Illinois Basketball: Ayo Dosunmu, Kofi Cockburn not in NBA mock draft

The NBA Draft is slotted for June 25, and the Illinois basketball team has at least one player who is currently declared for the event.

Kofi Cockburn decided to forgo his final three years of eligibility and jump into the NBA Draft pool. According to Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune, Kofi has declared but isn’t signing an agent, though. That means he can back out of the draft and come back to Champaign to dominate next season.

There is another player for the Illini who could be testing the waters too. Ayo Dosunmu has spent two successful seasons with the Orange and Blue and could be ready to head to the NBA. If he declares for the draft, it wouldn’t shock me. Honestly, it has been shocking he hasn’t declared yet. But it is up in the air if he would stay in the mix as well considering the recent mock drafts.

The number of NBA mock drafts throughout the internet is getting a bit ridiculous. It is hard to know who is the most accurate, so I am going with The Mothership. ESPN released its most recent mock draft on April 9. There were two full rounds in this mock draft with Georgia’s Anthony Edwards going No. 1 to the Golden State Warriors. The rich get richer, am I right?

After going through the mock draft, there was one thing that stood out to me; no Illinois players. That is right, neither Kofi nor Ayo were listed in the first or second round of this most recent mock draft. I was a little surprised Ayo didn’t sneak into the second round. So, should this have any bearing on what the Illinois dynamic duo should do in the coming weeks?

I would say that this mock draft shouldn’t affect the decision making for Kofi and Ayo. From day one, I have said both players should declare for the NBA Draft. If I was advising them, I would say declare for the draft, get evaluated for your strengths and weaknesses and then come back to Illinois.

I honestly believe they could use another year in college. They really needed the NCAA tournament to be played this year. I think those two on the big stage would have had NBA scouts licking their chops. They would have played well and probably both would have departed for the NBA.

But another year in college would help give them a bigger national stage. Illinois would make the NCAA tournament again, and this time they would get to play in it. They would also move up in the draft and make more money in 2021 because they would be higher picks.

I hope Kofi and Ayo make the best decision for their futures. Whatever their decision may be, I support them completely. I want to see both of these superstars succeed.