puerto Rico, Davila came to Miami as an eighth- grader. He has lived with his guardians in Starmount for the past three years.

Starmount coach Kent Phillips rolled off a long list of schools that have offered scholarships, including N.C. State, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Virginia. But Davila said he has no favorites, no trimmed list of schools.

"Victor is a coach's dream," Phillips said. "He is concentrating on this season. If he scored 30 points and we lost, he would be disappointed. If he had two points and two rebounds and we won, he'd be happy."

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