We saw a little bit of his frustration tonight mount up. Kofi Cockburn. The Illini junior is one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard, and one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith College Player of the Year trophy. 6 player in the country for the class of 2019 by 247Sports … CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Slot to Illinois Fighting Illini Newsletter. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Slot to Illinois Fighting Illini Newsletter. Sign Up. Despite improvement this season, Illinois sophomore Kofi Cockburn is not listed among ESPN’s top-100 draft prospects. Kofi Cockburn’s free-throw shooting has been frustrating (2-for-7). 247 said Lieb checks out at 6-foot-11 and 205 pounds — a string bean. “Damn, I don’t know who’s any better,” Underwood said last month. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Brad Underwood all season has criticized the way Kofi Cockburn is officiated. Illinois senior guard Trent Frazier also earned All-Big Ten honorable mention from both coaches and media. Cockburn scored a team-high 24 points, including 18 points in a dominant second half, to lead Illinois to an 86-70 rout of Nebraska with Illini star Ayo Dosunmu sidelined with a facial injury. He finished the night without scoring a single point, but had five blocks and 12 rebounds in 21 minutes and dominated the matchup. Only player in the NCAA averaging 15+ points and 9+ rebounds on at least 65% shooting; 18.6 ppg and 10.1 rpg in Big Ten games, one of only two high-major players averaging 15+ points & 10+ boards in league play The exceptionally strong Jamaican native is a major challenge to contain in the low-post. Dosunmu also is known as one of college basketball’s best closer with his closing-time heroics helping Illinois win close, late games this season against Ohio, Indiana, Nebraska, Northwestern and Ohio State. Kofi Cockburn: One of the revelations of the EYBL season nationally has been the rapid development of 6'11" rising junior Kofi Cockburn, who averaged a near double-double for the RENs. 6-10, 280 | Class of 2019. You could ask the guys he practices against every day with cracked ribs, with broken teeth, with everything else. Add Timeline Events. "We really don’t get into (All-American talk). At Michigan State on Tuesday, Cockburn shot under 50.0 percent for just the third time this season and missed a season-high eight free-throws. From 247… Reb/G: Kofi Cockburn – 9.6 . The 7-foot, 290-pound sophomore center certainly draws a lot of… 6'10 Soph Kofi Cockburn finished with 22 & 10 for Christ the King/Mountain of man is pure monster & climbed into top 30 in 2019 class. He’s the most abused player in college basketball. Ast/G: Ayo Dosunmu – 5.2 . Blk/G: Kofi Cockburn – 1.3 . A potential All-American as well, Cockburn is a key reason for the Illini's turnaround during the last two seasons (29-11 Big Ten). Cockburn certainly draws a lot of fouls from opponents, ranking fourth among high-major players in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.1), but the Illinois head coach feels like Cockburn still doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt. At 7-foot, 295-pounds, he sticks out. Early in the second half, there was a moment where it looked like Cockburn might truly lash out. Cockburn — who is shooting 57.7 percent from the free-throw line this season — made his last eight free throws of the game and punished the rims as well, finishing with four dunks while also hauling in seven rebounds. That’s when I know there’s tremendous frustration on his part. 5 Big Ten) and 9.6 rebounds (No. He then dunked twice more, including a SportsCenter Top 10 worthy one-handed slam on an Andre Curbelo alley-pop. © 2005-2021 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The Illini head coach went to battle for his big man, spending huge chunks of the first half hounding officials Kelly Pfeifer, Donnie Eppley and Owen Shortt. WCIA — Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn are two of four Illinois basketball players recognized by the Big Ten Conference in its postseason awards released on Tuesday. 6'10'' | 280 lbs. See more of Illinois Fighting Illini on 247Sports on Facebook. It’s not even close. or. Kofi Cockburn (54.9 percent) is a big reason for the struggles, though Adam Miller, Da'Monte Williams and Giorgi Bezhanishvili also are shooting … Create New Account. And Underwood showed Thursday that he’s going to keep lobbying for his big man — even if he has to scream, yell and beg for a technical to do so. Ayo Dosunmo scored at the rim for Illinois. That’s not Kofi. 2020-21 Sophomore. I don’t know who in the hell anybody thinks is any better than him right now.”. For the first time in 15 years, two Illinois basketball players were named to the All-Big Ten First Team in the same season.