Illinois Basketball: Latest Buzz On Coleman Hawkins

Illinois Basketball: Latest Buzz On Coleman Hawkins

Last week, Illinois Basketball fans received the news that Coleman Hawkins would enter the transfer portal while going through the NBA draft process. This was surprising news to most fans, however, this was an exceptionally smart decision by Coleman to have all options on the table. He then went on The Field of 68 with Jeff Goodman to discuss his reasoning more thoroughly. Ultimately, Hawkins stated that he would prefer to go to the NBA draft, however, if he does return to college basketball, it would likely not be in an Illinois uniform.

CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander talked about the recent buzz on Coleman Hawkins during an episode of the Eye on College Basketball Podcast.

The Buzz:

The Eye on College Basketball Podcast had an episode surrounding the recent transfer portal news. Around 32:33, the discussion turns toward Coleman Hawkins. Per Matt Norlander, the schools that are involved are “Arkansas, [North] Carolina, Louisville, and Kansas State”. Norlander discussed that Hawkins would be demanding a high NIL price, which is not surprising to anyone. He also stated that the recent buzz “is more likely than not that he would return to college, although no sure thing” 

Coleman is essentially doing what is best for his basketball career and for his potential earnings. However, it will certainly pain a lot of Illinois fans to see their star forward in another college basketball uniform.