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Illinois basketball star Kofi Cockburn, the best player to enter the transfer portal since his introduction, announced Friday that he is returning to Champaign to play another season for the Fighting Illini.
Cockburn entered the transfer portal on July 1, the last day to enter and still be eligible to play elsewhere next season. Kentucky was initially considered the frontrunner due to the Wildcats hiring assistant coaches Chin Coleman and Orlando Antigua from Illinois staff this offseason, while Florida State also made Cockburn’s final roster of three schools.
Sources told ESPN at the time that Cockburn had not closed the door on a return to Illinois, and Brad Underwood and his team were able to convince the 7-foot Jamaican native to return to the Big. Ten.
Arguably the most dominant tall man in the country, Cockburn took first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-American honors last season after averaging 17.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1 , 3 block last season. He shot 65.4 percent from the field and had 16 double-doubles, including a 33-point, 13-rebound performance against Minnesota in December. He also had 26 points against Luka Garza and Iowa in the Big Ten tournament.
Illinois, which won the Big Ten Conference tournament and seeded the NCAA tournament, lost two starters last season, including All-American point guard Ayo Dosunmu. With Cockburn back in the fold, however, the Fighting Illini have an argument to be placed in the top 25. Trent Frazier (10.2 PPG) and Andre Curbelo (9.1 PPG) will form a dynamic backcourt, while Da ‘Monte Williams (5.5 PPG) and Jacob Grandison (4.6 PPG) will complete a split time on the wing.
Underwood also brings in ESPN 100 rookies Ramses Melendez (No.54) and Luke Goode (No.80), as well as transfers Omar Payne and Alfonso Plummer from Florida and Utah, respectively.
Cockburn is likely to be a first-team preseason All-American and the preseason favorite for the Big Ten Player of the Year.
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