Kofi Cockburn emerging as a rebounding star in the 2022 NBA Summer League

The Las Vegas portion of the 2022 NBA Summer League is in full force right now.

Two former Illini basketball players are suiting up for different teams in the Las Vegas summer league. Kofi Cockburn continues his run with the Utah Jazz while Malcolm Hill is under contract with the Chicago Bulls.

This isn’t Kofi’s first summer league stop. He also played for the Jazz in the Utah summer league last week. The former Illinois legend would finish those three games averaging 7.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 62.5% from the field. He would also get 17.9 minutes in each game.

Kofi continued his great play so far in the Las Vegas summer league. He has only played in one contest, but it was a victory over the Atlanta Hawks. In the win, Kofi would put up six points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks while going 3-of-8 from the field. It wasn’t his best shooting game, but he was a menace on the boards.

Hill would get his first action of the summer just days ago when the Bulls finally played their first game. It would end up being a win over the Dallas Mavericks, and Hill would impress the masses. He finished the game with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals while shooting 4-of-6 from the field, 2-of-2 from three-point range, and 8-of-10 from the free throw line.

Game two wasn’t as friendly to the former Illini wing, though. Hill would struggle for the Bulls in a loss to the New York Knicks. He would end the night with five points and two rebounds on 2-of-10 shooting from the field and 1-of-5 from three-point range.

Kofi Cockburn is making a name for himself in the 2022 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

It seems that Hill is going to be with the Bulls for a little while. If he doesn’t play much this season, there is no doubt he will at least see a ton of action with the Windy City Bulls of the G-League.

The biggest worry for me was whether or not Kofi would fit in and do well enough to stick with an NBA franchise this summer. He didn’t get drafted and his skillset fits more with the 1990s than the 2020s.

But Kofi has done a great job getting acclimated to the NBA game. Honestly, he is really starting to make a name for himself. The Utah summer league was his first go and averaging 7.7 points and 7.0 rebounds is an impressive feat.

Through one game in the Las Vegas summer league, Kofi is averaging 13.0 rebounds per game, which leads the entire summer league. And just think, that was only 15.2 minutes he was able to pull down those 13 rebounds.

Kofi has his limitations. He isn’t the most mobile big man. He can’t shoot the three-point shot like players like Chet Holmgren. But as long as he can pull down rebounds, especially at a high clip, then there will always be a spot for Kofi on an NBA roster.

Look for Kofi to dominate the glass once again on Monday night, July 11. The Jazz play the Mavericks at 9:00 pm CT on NBA TV. Let’s get this big man on an NBA roster in a more permanent fashion.