Coleman Hawkins cancels LSU visit, commits to Kansas State
Transfer forward Coleman Hawkins was set to visit LSU this weekend, but it was reported on Friday morning he had canceled on the Tigers and just minutes later he announced his decision to commit to Kansas State and Jerome Tang.
NBA insider Shams Charania provided more clarity on the commitment.
“Sources: Illinois transfer Coleman Hawkins has committed to play for Kansas State in what’s believed to be the most lucrative college basketball NIL deal ($2 million) negotiated from a collective by Nate Conley of Court XIV and Aaron Turner of Verus Basketball,” Charania tweeted.
After briefly flirting with going pro, the rising fifth-year senior spurned the NBA after averaging 12.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season in his fourth season with Illinois, helping boost the Illini on a historic run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to UConn in blowout fashion.
Since that UConn game, Hawkins really took some time to evaluate every one of his options. At first, he entered the NBA Draft but ultimately decided to withdraw and return to college, entering the transfer portal as well.
Hawkins initially scheduled a visit to Louisville and had been loosely linked to the Cardinals as the potential final piece of new coach Pat Kelsey’s first roster in the Derby City. Instead, that visit was squashed before it ever happened and Hawkins pivoted to Kansas State.
Hawkins ranks as the No. 17 overall transfer in On3’s 2024 Transfer Portal Top Players. That leaves him as highest-rated remaining uncommitted player available in the portal. He also rated as the No. 2 PF in those rankings behind only Great Osobor (Washington).
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From LSU’s perspective
The addition of Hawkins was always going to be challenging from a financial perspective, but the roster construction with Hawkins was also challenging. The Tigers have a plethora of talented players at the four position with Jalen Reed, Derek Fountain, Corey Chest, and Robert Miller. Adding another power forward only would have added to the logjam at the position.
Still, Hawkins would have been one of the best players on LSU’s roster and a clear upgrade from a talent standpoint, which is why LSU was interested in him out of the portal in the first place.
Now, Matt McMahon and his staff can move forward comfortable with the 13 players they have on the roster entering the 2024-25 season. On paper it’s the most talented group McMahon has had in his brief stint at LSU so far and it sets up to be an exciting year with talented guards in Jordan Sears, Cam Carter, Tyrell Ward, and Mike Williams, along with Jalen Reed and Daimion Collins in the frontcourt.
Last year, LSU went 17-16 overall, but 9-9 in SEC play, proving to be one of the scrappier teams in the conference, consistently outplaying their talent level with wins over Kentucky, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, and others.
