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KyForward Senior Sports Writer

Going into the sunset of his collegiate career, Dominique Hawkins has never felt more comfortable in a Kentucky uniform.

“(My confidence level) is probably the highest it’s been since I’ve been in a Kentucky jersey,” Hawkins said Monday.

The former Kentucky Mr. Basketball and Madison Central standout has been one of the main reasons the Wildcats have recovered from a mid-season rut that featured three losses during a four-game span. Going into Tuesday’s game at Missouri, the 11th-ranked Wildcats have won four straight and Hawkins has gained considerable more playing time during the past two games. The senior guard tallied 19 total points in wins over Tennessee and Georgia, respectively.

His emergence couldn’t have come at a better time and the Kentucky coaching staff has embraced his recent contributions on both ends of the floor.

“I can’t begin to tell you how happy we are all with Dominique as coaches,” Kentucky associate coach Kenny Payne said Tuesday. “Dominique Hawkins brings a little something different — more energy at times, defensive toughness at times. Lately he’s been our best on-ball defender. He deserves this. He shouldn’t take second fiddle to any player on this team because he’s just as good. He’s playing that way.”

Although always known for his defensive skills, Hawkins is starting to get a knack for scoring and has made six field goals, including six 3-pointers, during the last two games. He knocked down a clutch 3-pointer and confidently drained his trademark floater in the lane during a hard-fought 82-77 win over the Bulldogs last weekend in Athens.

“I feel real comfortable on both ends, offensively and defensively,” Hawkins said. “I feel like the ball’s going in for me now. My role is definitely just being an energy guy. Come in and make open shots, play great defense on great ball-handlers and pressure them.”

It wasn’t until recently that Hawkins gained confidence in his shooting and said going to the rim more in practice helped develop his confidence on the offensive end of the floor. Hawkins added that he’s become “more aggressive than I’ve been before” especially when it comes to driving to the basket.

“I really didn’t know that I could drive the ball so easily and get a floater or a shot off by just making a play myself,” he said. “It’s something I’ve been working on in practice. I just wasn’t confident enough to do it in games, but now my confidence is sky-high, like everybody has been saying and I’m just doing it in games now.”

Hawkins has improved throughout his career by simply playing behind a solid cast of teammates and has encountered a variety of talent in his four years with the Wildcats.

“I’ve done this against all types of guys that came through here (and) I should be able to do it against other college elite players as well,” Hawkins said.

Of all the players Hawkins has competed against while at Kentucky, he considers Tyler Ulis among the toughest to compete against in practice. Ulis helped Hawkins sharpen his ball handling skills, a trait which has come in handy for the all-purpose guard this season.

“I had to master my ball handling (when playing against Ulis),” he said. “And also on offense, on defense, it’s pretty tough guarding Tyler too. I actually learned a lot from on him on pressuring the ball. I’ve never seen anybody pressure the ball like he did.”

Although it would have been easy for Hawkins to get discouraged during the past four years, the senior guard never considered leaving the program.

“This is my dream school,” he said. “I definitely wanted to stay here and I felt like my time was going to come. I didn’t want to be one of those guys that would leave a school that I love. I never even thought about leaving, actually. I’m just blessed to be able to be a part of this.”

Gametracker: Kentucky at Missouri, Tuesday, 9 p.m. TV/Radio: SEC Network, 98.1 FM WBUL.

Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter