NCAA Basketball: 10 teams who should target Illinois transfer Coleman Hawkins

Louisville Cardinals

Coach Pat Kelsey has all but filled up the roster for next season, landing a ton of transfers. For this piece, the most notable frontcourt newcomers are Kasean Pryor, Noah Waterman, and James Scott. Aly Khalifa also is included but he’s set to sit out next season to recover from knee issues.

On paper, there’s certainly a lot of depth for Louisville to work with. However, who is going to be the “star”? There’s a place for someone like Hawkins to go from being a role player at Illinois to potentially a focal point for the Cardinals, benefitting both sides.

Memphis Tigers

The Tigers were one of the bigger “losers” from the NBA Draft deadline, having lost 20 ppg leading scoring wing, David Jones. That leaves a hole in the frontcourt on offense, but it also leaves some room for them to target one of the top available prospects in the portal.

Memphis has a history of landing high-profile players, even from the high-major ranks. That includes the former Texas guard from this offseason, Tyrese Hunter. The team does have forwards Nick Jourdain and Tyreek Smith but Hawkins would be a definite upgrade, the kind that would put them back into the top-25 mix for next season.