Cockburn announces return to Illinois for junior season
Kofi Cockburn (21) embraces Andre Curbelo (5) during the game against Nebraska at State Farm Center on Feb. 25. Cockburn announced Friday that he will be returning to Illinois for his junior season.
July 16, 2021
Center Kofi Cockburn announced Friday that he will be returning to Illinois for his junior season after initially declaring for the 2021 NBA Draft and entering the transfer portal.
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It can’t be understated how important Cockburn has been to this Illinois squad since arriving in 2019, as the Jamaica native has turned around a struggling program that went 12-21 the season prior to his arrival, and he averaged 15.5 points and 9.1 rebounds across his two seasons in Champaign. After winning the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award in 2020, Cockburn improved in his sophomore season, averaging 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds en route to All-Big Ten First-Team and consensus All-America Second-Team honors in 2021.
Cockburn has had an eventful few months after finishing his sophomore season with a loss to 8-seed Loyola Chicago in the NCAA tournament. The Jamaica native declared for the NBA Draft on April 15 and participated in the NBA G League Elite Camp at the end of June.
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The 7-foot, 285-pound center entered his name in the transfer portal on July 1 while initially remaining in the NBA Draft, though he opted to withdraw his name from the draft on July 6.
Despite losing Ayo Dosunmu and Giorgi Bezhanishvili to the NBA Draft and Adam Miller to Louisiana State, Cockburn’s return means the Illini now boast one of the deepest teams in the country, including fifth-year seniors Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams, sophomores Andre Curbelo and Coleman Hawkins, 2021 starter Jacob Grandison, graduate student Austin Hutcherson and transfers Alfonso Plummer and Omar Payne.
The Illini also welcome the Big Ten’s fourth-highest rated recruiting class, as four-star recruits Brandin Podziemski, Luke Goode and RJ Melendez will all join a talented Illinois roster this season.
Illinois now enters the 2021-2022 as one of the Big Ten favorites alongside Purdue and Michigan.
Cockburn also considered transferring to Kentucky, where former Illini assistant coaches Chin Coleman and Orlando Antigua now coach, and Florida State.
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