Because as lacking as he (Hawkins) was at PG skills he was still the best option. Skyy quit. Epps couldn’t defend well enough. TSJ was worse than CH at point. Harris is a worse shooter than Hawkins.
This discussion concerning where Hawkins has spent most of his time on offense is a very important and difficult issue for Illinois basketball. The only more serious problems this year on offense involved Matt Meyer 3s and when TSJ was going to get going (often, how late in the 2nd half).
I wouldn't describe CH as "the best option" "at point". Again, in my opinion, the whole concept of a "point center" is flawed. To be clear, CH was not our point. TSJ mostly served as our as our point guard against both Penn State and Arkansas (ever since Epps's concussion), although that was mostly for bringing the ball up the court, when we were not in transition, and starting the offense from the backcourt. At other times, the point was a shared role, where CH played a part.
The original comment here (by forbesfrosh, about CH roaming the perimeter) is a better way to say it. Yes, CH is a better shooter than SH, but neither are great outside shooters. The real question is, how effective could CH be on offense, if most of his shots came closer to the basket? There are different answers to this depending on who CH plays with / against and how his skills developed / develop in the future. CH missed a lot of development as a player around the basket over the last 5 to 10 years, and a good question is what to do about it as he becomes a bigger part of the IL offense. I would say that Kris Murray from Iowa had a similar issue this year, although he's a better perimeter shooter than CH.
Honestly, our best bet is to fill the big voids as TSJ and MM leave, expand CH role modestly around the basket (when a guy like DD isn't in the game and against teams like Penn State and Arkansas, where there are no taller players on the court than CH), and ask CH to play a reduced role in pushing the ball in transition, where he tends to make mistakes. CH can still get a lot better, but this might take years, so IL needs to reduce the pressure on CH by simplifying his role and getting him help for next year. Hopefully, some new guys joining the team will provide that.