Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Michigan State

3. Coleman Hawkins flipped a switch late

Illinois has a few players who could give fans a heart attack. Coleman Hawkins is one of those players. His peaks and valleys are so high and low, and this makes it a roller coaster for Illini Nation.

On Friday night against Michigan State, Hawkins was going through one of his worst games of the season. In the first 26 minutes, so the first half plus the first six minutes of the second half, Hawkins would have a stat line of zero points, five rebounds, one assist, one block, and two turnovers on 0-of-6 shooting from the field and 0-of-3 from three-point range.

The only time this season, when Hawkins failed to hit a shot, was against Lindenwood. Illinois didn’t need him to score, as it was a 33-point drubbing, so I don’t really count that game against him. But not making a bucket 26 minutes into the game is kind of shocking.

That is about the point Hawkins flipped a switch. He went from someone almost unrecognizable to one of the best players in the Big Ten for the final 14 minutes of the game.

Some people might see the score and think Illinois controlled this game, but that wasn’t the case at all. Through the first 26 minutes of the game, Michigan State had a nine-point lead. Hawkins then helped drag us back into the game.

In the final 14 minutes, Hawkins would have a stat line of nine points, three rebounds, one assist, and zero turnovers while going 3-of-3 from the field and making his lone three-point attempt.

Hawkins’ effort and scoring are what got Illinois back into the game. Down by nine points, Hawkins crashed the glass and got to the free throw line. He would go on a 4-0 run to bring the deficit back to five points. The rest of the team started to rally after seeing Hawkins flying around the court.

I wish Hawkins could play like this for the entire game. What he did in the final 14 minutes against Michigan State is why he is looked at as a potential NBA Draft pick.