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Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini win over Missouri

By Rees Woodcock

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood watches from the baseline during a NCAA Big Ten Conference men's basketball game against Iowa, Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.211206 Ill Iowa Mbb 034 Jpg
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood watches from the baseline during a NCAA Big Ten Conference men's basketball game against Iowa, Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.211206 Ill Iowa Mbb 034 Jpg /
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Illinois basketball
Dec 18, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21) hugs teammate Da’Monte Williams (20) during the second half against the Saint Francis Red Flash at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Kofi has improved his game

I try not to be too repetitive with each slide, but I can’t help but be amazed by the overall improvement of Kofi Cockburn this season.

We all watched Kofi in the 2021 NCAA tournament get shut down by Loyola Chicago. This was an outing that I would like to forget, but I don’t think it will ever leave my mind.

In this game, and for all of last season, Kofi would get the ball in the paint and try to score every single time. He would succeed at times, but there would also be times he would cause an offensive foul or put up a bad shot.

This season is clearly different, though. Kofi has worked on his game and took the advice of the NBA scouts on what he needed to improve. When he gets the ball in the paint, he looks to score, but if there is a double or triple team coming down, Kofi dishes the ball out to the perimeter. This makes him a bigger threat on the court.

In a way, Kofi has a LeBron James effect on the game of basketball. He draws so much attention to him, and this enables his teammates to get open looks. Kofi just has to get his teammates the ball, and that is what is happening this season.

Kofi has improved his shot as well. He can hit shots from further than three feet from the basket now. I am also amazed by his free throw shooting. Kofi went from shooting 55.3% last season to 68.6% this year from the charity stripe. That is a massive improvement.

I think Kofi is a special college player, but he needed to improve his game to become a solid NBA talent. This kid has done a great job learning and developing.

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