Two weeks ago, sophomore forward Coleman Hawkins got a call from Brad Underwood. The Illini head coach wanted Hawkins to come speak with him in his office. Hawkins didn’t know what Underwood wanted to talk about, but he was nervous.
It turns out, Underwood wanted to have a chat about fighting through adversity and hard work required to come out on the other end stronger.
It isn’t t a new message in the Illinois basketball program. It’s a common theme, in fact. Underwood just thought Hawkins needed a reminder after a stretch of rough outings.
“Me and coach sat down one-on-one,” Hawkins said after the Illini’s 86-83 loss to No. 22 Ohio State on Thursday night. “Just talking about how players go through adversity and it just depends on if they’re going to quit or if they’re going to keep working.”
From Jan. 29 when Illinois won at Northwestern to Feb. 8 when the Illini lost at Purdue, Hawkins played just 6.8 minutes per game and averaged one point and less than one rebound a game. In the days after the game against the Boilermakers was when Underwood and Hawkins had their heart-to-heart.
“My title is coach,” Underwood said. “And the job of a coach is a psychiatrist, ball coach, help with academics, but help and build relationships that you can have really hard conversations -and we do that at this program.”
To his credit, Hawkins took the sit-down with Underwood earnestly. He had the opportunity to put it to the test against Ohio State when All-American center Kofi Cockburn exited with his fourth personal foul and eventually fouled out of the game.
As a wiry, 6-foot-10 athlete, Hawkins has the physical qualities to play a small-ball five He filled that role at times at the beginning of the season when Cockburn sat out three games with a suspension. Since then, Underwood has opted to use a rotation of Cockburn, Omar Payne and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk at center.
Payne was ineffective in a short stint against the Buckeyes and Bosmans-Verdonk wasn’t available due to concussion protocol after he was smacked across the face on Sunday at Michigan State. Now was Hawkins’ opportunity to prove that he could fight through adversity to make a much-needed impact with his team trailing by double digits.
He quickly made an impact by assisting Alfonso Plummer on a backdoor baseline cut that went for a reverse layup. On the other end, he played the best defense on Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell that Illinois had seen since the first minutes of the game when the Buckeye’s star started 0-for-3 from the field.
“I like playing the five,” Hawkins said. “Five out, we ran a lot of in high school and I feel like I can do a good job of creating two people trying to guard the ball. It’s just mismatches, switches. People get confused when they don’t know if I’m going to pop, roll. I definitely feel comfortable. I feel like I’m in a better rebounding position when I’m at the five. Kind of being like a quarterback on offense and five out, I like that. Finding shooters, open guys and creating mismatches.”
Hawkins would later help ignite the Illini’s near comeback win. He had a couple of key steals and a driving dunk to make it a four-point game with just over two minutes remaining. His two free throws and a jumper in the last 1:30 kept Illinois within two points.
“I mean he’s a difference-maker,” Underwood said in the post-game. “Coleman does all those things. Got an offensive rebound late, he goes to the glass. He’s just an active, long-skill guy and that’s irreplaceable.”
That's the type of multi-skilled player Illinois though they were getting when Underwood signed Hawkins out of Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif. in the class of 2020. He's shown flashes and was a starter at the beginning of this season, but he somehow got off kilter.
Hawkins made the most of his opportunity against Ohio State, but a few weeks ago he might not have even been on the court in that situation. His willingness to change his work habits and mental approach gave Underwood the confidence to throw him into the fire in a key late-season game.
“I think getting back in the gym and working just builds even more trust with your coach,” he said. “He sees me work and sees everybody work. He’s going to have more trust in me, he wants to see you grow. He wants to see you learn, get better. So, it definitely means a lot, just building a connection with coach.”
Hawkins is a bit of a homebody. He would rather hang out in his apartment and play video games or build Legos, which he said earlier in the season he buys when he plays well as a way to reward himself.
To get back on track on the basketball court, he’s had to come out of his shell some and put inn some extra work. It could be a turning point for him as the Illini look to finish the season strong and make a run in March.
“I’m not a quitter,” he said boldly. “So, I got back in the gym and worked. I just go out there and play with a whole bunch of energy and effort because I don’t like losing. So just fighting through adversity and be a warrior.”
Illinois’ loss to the Buckeyes means they no longer control their own destiny in the Big Ten Championship race. They need Purdue and Wisconsin to stumble if they’re going to earn a share of the Big Ten Championship.
Illinois has bigger goals than winning the Big Ten, though Atop that list is a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, something that escaped them a year ago when they lost in the second round to Loyola-Chicago.
Having Hawkins back and track and able to play big minutes at power forward or backing up Cockburn at center, as he did on Thursday, gives Illinois little bit of extra juice as tournament time approaches. Underwood is encouraged, and it gives him one more weapon in the arsenal.
“Nobody believes in Coleman more than me,” Underwood said. “We got a glimpse tonight at Coleman’s talents and you know he wasn’t playing to that level. He was in whatever kind of mental funk he was in.
“We needed him to get out of it. For us to go where we want to go in March, we need him. He’s actually been great in the last three or four games. So, we need Coleman Hawkins to be terrific.”
