CHAMPAIGN — Illinois men’s basketball has been staring down the barrel of a frontcourt reset ever since Kofi Cockburn declared for the 2021 NBA draft in mid-April.
But it was all theoretical at the time. The 7-foot, 285-pound center left the door open for a possible return — just like he did a year ago — by not stating he was signing with an agent when he put his name in the draft. That meant good news for the Illini last summer. Less so now.
A Thursday morning report from national basketball writer Adam Zagoria had Cockburn opting to remain in the draft and forgoing his final two seasons of college basketball eligibility. A similar report from Pro Insight’s director of scouting Andrew Slater got a retweet from Cockburn’s Twitter account.
Thursday’s reports fit with what Cockburn wrote when he declared for the draft last month.
“The NBA has been a lifelong dream of mine, and I am ready to go to the next level and see what’s in store for me,” Cockburn’s note shared on social media.
Some mock drafts ahead of this year’s draft have Cockburn being selected in the late second round. Others don’t include him, making it unclear what his professional future will be this coming season.
The 7-foot, 285-pound center had a breakout sophomore season at Illinois. Cockburn was a consensus Second Team All-American and averaged career highs at 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while shooting a career best 65.4 percent from the field.
Cockburn remaining in the NBA draft means that frontcourt reset — exacerbated by Giorgi Bezhanishvili’s decision to return home overseas and also turn pro — is coming for Illinois. With Jermaine Hamlin’s transfer to Eastern Illinois, the Illini return just Jacob Grandison, Coleman Hawkins, Brandon Lieb and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk in the frontcourt, and the 6-6, 205-pound Grandison is more of a big wing.
Landing Florida transfer Omar Payne helps. Payne was a top 50 recruit coming out of high school, but got stuck behind Kerry Blackshear Jr. as a freshman and Collin Castleton last season in the Gators’ frontcourt. The 6-10, 230-pound forward averaged 3.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in his two seasons in Gainesville, Fla., but shot 75 percent from the field and blocked 63 total shots in fairly limited action.
Cockburn’s reported decision to stay in the NBA draft and Hamlin’s transfer means Illinois coach Brad Underwood has two open scholarships to use to bolster his frontcourt. The Illini have targeted Massachusetts transfer Tre Mitchell for a second time after also recruiting him out of high school, and they made the top six for Western Michigan transfer Greg Lee along with Arkansas, Penn State, Fordham, East Carolina and Old Dominion.
However it shakes out, the 2021-22 Illinois frontcourt is going to have a much different look.
“It’s a little bit of a difficult spot,” Underwood said earlier this week. “I’m expecting Coleman to have a fantastic year. Coleman’s a guy I see a huge, huge jump coming, whether we play him at the 4 or play him some backup 5.
“We need Ben to be healthy. We need Brandon Lieb to continue to grow. Then, if the right piece is out there at either one of those spots, we’ll see.”
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