Illinois Basketball: 3 things to watch for in the Illini game against Kansas City

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Nov 7, 2022; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Coleman Hawkins (33) shoots the ball over Eastern Illinois Panthers forward Jermaine Hamlin (34) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Illinois basketball is lacing up the sneakers once again, as they welcome in the Kansas City Roos on Friday night.

The Illini are coming off a solid victory on Monday which saw the Orange and Blue pull ahead of Eastern Illinois early and never look back. Illinois would end up beating the Panthers in that game, 87-57.

Kansas City might be a tougher challenge, though. Illinois is still working through some gelling issues, and the Roos just put up a solid fight against LSU in which they only lost by 11 points, 74-63.

I am going to be keeping an eye on a few things in the game against Kansas City. I want to see if a few things transfer over from the Eastern Illinois game.

Here are three things to watch for in the Illinois basketball game against Kansas City.

1. Can Coleman Hawkins keep his hot shooting going

Illinois got off to a good start to the 2022-23 season with a win over Eastern Illinois. A big reason the Illini put away the Panthers early was due to Coleman Hawkins’ great shooting performance.

During the exhibition against Quincy, the Illini shot a putrid 17.6% from three-point range. I knew that number wasn’t going to stay that low for the season. I figured Illinois was just trying to gel and figure things out for the start of the year.

Hawkins was a part of that bad shooting in the exhibition game. He was just 1-of-3 from three-point range. Hawkins quickly erased any doubt about his shooting during the first game of the season against Eastern Illinois, though.

While Illinois was just 9-of-26 from three-point range, Hawkins helped boost that number by shooting 5-of-8 by himself. He was huge for the Illini. Teams have their big man guarding Hawkins because he is our starting No. 5 on the court. Those big men can’t keep up with him as he steps out beyond the three-point arc. This leaves Hawkins wide open.

I am going to be watching to see if Hawkins can keep up his great shooting from distance against Kansas City. You will be hard-pressed to find a team out there that has a big man who can keep up with Hawkins this season. If he can continue to hit three-point shots at an average of 45% or higher this season, then there is a legit shot Hawkins becomes an NBA lottery pick.

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