Illinois Basketball: How Coleman Hawkins Performed at NBA Combine

Originally posted on Armchair Illini | By Alex Kyi | Last updated 5/14/24

Illinois Basketball: How Coleman Hawkins Performed at NBA Combine

Coleman Hawkins is going through the NBA draft combine for the second year in a row. Last year, the Illinois basketball star performed well and received feedback that led him to return to Champaign for another year. He certainly improved and showed that he has more to his game despite a pretty significant injury. Hawkins elevated his catch-and-shoot game and proved that he is a true “stretch-four”.

Per the stats posted by WCIAnews, Coleman Hawkins did perform rather similarly to how he did last year from a numbers point of view.

What’s next?

As it currently stands, a number of national media members are predicting that Coleman Hawkins will return to college basketball. He certainly has pro-potential, however, his NIL value is just so high. After seeing Great Osobor go to the University of Washington for a reported two million dollars in NIL, there is zero reason as to why Coleman Hawkins cannot receive just as much. As Matt Norlander reported last week, schools with large NIL bags such as Arkansas, North Carolina and Louisville will make their pitch to the talented big man.

Though this is painful to see for Illinois basketball fans, Hawkins has been very thankful regarding his four years at the University of Illinois. The NIL scene has changed the landscape of college basketball. Coleman Hawkins is just rightfully taking full advantage of his worth.

This article first appeared on Armchair Illini and was syndicated with permission.

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