Coleman Hawkins declares for NBA Draft, Jayden Epps enters transfer portal

Champaign, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — The offseason is officially underway for Illinois men's and women's basketball.

On Tuesday, Coleman Hawkins and Jayden Epps announced their future plans for the next basketball season. Coleman Hawkins took to his social media to announce that he would declare for the NBA Draft.

Hawkins averaged 9.9 PPG, 6.3 RPB and 1.2 blocks per game in the 2022-2023 season. This past season was Hawkins's third with the Illini. Each year of his collegiate career, he saw an increase in his minutes. In his freshman year, Coleman Hawkins averaged 6.3 minutes per game, then 19.0 in his sophomore season and 32.5 in his junior year.

Coleman Hawkins is projected as an early to mid 2nd round draft pick according to various 2023 NBA Mock drafts.

Illinois guard Jayden Epps, announced on Tuesday he will enter the transfer portal for the opportunity to play elsewhere. Epps appeared in 31 games for the Illini averaging nearly 24 minutes per contest. The freshman point guard averaged 9.5 points per game while shooting 41% from the field.

In early March, Epps missed time with a concussion but returned to the team in their Big Ten Tournament loss against Penn State.

Georgetown is expected to be in play for Epps. Ed Cooley recently took the Georgetown job following his time at Providence. Cooley recruited Epps out of high school.