Illinois Basketball: Kofi Cockburn adding to his Illini legacy

While the final game of the non-conference schedule was canceled, the Illinois basketball program still found some good news on Monday.

The Big Ten published their awards from the week prior, and Illini big man Kofi Cockburn took home the Big Ten Player of the Week honor. This is the second time in Kofi’s career that he has won the award, and something tells me that it won’t be his last time this season.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Kofi took home the Player of the Week honor. He was absolutely sensational in the lone game for the Illini, racking up 25 points, 14 rebounds, and two steals in the 88-63 victory over Missouri.

This win over the Tigers also broke a three-game winning streak Missouri had against Illinois. Kofi’s dominance got the Illini back on track and ready to take on a tough Big Ten schedule.

Kofi is having an all-time great season for the Illinois basketball team.

If you look at the Illinois record book, you will already see Kofi’s name on numerous lists. He broke just about every freshman record a couple of years ago, and now he is trying to be a mainstay in the majority of all-time records.

Kofi wasn’t on the single-game scoring record list coming into the season, but his 38 points against UT Rio Grande Valley landed him on the list at No. 11. That is just one example of him continuing to make a mark on this program.

If Kofi decided to call it quits and end his career today, he would finish No. 39 on the all-time scoring list in just over two seasons of playing. That is extremely impressive work

The improvement in Kofi’s game has been astounding as well. He is averaging career-highs this season in points, rebounds, assists, and free throw percentage. He is also fouling less while playing more minutes.

People shouldn’t be shocked Kofi won the Big Ten Player of the Week. They should be shocked that he has only won it twice. This kid is a shooting star; a generational talent. He’s a legend.