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Illinois Basketball: Multiple Illini make Andy Katz’s top player list

By Collin Allen

CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 02: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood talks with Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21), Illinois Fighting Illini guard Alan Griffin (0), and Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) during a timeout in the college basketball game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Illinois Fighting Illini on December 2, 2019, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 02: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood talks with Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21), Illinois Fighting Illini guard Alan Griffin (0), and Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) during a timeout in the college basketball game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Illinois Fighting Illini on December 2, 2019, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Illinois basketball star guard Ayo Dosunmu continues to receive plenty of offseason praise.

Big Ten Network’s Andy Katz ranked the nation’s top returning college basketball players for the upcoming season in his “#KatzRanks” series.  Dosunmu came in at second on the list of returning players.  The Illini dominant center Kofi Cockburn was left out of the top five, though.

There is no question Dosunmu is one of the nation’s top returning players.  He was the Illini’s go-to player last season, where they finished 21-10 overall, 13-7 in the Big-Ten, and fourth-place in the conference.  This was Illinois’ best season since they finished 23-13 overall during the 2012-2013 campaign.

The Illini guard averaged 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game as a sophomore.  Something that isn’t included on the stat sheet was all of his clutch shots last season.  Dosunmu hit multiple crucial shots that helped seal the deal in a few games last season.  This includes a floater at Michigan over Wolverines guard Xavier Simpson to give the Illini a 64-62 lead with 0.5 seconds remaining in the game.


Cockburn, another crucial piece to the Illini’s 2020 Big Ten fourth-place finish, absolutely deserved to be included in Katz’s top five list of returning college players, alongside Dosunmu.

The Illini big man had a dominant freshman season, as he was recognized as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the Fox Sports Freshman of the Year.

The seven-foot center averaged 13.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per contest.  This includes an absurd 22-point, 15-rebound performance at Purdue.  Cockburn had two games where he recorded a season-high 17 rebounds (vs. Citadel, vs Rutgers).

Cockburn did finish at 10th place on Katz’s list, but the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year deserved a much higher ranking than that.

Next. Best-case Illini lineup after missing on David Jones. dark

Dosunmu and Cockburn look to build off of a successful 2019-2020 season as the duo re-joins a deep and talented 2020-2021 Illinois Fighting Illini squad.

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