Kansas State's Coleman Hawkins Getting More Aggressive From 3-Point Line
Kansas State forward Coleman Hawkins is an easy target for criticism because of his expensive NIL deal.
On Monday, he showed his value in an 80-64 victory against Longwood in the Paradise James in St. Thomas. Hawkins finished with 19 points on five 3-pointers. Wildcats coach Jerome Tang said Hawkins hitting from the arc opens a different dynamic on offense.
"Oh, man. It opens up everything for everybody," Tang said. "And I know his nature is that he wants to get his teammates involved. But at this point in his career and where we're at, we need him to be a guy who will put up shots and make them obviously but put them up. The more he puts him up, the more he does this. Now teams are going to have to adjust, and he'll create other things for other people. And so, thankful he's trusting us, and he's growing."
Hawkins, who transferred from Illinois, was named to the All-Tournament team after displaying versatility. He averaged 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks in three games.
"I thought he was the best defender in the tournament," Tang said. "The first game he took their leading scorer out. Second game, their main big was 0-of-8 from the field with him guarding him. Tonight, the same thing, the guy (Michael Christmas) he was guarding with 0-of-8 from the field. He just took him out of the game completely. He did a great job defensively. And he's like Deion Sanders, you know, you put him on an island over there, prime, and you say, hey, everybody else is in zone, but you're in man. And he just takes the receiver away. And so, it's a blessing to have him."
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be at shandelrich@gmail.com
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