Coleman Hawkins Scouting Report

Being able to impact the game on both ends without scoring is something the NBA is looking for. The Illinois senior looks like a top-60 guy this summer. What will be his role? Find out more below.

Photo via Illinois Athletics

Versatile forwards who can dribble, pass, and shoot are becoming a much-wanted commodity for NBA franchises. With the amount of usage and ball touches being limited for most freshmen, filling your bag with experience before declaring for the draft is the best strategy.

With a smooth jumper in his bag, the Illinois senior has an open path to finding NBA minutes early in his career. This report is solely focusing on his potential role at the next level.

Physical Profile

At 6’10”, Hawkins has good length and is a solid athlete. With fluid hips and his strength, he’s already in a position to know how to create separation for himself and others.

His screening ability improved in the last two seasons, opening the path for him to play as an NBA four and five in the future. What makes him an interesting prospect is his ability to guard multiple positions, which he does on the regular in the Big Ten.

Offense

By shooting 41% on 39 catch-and-shoot threes this season, Hawkins shows improvement compared to his last three seasons. The shooting release is consistent and aesthetically pleasing. There are very few prospects who show that much consistency in their shot, and Hawkins is one of them.

An NBA franchise will have very little to worry about regarding the jumper, which opens a path to play and contribute early on in his career. One of the main strengths Hawkins has in creating separation or room for himself is using his passing threat to get himself a better look, as shown in the first of three plays below.

The passing threat will be the premier value of his profile for NBA decision-makers. He’s an excellent positional passer and with his strong frame at 230 pounds, Hawkins has the strength to be utilized as a playmaking hub inside the arc.

He’s mostly keen on making plays for others from the short corner and high post. The combination of court vision and footwork will keep defenses honest, and help defense in full focus. With 2.3 assists per game, Hawkins isn’t only serving as a ball-mover but is also trusted by Coach Underwood to utilize his ability to post up and pass to generate open looks on the perimeter and in the paint.

With advanced handles for his size, Hawkins will also be a threat in closeout situations. That’s an area where the scalability of his game is visible to NBA decision-makers. In his role at Illinois, he doesn’t need many ball touches to make an impact. With NBA usage being scarce, that’s something that’ll set him apart from most of his peers.

He’s capable of handling the rock with both hands and uses the jab step very well to keep defenses guessing which foot will be used as his pivot foot. This mitigates his lack of explosiveness, as the four years in Illinois helped him improve by playing to the strengths of his athleticism.

Normally you would prefer a player to put as much pressure on the defense as he could, but in Hawkins’ case, the floater-finish is going to be something NBA teams can work with. Hawkins consistently shows the ability to make the correct play, with making the extra pass being his preference, if the play allows it. However, the three plays below show that he is also very capable of finishing his plays.

At 6’10”, Hawkins will be utilized as a screener on an NBA floor. That’s an area where he’s getting a part of his open three-point looks from. Whether it’s him putting a ghost screen to force a rotation or setting a ball screen to help the ball handler get separation, he’s a quality screener who doesn’t just force the defense to make a decision.

An important nuance to the above-mentioned is that he’ll face tougher pick-and-roll coverages in the NBA, compared to the Big Ten. In the long run, the four years of college experience will help him continue to improve, mostly due to his screening ability being an important improvement he has had in the last two seasons.

How much value will his profile have? A part of that answer lies in his long-term potential. The scalability of his game is an important indicator of his NBA success. With 1.38 points-per-play on eight isolation possessions this season, the sample size is limited.

However, Hawkins is a reliable player when it comes to chasing the opportunities he’s comfortable with. He doesn’t force his shots and plays within the flow of the offense. When Illinois needs a bucket, Coach Underwood knows he can call his number.

What stood out is that Hawkins uses his strong ball-handling abilities combined with the ability to post his defender up, especially after a switch. The will to make the defense adjust to his pace is a strong indicator of scoring potential on the NBA level.

The two plays below summarize his scoring output very well, with his combination of craft and strength being the primary weapon for him to get to the paint and score over the defense. His ability to dribble and make plays with both hands keeps him unpredictable as well.

Defense

At the NBA level, Hawkins will likely be asked to offer rim protection outside of his regular defensive duties. The first thing that stood out was his excellent awareness on the defensive end.

Hawkins reads the offense very well, especially in off-ball situations. He barely gets caught out of position or allows backdoor cutters to get fed at the rim. Even when he does, the recovery speed stands out, like in the first of two plays below.

His positioning on the court is where he wins a big part of his battles. He does a great job of keeping the area of the foul stripe occupied, to make his decisions from there, with the second play being an example.

Hawkins is the type of defender who loves to do the dirty work. Whether it’s him cleaning up the lack of rotations from his teammates, like in the second play below, or offering timely help defense under the rim against tougher assignments, he’s there.

An area of development for Hawkins is that at times, he’s defending too hard. With 2.8 personal fouls in 31 minutes, that’s not a bad number in itself, but it’s more likely than not that he’ll get called for certain fouls in the NBA, where the average Big Ten referee would allow it to happen. And also that the average NBA player is better at luring defenders into contesting too hard compared to college. The first play is an example of him taking too much risk.

In the NBA, Hawkins will have to be able to show that he guards in the pick-and-roll, especially to prevent outside shooters from finding their looks. In college, he’s mostly playing drop coverage, especially when guarding against pick-and-pops, like in the two plays below. Something that stands out, is that he’s tagging the roller more often than not, mainly against opponents of which Illinois is comfortable with shooting from outside.

A part of it is the schemes that the Fighting Illini run, but another area is that Hawkins is gambling on defense at times, which can be more risky at the next level. His great length combined with his decent lateral quickness makes up for the loss of space in college. But on an NBA floor with more spacing, Hawkins will likely be asked to adapt to different pick-and-roll coverages than drop.

In pick-and-roll coverages that end up with the ball handler breaking down the defense, Hawkins is confident that he’ll protect the paint at all costs. This may lead to his decision-making not being as good as it normally does. When evaluating the above-mentioned, it was clear that Hawkins’ main goal was to protect the paint and allow midrange shots instead.

The first play is an area of development, where the push-off to get separation from his opponent was allowed way too easily. This is fixable in the long run and with more reps, and he has shown improvement in this area during his college career. The second play should be more appealing to NBA decision-makers, where Hawkins shows his defensive footwork and fluid hips to adapt to any move the ball handler threw at him.

With more switches and motion offenses running in the NBA, the most important aspect of being a good team defender is to be able to guard against cuts effectively.

As mentioned earlier, Hawkins’ combination of positioning and defensive awareness gives him an advantage in the Big Ten and makes him a solidified piece in Coach Underwood’s defensive scheme. It’s likely that Hawkins will continue to play as a forward at the NBA level, therefore making it possible for him to adapt quickly to faster-paced NBA games.

The two plays below show important intangibles, such as him timing his actions, like the block at the rim, or tagging cutters to keep track of them and being better prepared to either bet on the drop-off pass or contest at the rim, like in the second play.

NBA Draft Projection

Hawkins’ four years of college, combined with his ability to play as a playmaking hub and versatile defender will get him drafted. He’s a surefire top-sixty player, with the value of his stock mostly depending on how he’ll continue to perform with Illinois.

An NBA player is buying an excellent connector piece with the ability to make plays or serve as a ball-mover early on in his career. Hawkins doesn’t need the ball in his hands to impact games, which makes him suitable to play in a low-usage role on any secondary unit as a rookie.

The ability to guard in the pick-and-roll and serve as a team defender will keep him on an NBA floor. However, the biggest value-riser for Hawkins is his continuing to show that he can get his production without only the three-point shot.

The combination of solid ball handling and decision-making will make it more likely than not that an NBA team will be more comfortable with giving him a bigger share of the usage if the production keeps improving this season.

Despite him being 22 years old on draft night, there’s still untapped potential for teams on top of his NBA-ready game. Based on the above-mentioned, Hawkins is expected to be able to play himself into the latter stages of the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft.