Former Illini Coleman Hawkins and Giorgi Bezhanishvili Go Off in NBA G League

Illinois has its well-known pros in the NBA, but it also has two budding G League stars in Coleman Hawkins and Giorgi Bezhanishvili

Mar 28, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Coleman Hawkins (33) reacts against the Iowa State Cyclones in the semifinals of the East Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Former Illini Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Coleman Hawkins overlapped for only one season at Illinois (in 2020-21, when Hawkins was a freshman and Bezhanishvili was in his final year in Champaign), but the pair now reside in the same professional league: the NBA’s G League.

And as Brad-Underwood-produced pros tend to do, both Bezhanishvili and Hawkins have been thoroughly impressive – especially of late. On Thursday night, as Illinois demolished Rutgers, the former Illini duo made quite the wrecking crew of their own. Here’s a look at each player’s respective performance:

Illini alums Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Coleman Hawkins thrive in G League

Illinois Fighting Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) throws his hands up to get the crowd hyped during the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 21, 2021, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina/IndyStar via Imagn Images | IndyStar-Imagn Images

Giorgi Bezhanishvili, Windy City Bulls

Putting together yet another stellar performance, Bezhanishvili went for 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field, including 1-for-3 from deep. He also tacked on six rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Despite Bezhanishvili’s production, and an unreal 31-point, 17-assist showing from teammate Mac McClung, (not to mention 25 apiece from Kevin Knox II and Mouhamadou Gueye), it wasn’t enough for the Windy City Bulls to take down the Delaware Blue Coats, who somehow tapped into even more offense in a 141-131 victory.

The NBA future of the 6-foot-9 Bezhanishvili continues to hinge on his improvement from beyond the arc. After connecting on just 19 total triples in three seasons of college basketball, Bezhanishvili left Champaign considered a non-shooter.

But in his time with Windy City this season, he has knocked down 0.9 threes per game on a spectacular 60.0 percent – although that's a small sample size (seven games played). 

In any case, if Bezhanishvili can continue to grow in that department – and it'll have to be a lot – he may finally have enough when combined with his rebounding prowess and play-finishing ability around the rack to earn a shot in the NBA.

Coleman Hawkins, Grand Rapids Gold 

A paragon of versatility, Hawkins is the Swiss Army Knife – which has never been more apparent than it was on Thursday night. In a marvelous showing, Hawkins put up 14 points (6-for-8 from the field), 15 rebounds and 11 assists, along with two blocks and a steal in 35 minutes. His triple-double pushed the Grand Rapids Gold past the College Park Skyhawks in a 132-128 victory.

14 PTS 🔥 15 REB 🔥 11 AST 🔥 6/8 FG

Career-high numbers across the board as Coleman Hawkins posted his first career TRIPLE-DOUBLE in the @NBAGrandRapids win! pic.twitter.com/f0ncm0L9tH

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) January 9, 2026

Averaging a solid 8.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists in eight games for the Gold, Hawkins has been showcasing his dynamic two-way skill set throughout the campaign, but he has recently broken through to new levels.

If the 6-foot-10 Hawkins can find any level of consistency with Grand Rapids, he will find himself donning an NBA jersey in due time.