Entering his third year of college basketball, Coleman Hawkins hasn’t had much time in the spotlight. That’s how it goes when you share the court with one of most dominant athletes in Illini history in Kofi Cockburn.

With Cockburn chasing his NBA dreams, Hawkins will have a much greater role and will be in a position to maximize his skill set.

It’s a money year for Hawkins. He’s inherited a mantle of leadership and he’s suddenly getting the attention of pro scouts, who like how his game fits in the modern era of face-up big men

Perhaps the biggest change is a more mature attitude. Head coach Brad Underwood challenged him to lead by example.

“I’ve been very pleased with Coleman, and his role in helping the young guys,” Underwood said at Big Ten media days in Minneapolis.

That leadership is a must at a time of huge roster turnover. With an incoming class of four freshmen and three transfers, Hawkins has the longest Illini tenure of anyone on the roster.

Over the course of the summer, Hawkins has helped to the newbies get caught up. That’s a role that has previously been reserved for longtime Illini Da’Monte Williams and Trent Frazier, who both played out their eligibility.

“It’s definitely been new for me because of all the new guys,” Hawkins said. “It’s just not the same and the guys aren’t used to doing all the stuff that we do. It’s been good for me to kind of sit back and see from a different perspective and guide them through it and make it easier for them.”

The offensive approach figures to be much different without Cockburn in the post, but the fundamentals of Underwood’s system haven’t changed. That’s where Hawkins’ experience kicks in.

Teaching was just part of it. Maintaining a positive outlook has been a challenge for Hawkins. In previous seasons he let a mistake or two snowball.

Now, he’s saying all the right things, and the style of play figures to better fit his game.

All the talk in the offseason has been about spreading the floor in the post-Kofi era. Underwood admits that they leaned heavily on Cockburn, and it led to some stagnation at times.

This year’s team won’t have that massive presence in the lane.

“I think we’ve known for the last three years who was getting the ball at the end of the game,” Underwood said. “I think one of the things with Kofi is that there were certain things we became great at with him defensively- and those were singular things- same thing on the offensive end,”

Leading up to this season, Underwood has put extra emphasis on all positions being interchangeable.

The team is heavy on versatile wings in returning sophomores RJ Melendez and Luke Goode, and the addition of transfer Terrence Shannon Jr. Matthew Mayer, another transfer, can also spot up and make shots.

The change in style should benefit Hawkins, though he will need to shoot better from beyond the arc.

“We’re going to be able to do a few more things on both ends,” Underwood said. “You look back at some of the games we played without Kofi last year, you saw five out and stuff. Coleman was very good and successful in those games.”

Hawkins is definitely on board. He’s not a big-bodied post player, and he knows his future in the game will rely on his versatility combined with his length.

He’s been biding his time and doing what was needed to help the team win. Now, it feels like Hawkins could break out. He said he’s had the necessary skill set “in my bag’ but didn’t have the opportunity to pull it out.

“For two years you haven’t seen me do a dribble pull up off a ball screen, but I’ve been doing that in practice, or bringing the ball up,” he said. “I don’t think it’s really surprising for me- it’s always been there, it’s just the opportunity wasn’t right.”

Last season, Hawkins played in all 33 games and started 14, averaging 5.3 point and 4.3 rebounds per game. He saved his best games for the second half of the season and hopes that momentum carries over.

There will be growing pains early. Underwood has great pieces, but he will have to figure out how they fit and what lineups jell. There are multiple options.

“I think we all know that we’re not going to be one, two, three, four, and five,” Hawkins said. “I think we all know that every spot is interchangeable. It could be Terrence bringing the ball up, Skyy (Clark), anybody. What we really want to do is just get open shots for everybody and when we’re moving different pieces and having the proper spacing. This stuff is un-guardable.”

When Illinois recruited Hawkins out of California prep school powerhouse Prolific Prep, they envisioned him as a multidimensional player who could stretch defenses out and score in transition.

He now has the opportunity to play in a scheme that fits his skills, and Underwood believes Hawkins is ready to arrive on the scene in a big way.

“My expectation for him is for him to be one of the best players in our league,” Underwood said. “I know what he’s capable of on the defensive side- his versatility allows him to play multiple spots. He’ll play everything to the five to perimeter spots for us.”