Former Illinois basketball forward Coleman Hawkins is deciding where to finish his college career. Hawkins entered the transfer portal before testing his professional abilities for the 2024 NBA Draft. However, he decided to return to the NCAA for another year, which has opened the door for interest from the Louisville and Kansas State basketball programs. Hawkins’ NIL stance has gotten an update amid his search.

Hawkins’ was rumored to desire a hefty NIL deal from the programs he is interested in, but that rumor has been dispelled. Hawkins does not have a $2 million asking price as previously thought, sources tell Jeff Goodman. He wants to be fairly compensated per the current marketplace, but his interest in teams is more about fit, the chance to develop, playing for a winning program, and having a coach who can get the best out of him.

Hawkin was originally supposed to visit Louisville in early June. Yet, he has decided to pivot and visit Kanas State instead, per Cameron Salerno. Louisville and Kansas State are both reputable basketball programs; however, the Wildcats saw more success during the 2023-24 season.

Kansas State finished the year with a 9-4 record, which placed them sixth in the Big 12 standings. Coleman Hawkins’ fit on the team would be intriguing. Arthur Kaluma led the Wildcats’ forward attack with 14.4 points per game on a 34.5 three-point shooting clip. In addition, Kaluma led the team in rebounds with 7.0 per contest.

Hawkins’ skillset would be a fine addition to a Kansas State team looking to take another jump. His experience with Illinois should be highly attractive to prospective teams.

Coleman Hawkins has big decisions after admirable Illinois basketball tenure 

Hawkins was huge in Illinois’ March Madness and regular season run. He averaged 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.1 blocks, and shot 36.9 percent on three-pointers during the 2023-24 season. The 6’10” forward did nearly everything on the floor for the Fighting Illini and helped them to unprecedented success.

Illinois finished the 2023-24 season with a 29-9 record, headlined by their Big 10 title over Wisconsin and Elite 8 March Madness showing. The Illini hoped to advance deeper in the NCAA Tournament, but head coach Brad Underwood was still proud of the team.

“Great season. Tough ending. But man, I’m so blessed. I’m truly blessed that I got to coach this group. Today wasn’t what any of us expected. With that being said, I might be the most blessed person in college basketball today,” Underwood said, per CBS Sports.

Underwood said the 2023-24 group was his “favorite to coach.” He will surely miss having Coleman Hawkins’ services on the team. However, with the way things look, the head coach’s next team might exceed his expectations.

Illinois ranks 20th in the nation for its Class of 2024 recruiting efforts, per 247 Sports. If the Illini can hold on to some of its contributors from their Elite 8 run and develop their incoming talent, they could have another impressive year in store.

As for Hawkins, he wants to help his next team make a deep run of their own amid a big transfer portal decision.