Despite reports of Illinois transfer Coleman Hawkins heading to Louisville for a weekend visit, Coleman Hawkins will not be heading to Louisville.
Instead, Hawkins will spend the weekend in Manhattan, Kansas, for a date with Jerome Tang and the Kansas State Wildcats.
Hawkins, a 6-foot-10 forward from California, spent the previous four seasons with Illinois and developed into one of the Big Ten’s best playmakers during his career with the Illini. Hawkins posted 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game in his fourth season of college basketball.
Coming out of Prolific Prep High School in the Class of 2020, Hawkins was listed as a three-star player by the 247Sports index and the nation’s 167th-ranked player. He also checked in as the 38th-ranked player at his position and the 16th-ranked player in the state of California. Four seasons later, Hawkins is one of the top-ranked players in the transfer portal, currently listed as the portal’s second-ranked available player.
The Wildcats have already added an impressive cast of players through the transfer portal this offseason, including Michigan’s Dug McDaniel, Samford’s Achor Achor, Kentucky’s Ugonna Onyenso, Arkansas’ Baye Fall, Villanova’s Brendan Hausen, UIC’s CJ Jones, and Cal State Fullerton’s Max Jones.
Jerome Tang and the Wildcats have just one scholarship remaining to fill ahead of the 2024 season. If they can end the portal cycle with the addition of Coleman Hawkins, Kansas State could become a dark horse candidate to win the Big 12 Conference in the upcoming season.
