Kofi Cockburn declares for NBA Draft

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#27      
Congratulations to Kofi. He was awesome at Illinois.
Maybe circumstances change and he returns, who knows. Would he ever be a 1st rounder in the modern NBA? Similar player...Udoka Azubuike a 4 year player was B12POY & All American and still is projected as a 2nd rounder — his draft status hasn’t budged for 3 years. Kofi is 16 days older than Udoka.
Congratulations Kofi.
And Kofi is a better shooter, free throw included!
 
#28      
Gonna be a wait and see game with our two guys the next couple of months. Kofi will not get drafted, Ayo will. With that being said, there is a chance both come back still, but only Kofi is the most likely scenario imo
 
#29      
Before everyone freaks out, there is really ZERO downside to "declaring" for the NBA Draft. I follow a lot of A-10 hoops, and 3 dudes from Richmond declared this week, even though it's almost guaranteed they'll be back next year. If anything, players get a chance to see where they stand and how much they need to improve next season. I'd be shocked if Cockburn didn't return to school...
 
#31      

UncleBob

San Clemente, CA
I've seen some people say that Kofi is leaving it open for him to return. I think he is trying to see if he has a chance to go in the first round. I personally don't think he would as I have not seen him in any mock drafts. I believe he will return and will be a lottery pick in 2021.

Lets hope he and Ayo both comeback. I could live with two lottery picks in 2021.
 
#32      
The problem that I see with this is that it’s different from him testing the waters, he is saying goodbye and thank you. He doesn’t even mention the possibility of returning. I am fine with this and am not upset with his decision but just that it sucks for the fans.
 
#33      
The problem that I see with this is that it’s different from him testing the waters, he is saying goodbye and thank you. He doesn’t even mention the possibility of returning. I am fine with this and am not upset with his decision but just that it sucks for the fans.
He is leaving the door open. It was just a thank you to fans for the season in my opinion.
 
#34      
Two things here: Either Kofi wants to play pro, or he's actually going to get drafted. If he wants to play pro ball, nothings going to stop him from leaving. If he wants to get drafted, tell me how he's a better prospect than Garza.

Garza is better across the board on offense, and while is probably a negative on defense, one has to think thats easier to teach than Kofi developing a 35% 3 pt shot. Kofi's rebouding and shot blocking really give him that much of an edge on Garza in the pro front?
 
#35      
What are we thinking the odds of him coming back are? Same with ayo? everything seems up in the air rn
 
#36      
Two things here: Either Kofi wants to play pro, or he's actually going to get drafted. If he wants to play pro ball, nothings going to stop him from leaving. If he wants to get drafted, tell me how he's a better prospect than Garza.

Garza is better across the board on offense, and while is probably a negative on defense, one has to think thats easier to teach than Kofi developing a 35% 3 pt shot. Kofi's rebouding and shot blocking really give him that much of an edge on Garza in the pro front?

Kofi is just a much better athlete than Garza. Kofi is far less skilled, but Garza doesn't move like an NBA athlete. Watch Garza try to keep up in transition. It's not good. Garza is what he is at this point. I think he is already close to his ceiling as a basketball player. Kofi has a ton of undeveloped potential, and is an exceptional athlete for a man of his size.
 
#38      
Testing the waters seems like a smart thing to do. If you want to play in the NBA it would be smart to hear what teams think of you and what to work on to be more desirable. Unless he wants to play overseas or a team takes a risk in the second round for long term development, I imagine he will be back.
 
#40      
I'd guess 70-30 on Kofi staying. 80-20 on Ayo leaving. Based on nothing but wild speculation.

Kofi staying would be a huge relief. Ayo staying would be a huge surprise.
agreed here. think Kofi back, ayo leaves. could be flipped tho aye could come back
 
#41      
I mentioned this in the Ayo thread.. but now applies here as well.

I get the impression NBA would like to keep the original draft date of June 25th. They have banned workouts, even video ones, and are limiting phone interviews to 4 hours per player. They apparently would like to have the championship prior to Labor Day. I don’t see them moving the draft back to the point it occurs during the fall semester after Labor Day, which means no combine.

The G league is normally from November - March. If the NBA season ends in September, then that will likely impact the start of the 2020-2021 regular season, and push its start back as the players will need recovery time. I’ve read starting the season on Christmas as an option. Does that push the G league start to February In keeping a consistent start relative to the NBA season? At that point undrafted players will have sat nearly a year. Lot to think about for these guys.
 
#44      
I'd guess 70-30 on Kofi staying. 80-20 on Ayo leaving. Based on nothing but wild speculation.

Kofi staying would be a huge relief. Ayo staying would be a huge surprise.
I think this is a good observation. Kofi needs work, but the NBA works in crazy ways. Some team may pay up to let him develop, but we are in uncharted waters right now. You have to wonder how this shut down effects many teams financially. Quite frankly, he owes it to himself to find out what is out there. After all, Eddie Curry got big money out of high school. You never know. Ayo should do the same. You can always come back.
 
#45      
#Illini Kofi Cockburn plans to receive feedback from the NBA and will proceed from there, his brother Nagash told the Tribune. "Given this whole coronavirus thing, it taught (us) whenever the door opens, you have to step through it and not wait for it."
This was a big relief. To be honest, think he will come back based on NBA teams telling him he needs more development. Has not hired an agent either. Think he comes back
 
#46      

ILLINI IN NE

Omaha,Ne.
If you recall either Indy or 0440 said after AG and Tev left that there could be a couple more. I was keeping my fingers crossed that one of them was not Kofi, guys with his size and skills are very rare.

Maybe we have the graduate program that Haarms is looking for. He is about the softest 7 footer I have ever seen but is better than nothing.
 
#50      
#Illini Kofi Cockburn plans to receive feedback from the NBA and will proceed from there, his brother Nagash told the Tribune. "Given this whole coronavirus thing, it taught (us) whenever the door opens, you have to step through it and not wait for it."
This was a big relief. To be honest, think he will come back based on NBA teams telling him he needs more development. Has not hired an agent either. Think he comes back

My 2 cents on this....

1. Have to think that BU & asst. coaches have been in dialogue with KC about this for awhile.
2. Coaches don't seem to have any urgency about landing a transfer at any position, esp. the five... (if Kofi were really gone this would seem to be important)
3. If I were Kofi I would want feedback on where I stand.
4. I could be totally wrong about everything I just typed....
 
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