Illinois Basketball: Illini big man Kofi Cockburn declares for the NBA Draft

The news has finally dropped and the future of the Illinois basketball program has been altered.

On Tuesday, Illini big man Kofi Cockburn posted to his Twitter account that he was planning on making an announcement the following day. That decision has finally dropped.

Kofi has decided to forgo his final years of eligibility and enter the NBA Draft. The legendary Illinois career has come to an end, as he has also decided to hire an agent.

The time Kofi Cockburn has spent with the Illinois basketball program has been special.

If there is anyone badmouthing Kofi today, then shame on you. He has been nothing but incredible for the Illini and one of the main reasons we got back to playing winning basketball.

Do you remember the previous coaching regime and the struggles we went through because Illinois couldn’t land a suitable big man? I hated those times, but with Brad Underwood taking over, he was able to land a big man.

Kofi immediately made Illinois a contender in the Big Ten. In the three years he was in Champaign, the Illini had a combined record of 68-27 overall and 44-16 in the Big Ten. We won the Big Ten regular season title, the Big Ten Tournament one year, and we went dancing every single season. Yes, I still count the COVID-shortened season as an NCAA tournament berth.

In the time Kofi was at Illinois, the program had more wins (68) than the previous four seasons combined (61). He managed to have 68 wins in 95 games compared to the way the program was before when we had 61 wins in 134 games. Those are incredible numbers.

The individual accolades piled up for Kofi during his time at Illinois as well. He was a two-time All-American making it on the first team this past season and on the second team during the 2020-21 campaign.

In the Big Ten, Kofi dominated. He finished his first season of college basketball as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was an All-Big Ten honorable mention. He would then finish his final two seasons at Illinois making the first-team All-Big Ten list.

Kofi is now taking the next step in his career. He has his sights set on the NBA. I wish the big man nothing but the best moving forward. Kofi’s time at Illinois was special, and I will never forget the joy he brought to the Orange and Blue. Thank you, Kofi.