Illinois Basketball: 5 thoughts from the Illini box score against the Catalonia All-Stars

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CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 14: Coleman Hawkins #33 of the Illinois Fighting Illini shoots a free throw in the game against the Monmouth Hawks at State Farm Center on November 14, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

4. Coleman Hawkins has been working on the three-point shot

If you go back and read some of my brilliant work, you will see that I thought Coleman Hawkins was going to the NBA. I repeatedly said that he was going to declare, keep eligibility, and then stay in the draft process. He would have been a late second-round pick.

To my surprise, Hawkins pulled out of the draft process. He came back to Illinois for one more season. My belief, and it is speculation, is that scouts probably told Hawkins that his three-point shooting needed to improve, among other things.

Hawkins was a willing three-point shooter in 2022-23, as he attempted 132 three-pointers, which was third on the team. Sadly, he would only make 28% of his three-pointers, which ranked No. 7 on the team. For those keeping track at home, that is bad.

In the last two games against the Spanish teams, it seems clear that Hawkins was working on his three-point shooting over the past few months. He managed to go 1-of-2 against Valencia, and then he followed that up with a 3-of-6 performance on Sunday morning.

So, for the past two games, Hawkins has shot 4-of-8, 50%, from three-point range. I am not asking for that during the regular season, but if he can get anywhere near 40%, then Illinois is going to put a lot of wins on the board in 2023-24.

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