It is early in the career of Kofi Cockburn, but the numbers this Illinois basketball sensation is putting up are ridiculous.
As of right now, there are so many different stat categories Kofi would etch his name into in the Illinois record book. Yes, he is only six games into his career, but this kid has started on fire and will likely continue to play well. So, let’s just play a hypothetical and say he remains averaging 15.8 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. Where does that put him among the Illini greats?
Right now, Kofi has a 58.7-percent field goal completion rate. That would roughly be No. 11 all-time in single-season field goal percentage. But No. 10 is Roger Powell who shot 59.1-percent, so that is very obtainable for the young big man. I wouldn’t be shocked if he gets there.
There has already been one game this season where Kofi has shot 13 free throws. Teams think this kid is going to be bad at shooting from the charity stripe. I would imagine they go hack-a-Shaq on him. I would bet he ends up shooting at least 18 free throws in a game this season, which would put him in the top 10 for single-game free throw attempts for the Illini.
Just six games into his career, Kofi already has a game with 17 rebounds. This set the all-time freshman record, but I also bet Kofi can get to the 21-rebound mark, which would put him in the top 10 in single-game rebounds in the history of the program.
If Kofi keeps up his 12.7 rebounds per game average, he would finish the season with 393 rebounds. That would not only be No. 1 in single-season rebounds for the Illini, but it would annihilate the previous record holder who had 349 rebounds in a season. His 12.7 rebounds per game would also rank No. 3 all-time in season average as well.
Those are just some numbers he can take down from everyone in program history. He has a chance to own just about every freshman record for the Illini as well.
Kofi’s 15.8 points per game would finish No. 2 all-time in freshman scoring average, only .1 point behind No. 1. His 12.7 rebounds per game would easily be No. 1 all-time in freshman rebounding average. The next closest would be 6.9 RPG. He already broke the single-game freshman rebounding record with 17 rebounds. And his 58.7-percent field goal rate would finish No. 1 among all freshmen as well.
Illinois has a special player on their hands. We haven’t seen someone like Kofi come into this program in a very long time, if ever. Let’s enjoy what we are watching while we have him.