Just when he could’ve used some good news, Gary Ervin’s world has been rocked by another shock death in the family.
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The Brooklyn-born guard had just finished a morning workout with his Wollongong teammates earlier this week when he received word that his 19-year-old cousin had been murdered.
Still coming to terms with the sudden death of his 40-year-old cousin Kevin in November, Ervin said he had been doing it tough.
‘‘I’m just trying to hold it in as much as I can,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve had one of the toughest years of my career with injuries, us not having great success as a team and two deaths in my family. I’m just blessed my back is not hurting now, but I wish I wasn’t playing with the stress of thinking about family. I guess God put me in this situation for a reason.
‘‘I’ll let it out somehow. Hopefully I can let it out on Sunday.’’
Ervin and the Hawks are desperate to halt a run of five straight losses in Sunday’s road duel with the Adelaide 36ers.
The 2011 NBL MVP played with the Sixers last season, helping them to their first grand final appearance in 12 years.
He was unwanted by the club when the season ended and appeared to have a point to prove in this season’s round three clash with the Sixers in Adelaide.
Ervin exploded for 15 points in the first quarter and had 22 by half-time. He finished with 26, but the Hawks were pummelled 94-73 after being out-scored by 18 points in the third quarter.
‘‘It’s always great to go back to a place where you’ve played before and had a great season,’’ he said.
‘‘You always want to give it your all and play well when you go into one of those situations.’’
The Hawks (3-17) are well out of finals contention with eight games remaining. Five of those matches are on the road.
‘‘This is a game I feel like that we’re playing for pride and for each other,’’ Ervin said.
‘‘The best thing about it is that you can go out and play and give it your all, because you ain’t got nothing to lose.
‘‘The only thing we’ve got is trying to spoil people’s chances of making the playoffs, and that’s definitely something we’re capable of doing.
‘‘We’re going to play every game with that heart and intensity. Obviously the record doesn’t show it, but we know we’re a team that’s capable of beating any team on any given night. We just have to do it for 40 minutes.’’
Tickets are on sale for Wollongong’s home game against Adelaide next Friday.
The Hawks will be wearing throwback uniforms from 1986 and are charging $19.86 per ticket.