Kstate

Kansas State's Coleman Hawkins Reduced To Tears After Season-Ending Loss

Shandel Richardson|
Mar 12, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas State Wildcats guard Coleman Hawkins (33) drives to the basket around Baylor Bears forward Norchad Omier (15) during the second half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images
Mar 12, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas State Wildcats guard Coleman Hawkins (33) drives to the basket around Baylor Bears forward Norchad Omier (15) during the second half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

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Kansas State Wildcats

Kansas State forward Coleman Hawkins was one of the most scrutinized players in the NCAA this season.

Most of it centered around him receiving a huge NIL deal to transfer from Illinois to the Wildcats instead of testing the NBA waters. After a season-ending loss to Baylor in the Big 12 tournament, it seemed Hawkins was ready to release all the emotions from the past nine months.

"These guys haven't experienced some of the things I've experienced," Hawkins said in the postgame. "I really wanted to come in and impact the program. I'm sorry for crying, but [bleep], this [bleep] hurts."

Hawkins joined the Wildcats after helping lead the Fighting Illini to Elite Eight last season. He was considered a late-second round pick of last year's NBA draft before deciding to play one more season in college. That led to him transferring to Kansas State, which led to him receiving an NIL deal that reportedly was in the millions.

Hawkins never lived up to the expectations. The Wildcats ended their season with a 15-16 record.

"I feel like I let a lot of people down. I feel like I did a poor job of letting people talk about me," Hawkins said. "It affected my play. It was happening all year. I wish I could just go back and block out everything, not for myself, but for the team so we could have a more successful year. This is a learned lesson for me and I wish the best for the future of this program."

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here