Illinois Basketball: Decision date set for Illini big man Kofi Cockburn

This has been a roller coaster of an offseason for the Illinois basketball program thus far.

The Illini have had three players transfer out of the program, and those transfers followed an exodus of players who graduated. But Illinois started to gain some momentum as of late. A huge commitment from 2022 five-star point guard Skyy Clark helped offset the departures.

Clark’s commitment was soon followed by his brother, ZZ Clark, also committing to the Illini. While he won’t join the program for a few years, ZZ does give the Illini another superstar commitment for the 2024 class.

With everything going on, there was one huge story still looming over Champaign. What will Kofi Cockburn decide to do following his third year in Champaign? It looks like Illini fans will finally be getting that answer.

A decision from Illinois basketball center Kofi Cockburn is coming.

On Tuesday afternoon, Kofi broke his relative silence on the issue of whether or not he was returning to Illinois. No, he didn’t have an answer just yet. But he did come out on Twitter to say that an announcement was coming on Wednesday.

This is big news considering no one was quite sure when the All-American center was going to make a decision. And while there are a ton of rumors, no one for sure knows what the decision will ultimately be for Kofi.

No matter the decision by the Illini big man, I support it 100%. If he decides to come back to Illinois, Kofi gives the Orange and Blue the best center in the game and a legit shot to win our first national title in program history.

If Kofi picks the professional route and decides to sign an agent, then I am happy for him. Personally, I think his NBA development is going to pick up when he is playing in an NBA environment. But, believe me, I would love to see him back in Champaign.

Either way, I am happy for Kofi. He has earned everything that he has in life. And in about 24 hours, we will know what the future will hold for one of the best to ever come through the Illinois program.