Kofi Cockburn

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Kofi Cockburn
Kofi Cockburn Jon Teske.jpg
Cockburn (right) with Illinois in 2020
No. 21 – Illinois Fighting Illini
PositionCenter
LeagueBig Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (1999-09-01) September 1, 1999 (age 22)
Kingston, Jamaica
NationalityJamaican
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight285 lb (129 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeIllinois (2019–present)
Career highlights and awards

Kofi Cockburn (/ˈkoʊbʌrn/ KO-burn;[1] born September 1, 1999) is a Jamaican college basketball player for the Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big Ten Conference.

Early life[]

Cockburn was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and in 2014, moved to Queens, New York, to be with his mother, who had moved to Queens in 2009.[2] In addition to his participation in basketball at a young age, Cockburn also played soccer, cricket, and ran in track and field.[2]

High school career[]

Cockburn first enrolled in high school at Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village, New York.[3] He played Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball for the New York (NY) Rens, and was teammates with his future Illinois teammate Alan Griffin.[4] During the summer of 2018 on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit with the NY Rens, Cockburn averaged 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds, while shooting 53.9 percent from the field.[5] Prior to his junior year, Cockburn was selected to participate in the 2017 Basketball Without Borders Americas camp that was held in Nassau, Bahamas.[6] After his junior season, Cockburn was named to the World Team for the 2018 Nike Hoop Summit.[7] For his senior season, Cockburn transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia where he was teammates with fellow five–star recruits Cole Anthony and Cameron Thomas.[8]

Recruiting[]

Prior to his senior high school season at Oak Hill Academy, Cockburn held 26 scholarship offers and narrowed the list of schools he was considering to 12 which included Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida State, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, LSU, Oregon, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, St. John's and Syracuse.[9][10] Citing his relationship with Illinois assistant coach Orlando Antigua and the rest of the Illinois coaching staff, Cockburn verbally committed to Illinois on January 6, 2019.[11][12] Cockburn was a consensus four-star recruit and was considered a top 50 player in the 2019 class.[9][11]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Kofi Cockburn
C 		Kingston, Jamaica Oak Hill Academy (VA) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 290 lb (130 kg) Jan 6, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 88
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 45  247Sports: 54  ESPN: 50
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Illinois 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  • "2019 Illinois Fighting Illini Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.

College career[]

In his debut for Illinois, Cockburn had 10 points and 11 rebounds to help defeat Nicholls 78–70 in overtime.[13] The following game, Cockburn scored 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in a 83–71 win over Grand Canyon.[14] Cockburn was named Big Ten player of the week on November 25 after setting a school freshman record for rebounds in a game with 17 to go along with 18 points in a win versus The Citadel.[15] On December 11, Cockburn had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in a 71–62 victory over 5th ranked Michigan, Illinois' first win over a top-five program since 2013.[16] At the close of the regular season, Cockburn was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He was selected to the Third Team All-Big Ten by the media and was Honorable Mention All-Conference according to the coaches.[17] As a freshman, Cockburn was Illinois’ second-leading scorer and top rebounder, averaging 13.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while leading the Illini with 1.4 blocks per game. He shot 53.2 percent from the floor and 67.7 percent at the foul line. Following the season, he declared for the 2020 NBA draft.[18] Cockburn announced he was pulling out of the draft on August 1 and returning for his sophomore season.[19]

As a sophomore, Cockburn averaged 17.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, shooting 65.4 percent from the field. He was a Second Team All-American and First Team All-Big Ten selection. Following the season, he declared for the 2021 NBA draft and entered the transfer portal. Cockburn ultimately returned for his junior season at Illinois.[20] He was suspended for the first three games of his junior season due to selling apparel and memorabilia.[21] On November 26, 2021, Cockburn scored a career-high 38 points along with 10 rebounds in a 94-85 win against Texas–Rio Grande Valley.[22]

Career statistics[]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Illinois 31 31 27.4 .532 .000 .677 8.8 .6 .5 1.4 13.3
2020–21 Illinois 31 31 27.0 .654 – .553 9.5 .2 .3 1.3 17.7
Career 62 62 27.2 .597 .000 .606 9.1 .4 .4 1.4 15.5

References[]

  1. ^ Daniels, Matt (April 25, 2019). "Future Illini on sizable expectations: Bring it on". The News-Gazette. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Squadron, Alex (July 21, 2018). "From Kingston, Jamaica to Oak Hill: Coffee Cockburn Keeps Climbing". Slam. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  3. ^ Braziller, Zach (May 28, 2016). "6'11 teen left Jamaica for NY — and now has huge hoops potential". New York Post. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  4. ^ Zagoria, Adam (December 31, 2018). "Kofi Cockburn talks Illinois visit, future plans". Zagsblog.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  5. ^ Borzello, Jeff (January 6, 2019). "Kofi Cockburn chooses Illinois over Pittsburgh, UConn". ESPN. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  6. ^ "BWB Americas Daily Blog From the Bahamas". Kansas City Star. July 5, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  7. ^ "Kofi Cockburn Added to World Team for 2018 Nike Hoop Summit". USA Basketball. April 10, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  8. ^ "New York City stars Cole Anthony, Kofi Cockburn transfer to Oak Hill Academy". MaxPreps. July 30, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Kofi Cockburn". Rivals. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  10. ^ Bedore, Gary (August 1, 2018). "KU on another list of 12". Kansas City Star. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Richey, Scott (January 6, 2019). "Five-star center Cockburn commits to Illinois". The News-Gazette. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  12. ^ Evans, Corey (January 6, 2019). "Illinois goes big with five-star Kofi Cockburn". Rivals. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  13. ^ "Feliz helps Illinois hold off Nicholls State 78–70 in OT". ESPN. Associated Press. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  14. ^ "Cockburn leads way as Illinois holds off Grand Canyon 83–71". ESPN. Associated Press. November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  15. ^ "Illinois' Cockburn Claims Both Weekly Men's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  16. ^ Medcalf, Myron (December 11, 2019). "Illinois' Kofi Cockburn accidentally clobbers official while celebrating bucket". ESPN. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  17. ^ "Big Ten Unveils Men's Basketball Postseason Honors on BTN" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  18. ^ Richey, Scott (April 7, 2020). "Illini center Cockburn declares for NBA draft". The News-Gazette. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  19. ^ Borzello, Jeff (August 1, 2020). "Kofi Cockburn returning to Illinois for sophomore season". ESPN. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  20. ^ Borzello, Jeff (July 16, 2021). "Kofi Cockburn staying with Illinois after entering transfer portal". ESPN. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  21. ^ Borzello, Jeff (November 1, 2021). "NCAA suspends Illinois star center Kofi Cockburn 3 games for selling apparel, memorabilia". ESPN. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  22. ^ "Cockburn's career night lifts No. 14 Illinois to 94-85 win". ESPN. Associated Press. November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.

External links[]

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