Illinois Basketball: Ayo Dosunmu, Kofi Cockburn earn All-Big Ten honors

A couple of Illinois basketball players earned honors today from the Big Ten Conference.

The media and coaches voted on the All-Big Ten First Team. According to the media, Ayo Dosunmu made the list. He is joined by Luka Garza, Jalen Smith, Cassius Winston and Lamar Stevens. This is a well-earned list and a first team that can match up against any first team in years past.

Ayo wasn’t feeling the love from the coaches voting, though. He checked in with the All-Big Ten Second Team according to the coaches. He is joined on the second team by Zavier Simpson, Xavier Tillman, Daniel Oturu and Kaleb Wesson. I am not sure what the coaches were watching, but this is an injustice for Ayo.

Illinois was able to get someone on the All-Big Ten Third Team as well. The coaches were once again against the Illini with no one making the list, but the media had Kofi Cockburn checking in on the third team. He is joined by Trayce Jackson-Davis, Joe Wieskamp, Marcus Carr and Nate Reuvers.

The Orange and Blue weren’t done with just donning the All-Big Ten teams. There was one more award the Illini won. Kofi has had a sensational freshman campaign averaging 13.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. These numbers were good enough for him to win the Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. This is something that few Illini players have won in their lifetime.

It has been fun watching both Ayo and Kofi this season. The Illini wouldn’t be the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament without them. We wouldn’t be in the running for a top six seed in the NCAA tournament. I am not even sure we are a postseason team without either of these two players.

I can’t wait to see how Ayo and Kofi finish their careers with Illinois. If this is their final run with the program, it has been a true joy to watch them do their work. Let’s see how far in the NCAA tournament they can take this team.