I'm going to end up being excited and engaged by whatever final roster and team narrative we have going into next season, but...
I'm torn right now over whether I want Hawkins and Shannon back. In favor, I say let's run it back and try to do it better. I love both players' demeanors. I firmly believe they are committed to the team, willing to run through a wall, and improving day to day. I want them to succeed so bad.
On the other hand, part of me is ready to move on from Hawkins following up a game-changing play with a technical foul, a pass out of bounds, and step-back 25-foot jumper as the shot clock expires... and from Shannon driving to the hoop and dribbling off his knee or picking up his dribble into a 2-defender trap on the block with no clear outlet in sight.
I really missed Ayo's big moment competence last year when we were squandering momentum and coming up just short in games that would have advanced us in the tournaments, given us a better seeding, or solidified a ranking. Maybe the transfer shooters WILL fix some problems. Hawkins staying in the draft, though, and an additional transfer center like Udeh or Cisse to split minutes with Dainja at the 5 would be kinda fun, in the way a new toy is. Would we win more games without Hawkins? I'm not sure.
I hope to see both Hawkins and Shannon playing in the NBA before too long, whether or not they're Illini next year.