Brandon Hawkins, former Cyclone guard who left the basketball team on Dec. 15, will be eligible to play for the San Jose State Spartans in the spring semester of 2002.Hawkins, who was an all-city selection in Los Angeles his senior year at Crenshaw High School, said he likes being close to home now.”It’s only a 45-minute flight home,” Hawkins said.The sophomore started all seven games for Iowa State this season at the off-guard or small forward position before leaving the team. He averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in the seven games.Hawkins said he was recruited by ISU head coach Larry Eustachy to play point guard, the position he wanted to play for the Cyclones.But in a meeting with Eustachy prior to his decision, Hawkins said Eustachy told him that he would finish out his career at Iowa State as a small forward.Hawkins said that was his main reason for leaving.Eustachy said that Hawkins would not have played the position he desired because “we have better point guards.”Senior Jamaal Tinsley currently occupies it. He was selected to the Playboy Preseason All-America Team. Tinsley has led the Cyclones all season, including this past Saturday, when he scored 26 points in a win against Kansas State.Next year Eustachy said prep star Ricky Morgan will suit up for Iowa State. Morgan, a Michigan native, turned down a scholarship offer from No. 5 Michigan State.Morgan turned down the scholarship because the Spartans signed the highly regarded Marcus Taylor.Eustachy said nobody is right or wrong in a situation like Hawkins’.”You know, he could be a first-round draft choice,” he said.Hawkins said he chose San Jose State because Spartans head coach Steve Barnes told him he could play the point. However, he said he did not have the Spartans in mind when he left the Cyclones. The Spartans currently sport a 10-10 record.There are some things Hawkins misses about Iowa State. “I miss the crowd and the atmosphere,” he said. And he misses Tinsley, guard Kantrail Horton and forward Richard Evans – the players whom Hawkins hung out with.Horton said Hawkins talked to him about wanting to play the point, but he “wasn’t expecting him to quit.”Hawkins said he is not envious of the success that the Cyclones have enjoyed without him. “I hope they go all the way,” he added.”You learn from things like this,” Hawkins said. “The bottom line: this is a business.”Eustachy, once again, does not see things as Hawkins does. “No, it’s not a business. It’s a family.”