Coleman Hawkins is the worst investment in college basketball so far this season. Kansas State paid the former Illinois star more than $1.5 million for extremely underwhelming numbers through 10 games.
Meanwhile, a portion of the fanbase wishes nothing but the worst.
Hawkins transferred to play for the Wildcats after four years with the Illini. He averaged 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.5 steals per game in 2023-24. It was a good year, not a great year.
At 6-foot-10, 230 pounds, there was a hot market for Hawkins when he entered the portal as a graduate transfer last offseason. He ultimately received a financial package worth approximately $2 million from Kansas State and its Name, Image and Likeness entities— which is the most lucrative deal for any active player in college hoops. Most people who watched him play over the last four years knew that it was an overpay, but the Wildcats were willing to spend the money anyway.
It immediately looked like wasted money once the 2024-25 campaign got underway in the Little Apple.
Coleman Hawkins has had as many games with single-digit scoring as he has double-digit scoring. Has has had as many games with five rebounds or less as he has with five or more. Gross.
An average of 9.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game is not what you want from a player making $2 million for, essentially, nine months of work or less. And to make matters worse, Kansas State is 6-4 with losses to LSU, Liberty, Saint John’s and Drake.
Head coach Jerome Tang believes his team is subject to unfair criticism because of the amount of money it spent on this year’s roster. On the contrary, a 23-year-old fifth-year senior getting paid more than 30 times the average annual salary in America should be expected to produce on that level. It is fair for fans to want the player they purchased to play up to their investment.
With that being said, some of the things the fanbase has said to Hawkins and his teammates cross the line.
I can’t go on my phone without people wishing the worst for me. Not just for me, but for our team. And it devastates me. I just went on my phone and saw someone say, “I hope you break your leg.” That’s the kind of stuff that our team has been dealing with all year.
It affects me so much, because I don’t wish that upon my worst enemy. We go out, we practice every day, we play hard. We’re doing the best we can. My message (to my teammates) would be it’s us versus everybody. We can control what we can control, and we’ll just have to tune out and lock in the rest of the way.
— Coleman Hawkins
All things considered, there is still a lot of season left. Hawkins could blossom into a star. Kansas State could get hot at the right time and run through the Big 12. Fans clearly won’t be satisfied until that happens.