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When Coleman Hawkins first met Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang after entering the transfer portal, one thing immediately stood out.
Tang was a man with a plan, and Hawkins liked what he saw.
“I think really it was a basketball blueprint,” Hawkins, the Wildcats’ versatile 6-foot-10, 230-pound graduate transfer from Illinois, said in a television interview on ESPNU on Wednesday during Big 12 Media Day at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center. “Coach Tang never made any promises to me. He never told me that you’re guaranteed a starting spot, you’re guaranteed 40 minutes, 35 minutes a game, whatever it was. And just the blueprint he had for me.”
Regardless of his role as one of 10 newcomers to the 2024-25 Wildcat roster, Hawkins’ decision to finish his career at K-State was a lucrative one. There have been reports that his name, image and likeness (NIL) deal is worth close to $2 million.
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Kansas State forward Coleman Hawkins (33) poses with mascot Willie the Wildcat on Wednesday during Big 12 Media Day at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
But more importantly, Hawkins also wants to enhance his NBA resume, which is where Tang came in.
“He had some efficiency things that he felt like the usage wasn’t right at Illinois,” Hawkins said of his four years with the Illini. “It’s no knock on them, but he felt like he could exploit those things and use me in many different ways. And I kind of just fell in love with that basketball blueprint.”
Not that Hawkins was a one-dimensional player at Illinois by any means. He is the only player in Illini history with at least 900 career points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 blocks and 100 steals.
Hawkins was a Big Ten second team all-conference selection last year on an Illinois team that reached the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight, averaging a career-high 12.1 points…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kansas-state-basketball-forward-coleman-234255204.html
Author : The Topeka Capital-Journal
Publish date : 2024-10-23 23:42:00
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