After reading the article I would assume he probably will be gone. Kofi and AC would make a great tandum along with TF and DWM. I hope he does come back. I just wonder if KY will take him after all the bigs they have. It is the draw from OA that will send him to KY. They will make room for him no matter. With our team and Kofi we would be top 5 easily. Come on back Kofi the table is set for you. 1st team AA, First team BT. Player of the year. He will be the man in Champaign with the Chicago market. You figure there is St. Louis close by, Chicago market is wide open. NW isn't going to be the Chicago team in Basketball neither will Loyola.
Kofi Cockburn in the transfer portal
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frozenrope9190
- Aurora, IL
I'm trusting our board's insiders 0440, louville and others, until they give me a reason not to trust them. Everything else to this point are major media PR articles. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
I don't know what to think. Just got to trust in Brad I guess.
Nothing I’ve seen indicates he’s coming back at the moment. Just that convos have gone very well and we are building momentum. Tells me he’s approaching this like a free agent and let the highest bidder win. Coach O and Giorgi were his 2 main guys and both are gone. I’m sure he feels some loyalty to Illinois but at the end of the day this is a business decision.
sacraig
- The desert
That's not necessarily true. It's certainly possible that they could have told him to stay here but he is still interested precisely because of his pre-existing relationship with those guys. Also, the UK staff couldn't officially contact him until he was in the portal, so it's possible he has interest but couldn't officially learn if it was mutual until now. There are also other members on UK's staff that could be reaching out to him rather than OA or CC.
Of course it's also possible that the narrative that OA has told him to stay at Illinois is false as you claim. We just don't know and likely never will.
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Ubermensch
BOOM! Feed my ego.
Maybe it's true that OA & CC agreed not to recruit any Illini players to Kentucky. That seems pretty standard practice. You don't do that to your boss if you have any respect at all for him. But John Calipari owes Brad Underwood nothing, and no such gentleman's agreement prevents him from recruiting Kofi Cockburn to Kentucky.
Which one of you did this 
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
SactownIllini
- Coleman Hawkinsland
Oh man!! Someone with time on their hands should start a keep Kofi campaign where we all pledge to buy a $20 thing from him (shirt?) to have him return to the orange and blue. Surely we could find enough UIUC alums to make him a millionaire right?
I hope the third kid isn’t completely off the table. We need to make the best offer possible.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
sacraig
- The desert
Whoa, whoa, whoa... a man's got to draw the line somewhere.
You do realize this already happens, right?
Maybe if we all chip in a kid - we can fast track this thing.
No way. They are saying Chicago alone could be worth 250 K.
sacraig
- The desert
College athletes are people. People deserve to get paid fairly for the work they do. It's a good thing. It's just going to probably be a bit crazy for a few years because it's so new and then settle down as companies, players, teams, and conferences figure out how to work within this new system. In this example, I am assuming the NCAA as a whole will become increasingly irrelevant.
Illini in OC
In. The. Alley.
... would not be a bad outcome.
Clearly, one of them helps mow the lawn.
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
Or his wife told him they had to keep at least one
If it happens the next time the see each other it will be with the NCAA in the room too
Well your guess and what I know actually happened don’t line up. But go ahead and think what you want!
Kofi would start. I believe both Sarr and Jackson are gone, so they definitely need a center. I don't get why people are emphasizing the hands-off agreement (which I assume is true) not to recruit Illinois players. If Kofi wants to follow OA, no pre-existing agreement will stop that. Seems like the writing's on the wall. Hope the staff can come up with a plan that appeals to Kofi, but from how this has played out so far, I see us as a strong underdog.
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