Illinois Basketball: 4 big questions for the Illini against Maryland

4. Can Hawkins continue earning his trust back?

To start the 2021-22 campaign, Coleman Hawkins was one of the players given the keys to the car. He was a starter for this program that was looking to get back to the NCAA tournament.

Hawkins held a starting spot through the Arizona matchup back on December 11. That is the game where it seemed that Brad Underwood lost some trust in Hawkins and his play on the court.

The Arizona game was the first big game of the season where Illinois was taking on a big boy of the college basketball world. This is the game where Underwood needed his starters to step up.

Most of the starters did, but Hawkins had his worst game of the season. He finished the game with zero points, three assists, two rebounds, five fouls, and three turnovers. That all happened in just 12 minutes of action.

From that point on, Hawkins has been relegated to the bench. He only received nine minutes in the following game, but he has since started to see a minutes increase. In each of the last two contests, Hawkins has earned 18 minutes.

I think Hawkins is earning back Underwood’s trust. He is still turning the ball over a little too much, but he seems to have gotten his foul issues under control. In the game on Tuesday against Minnesota, Hawkins would finish with six points and eight rebounds while only fouling one time.

I am going to be watching to see how much playing time Hawkins receives against Maryland on Thursday. Will Underwood trust Hawkins enough to make him a staple in the lineup consistently? That is something that intrigues me.