Illinois Basketball: Like a shooting star, an Illini era has ended

A successful era of Illinois basketball has officially come to an end as of Sunday afternoon.

Illini big man Kofi Cockburn announced via his social media accounts that he was declaring for the NBA Draft. An announcement that many were waiting for, but it doesn’t hurt any less losing a big man of his caliber.

Kofi now joins another Illinois legend in Ayo Dosunmu as they try to work their way through the pre-draft process in hopes of getting picked by one of the 30 NBA franchises looking to improve.

These two great players came into the Illini program with great hype to their name, and they lived up to every ounce of expectations put on their shoulders. While they ended up being more of a shooting star, quickly appearing and gone before you know it, I think it is important to remember what these two giants brought to Champaign.

What did Ayo and Kofi bring to the Illinois basketball program?

Do you remember what the Illinois program was before Brad Underwood? It was constant instability with the hopes that we would fall on the right side of the bubble every year. I think that sums up the program before Underwood arrived.

Illinois was able to land a smattering of solid talent throughout the years before Underwood’s arrival. Two glaring issues that ultimately doomed the previous coaching staff; the lack of being able to secure a point guard and a center.

In steps Underwood, and it seemed that Illinois had more viability within the recruiting game than we had the prior seven years. It all started with Ayo’s commitment.

Ayo pledged to the Illini as the No. 32 player in the country. He said yes to Underwood despite Illinois being on a five-year drought when it came to the NCAA tournament. Ayo gave Illini fans hope, even though we only won 12 games in his first season. You could see glimpses of greatness, as the team won five out of six games in a stretch, which included wins over No. 13 Maryland and No. 9 Michigan State.

Kofi would put us over the top, though. In the midst of Illinois still losing, Kofi decided to take his top 50 talent and come to Champaign to fill the void we have been looking to fill since Meyers Leonard. A commitment by Kofi, and the entire program changed.

With Kofi in the fold, Illinois had their point guard and big man we had always been missing. What followed close behind?

Winning.

Illinois would go on to win 21 games and be one of the best teams in the Big Ten in the first season with Ayo and Kofi leading the way. The Illini were going to enter the Big Ten Tournament as a top-four seed. They would then enter the NCAA tournament as, likely, a top-four seed. If COVID didn’t hit, the 2020 NCAA tournament would have given Illinois great experience, which would have helped them this past season.

Either way, Illinois entered this past season as the No. 8 team in the nation. Why were they coming into the 2020-21 campaign with such lofty expectations? The simple answer is Ayo and Kofi.

Ayo and Kofi led the charge, enabling Illinois to win 24 games. The Illini then entered the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 2 seed and stormed through to secure their first Big Ten Tournament title since 2005. Illinois would then enter the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed, another first since 2005. How were we able to get to climb this high in the college basketball world? Ayo and Kofi, of course.

It won’t be easy to replace their statistical production either. Just this past season alone, Ayo averaged 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Kofi wasn’t too far behind, putting up 17.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. But these two are bigger than just an excellent season of stats.

Thankfully, while we all age and new generations of fans are being born, the new generation will always know the names of Ayo and Kofi because they both have cemented their place in the Illinois basketball record book.

Ayo ended his three years at Illinois with 1,504 points, finishing No. 12 in all-time scoring right between Andy Kaufmann and Efrem Winters. He also averaged 3.9 assists per game during his career, which ranks No. 9 all-time in Illinois history. If Ayo would have been able to play in the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA tournament as a sophomore, he would be on about a handful of other top 10’s in Illinois history.

You will be able to find Ayo’s name on 22 different all-time freshman record top 10 lists in Illinois history. Let’s also not forget that Ayo was the first All-American Illinois has had since 2006. The kid was a true legend.

Kofi holds his own when it comes to the record books, though. You will find the big man as a second-team All-American this past season. Kofi finished with 293 rebounds as a sophomore, which lands him at No. 9 on the all-time single-season rebounds list. He also averaged 9.1 rebounds per game during his two-year career, which has him finishing No. 7 all-time in career rebounding average in Illinois history.

During Kofi’s sophomore campaign, he had 16 double-doubles, which is No. 5 all-time in single-season double-doubles. He also had 28 double-doubles for his career, which puts him at No. 9 all-time for career double-doubles.

Kofi already had the No. 5 spot locked up with six blocks in a game during his freshman season. His 1.4 blocks per game for his two seasons at Illinois lands Kofi at the No. 4 spot in career average blocks per game. Kofi also holds a position on 19 different freshman record top 10 lists in Illinois basketball history.

To say that Ayo and Kofi were two legends with the Illinois program might be the biggest understatement of the century. These two put the Illini back on the map. They brought stability, respect and winning back to Champaign. And there is one thing Ayo and Kofi brought to Illini Nation that trumps everything.

Hope.

Thank you for everything Ayo and Kofi.