Illinois Basketball: Illini season wrap-up for Kofi Cockburn

Kofi Cockburn had an impressive second year being a part of this Illinois basketball team.

Here is Kofi Cockburn’s 2020-21 season wrap-up with the Illini.

Expectations

Kofi had a tremendous freshman season. He averaged 13.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. He made the Big Ten All-Freshman team and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Even with those accomplishments, he still had flaws in his game. Kofi would rush his shot when getting double-teamed, and he would get tunnel vision after getting an offensive rebound.

I expected him to work on those flaws and get better. I expected, coming into his sophomore year, he would be in contention for the best big man in the country. I thought he would average 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 1 block per game in 2020-21. I also expected to see him make an All-Big Ten team.

Reality

Kofi met my expectations. He was arguably the best player this year for Illinois and was without a doubt one of the best big men in the country. He had a huge impact on the way this Illinois basketball team played.

The big man averaged 17.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. He shot 53-percent from the field. His free-throw shooting took a dip, as Kofi only hit 55-percent from the charity stripe. Throughout the season, he dominated teams opposing big men. He was named as a second-team All-American, first-team All-Big Ten and All-Big Ten tournament team.

Kofi still had problems with rushing his shot, passing the ball out and pick and roll defense. Even with still having those problems, he impressed. Kofi performed well against the premier big men in the Big Ten.

Future

Right now, it is still up in the air on whether or not Kofi is coming back or going to the NBA Draft. I think he will stay. But no matter what he does, he will have a career as a pro player in the future.