Top remaining transfer Coleman Hawkins picks Kansas State
Jerome Tang and Kansas State landed a huge addition from the transfer portal in Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins on Friday.
Jerome Tang and Kansas State added a huge addition to their 2024 recruiting efforts on Friday when Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins announced that he will play his final season of college basketball for the Wildcats.
The top-ranked remaining player in the transfer portal at No. 21 overall, the 6-foot-10 forward had been at the center of what was becoming a fierce recruiting battle between K-State, LSU and SMU.
However, after having Hawkins on campus last weekend for an official visit, Tang and his staff were able to build a relationship and check all of the boxes that Hawkins was looking for.
A versatile forward who can initiate offense out of the high post, Hawkins was looking for the opportunity to have the ball in his hands and responsibility as a decision maker. Sources close to the situation confirmed to 247Sports that Tang’s vision for Hawkins included all of that and an assurance that he would have the freedom to shoot jumpers and that he wouldn’t be relegated to playing in the low post.
A third-team All-Big Ten selection last season at Illinois while averaging 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, Hawkins also made nearly 37% of his shots from three-point territory.
Hawkins’ addition to the Wildcats puts a bow on what has been a very strong effort by Tang and his staff in the transfer portal.
They started things off by landing the point guard they needed in Michigan speed demon Dug McDaniel and then landed a potential elite rim protector in Kentucky transfer Ugonna Onyenso
