Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Wisconsin

2. Coleman Hawkins did what he does best

When you hear all of the noise about how you could be an NBA Draft pick, you probably will start thinking that you need to do everything on the court to show scouts that you are that guy. That is my theory on what was happening with Coleman Hawkins.

Hawkins is a 6-foot-10 athletic monster who is enticing to NBA teams. He is someone who can run the court well, and he has been on NBA big boards across the internet for the past few months. But, in this time, I think Hawkins got lost. I think his mental game and focus went bye-bye for a brief period of time. He forget what his strengths were on the court.

On Saturday against Wisconsin, Hawkins saw some clarity and did what he does best. Just shoot the dang ball.

Hawkins would finish the game with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range. He didn’t worry about the other numbers like distributing the basketball or anything like that. He would crash the class a little bit because of his natural size, but Hawkins focused on shooting the ball.

I loved what Illinois was doing with Hawkins. They simplified the offense a little bit. Brad Underwood clearly told him to just shoot the ball as well.

There were numerous times down the court when an Illinois player would get into a little two-man game with Hawkins. Hawkins would set the screen for the player, and then he would pop out to the three-point arc. This would give him an open look at a three-pointer on the wing, which he tended to hit.

Hawkins focused on what he does best on Saturday, and that is to shoot the ball. Illinois is going to be a better basketball team if he continues to have this mentality moving forward.