Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins declares for 2023 NBA Draft

Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins has declared for the 2023 NBA Draft, he announced on twitter on Tuesday afternoon. Hawkins just completed his third season with the Illini and had the best numbers of his career. In his announcement, Hawkins said he will maintain his college eligibility through the draft process.

A three-star prospect by the On3 Industry Rankings, Hawkins was rated as just the No. 150 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class. It took Hawkins some time to get things rolling in his Illinois career, as he averaged just 1.4 points per game during his freshman season and then 5.9 points per game during his sophomore season. Hawkins never even played 20 minutes per game in the first two seasons. But this year, things changed.

Hawkins played 32.5 minutes per game for Illinois this past season and averaged 9.9 points per game. He also contributed 6.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Hawkins was a consistent contributor all throughout the season but struggled in the season-ending loss to Arkansas. Hawkins scored 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and had three assists, but shot just 3-for-9 from the floor and had six turnovers in the loss.

More on the 2023 NBA Draft

The 2023 NBA Draft is set to take place on Thursday, June 22, 2023, in Brooklyn at Barclays Center. Round 1 of the draft will be announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, while Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum is expected to handle the second round of picks.

To be eligible for the NBA Draft, players must be at least 19 years in age during the calendar year that the draft is held and at least one NBA season from their high school graduation date, or the date that would have been if they are not graduated. It is not required that player spend that one year playing college basketball, though. Players can play in either college, abroad, or the G League Ignite if they choose so.

While this is a significant change from what the rules once were, players are eligible to enter their names into the NBA Draft pool and explore their options by hiring an agent to go through the process, while still keeping their college eligibility. The deadline to make that move is on April 23 beginning at 11:59 p.m. ET. Players have until June 12 at 5 p.m. ET to withdraw their name from the pool and return to college.

The NBA Draft Lottery will be held on May 16, which is also the start of the NBA Conference Finals.