Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
Good luck King Kofi, an all time Illini great. Time to religiously keep up on NBA mock drafts. I really would love to watch another Illini in the NBA.
Kofi Cockburn enters NBA Draft
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damn that pic gave me goose bumps!The end of an era…
HAIL TO THE KING!!!!
Thanks for all the memories Kofi. Truly a one of a kind and I wish him all the best in the world!
When you think you will have a top 10 Team next year and the most dominant player in college basketball leaves your team - it's a kick in the nuts for sure
But for Kofi - it's completely understandable and I will be rooting for him in his career - he had nothing left to prove in college basketball and he only has so many years as a professional player. His jersey will be hanging in the Hall soon. Thank you for a great ride Kofi!
Tacomallini
- Washington State
This is kinda like a Pru-Anon thread post...Kofi gone feels like the end of an era to all of us. On a personal note, the last time I communicated with a close childhood friend before his untimely passing was celebrating the return of Ayo and Kofi before the 2020-1 season. RIP DE, hope you get decent sports coverage in the afterlife...
Thank you Kofi and congrats. Despite the potential short-term loss of money, I do think this is the right decision for him. Had nothing left to prove at Illinois and now he bets on himself and pursues his dream. I have no idea if his dream will be fulfilled — certainly plenty of naysayers on here don’t think it will be. I think that will make me root even harder for his success. See you in the rafters of SFC King.
hooraybeer
- Pittsburgh, PA
I think the B1G tournament championship run was the peak of this era. We were clicking on all cylindersThe end of an era…
Maybe he’ll quit ducking games against Illinois now.Hunter Dickinson reaction to Kofi's announcement
As one of the few Illinois fans from the state of Kansas, I am thankful to take my whole family to the Hall of Fame classic in Kansas City! Got to see Kofi and the gang even though we played AWFUL vs Cinicinnati.
Highlight was my son winning the 3 point shootout at one of the tv timeouts!! Great memory!
Kofi had 19, my son hit 7 3’s so…… he is available.
Highlight was my son winning the 3 point shootout at one of the tv timeouts!! Great memory!
Kofi had 19, my son hit 7 3’s so…… he is available.
It was a pleasure to witness his greatness over the past three years. No doubt that he's one of the most elitest to ever wear an Illinois jersey. Hope he can prove the world wrong and find a spot in the NBA.
I'm not as gutted as I think I would've been had he left last year, or had Ayo left before his junior year. We're in such a good place as a program now. I think we're just going to keep winning.
Thank you, King.
I'm not as gutted as I think I would've been had he left last year, or had Ayo left before his junior year. We're in such a good place as a program now. I think we're just going to keep winning.
Thank you, King.
I am excited for all parties here.
Kofi gets to live his dream, win, lose or draw. He's an actual professional now AND one of the most dominant college players of all time.
Freshman Year
13.3 ppg 8.8 rpg 1.4 blk, Big Ten Freshman of the Year (robbed of a BTT & NCAA tournament)
Sophomore Year
17.7 ppg 9.6 rpg 1.3 blk, 2nd Team All American, 1st Team All Big Ten, Most Wins in B1G, BTT Champions, NCAA #1 Seed
Junior Year
20.9 ppg 10.6 rpg 1.0 blk, 1st Team All American, 1st Team All Big Ten, Big Ten Champions
Simply a force we were blessed to witness.
My daughter and I got to see The Rejection of Garza before the world shut down. That was an epic game all around and it ended up being a perfect cliffhanger ending, to what could have been, for the 2020 season.
Thank you, Kofi. Good luck in your professional endeavors!
(A team would be absolutely unconscious not to draft Kofi in the 2nd round. HE IS A LITERAL MOUNTAIN!)
Kofi gets to live his dream, win, lose or draw. He's an actual professional now AND one of the most dominant college players of all time.
Freshman Year
13.3 ppg 8.8 rpg 1.4 blk, Big Ten Freshman of the Year (robbed of a BTT & NCAA tournament)
Sophomore Year
17.7 ppg 9.6 rpg 1.3 blk, 2nd Team All American, 1st Team All Big Ten, Most Wins in B1G, BTT Champions, NCAA #1 Seed
Junior Year
20.9 ppg 10.6 rpg 1.0 blk, 1st Team All American, 1st Team All Big Ten, Big Ten Champions
Simply a force we were blessed to witness.
My daughter and I got to see The Rejection of Garza before the world shut down. That was an epic game all around and it ended up being a perfect cliffhanger ending, to what could have been, for the 2020 season.
Thank you, Kofi. Good luck in your professional endeavors!
(A team would be absolutely unconscious not to draft Kofi in the 2nd round. HE IS A LITERAL MOUNTAIN!)
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Agreed. The Iowa title game, specifically. That moved us from great team to one that many thought was the favorite to win it all.
Add to it being Sunday afternoon, Nantz on the call, huge CBS audience as the only game being played before selection sunday...one to remember.
Really gonna miss having a dude that's bigger than everyone else. But I love Kofi and wish him nothing but the best! Thank you, King Kofi for giving this Illini fan something amazing to watch after years of bummers. All hail the king!
Future Walk-On
- Peoria, IL
Gonna be hard to try not to compare future 5's to Kofi. We need to be fair and realize we may never see that production ever again.
If Meyers Leonard can hang around on NBA rosters and magically learn to shoot 3's ... Kofi will be fine. I bet he makes it.
If Meyers Leonard can hang around on NBA rosters and magically learn to shoot 3's ... Kofi will be fine. I bet he makes it.
Good luck to an all-timer. Hope he manages to get drafted and work his way onto a roster so we can keep watching him. We'll probably never see another Kofi. Very bittersweet moment, but big thanks to IL for prepping me mentally for it. Will be really strange to see an Illini team without Ayo, Trent, DMW or Kofi.
Meyers.....a much more gifted athlete than Kofi....
Well at least we have the Spring football game on Thursday to take our minds off of Kofi leaving.
Thanks for the memories and dunks! Good luck in your next chapter!
Thanks for the memories, big guy! You were as responsible as any single player in turning this program around. It isn't a coincidence that consistent winning didn't come until you arrived on campus. You managed to hold this program up until it could stand on its own. Illini basketball is cool again, thanks in no small part to a very large man. I hope the next phase of your journey is all you hope it will be.
Kofi needs to learn at times how to just go up with the ball instead of putting it on the floor so much. Hopefully he can learn from a good NBA or pro center on how to do that.
So who is happier to hear this news, the whiner Fran or the whiner Hunter? Both have to be RELIEVED they will never have to see Kofi in Illini uniform again.
Fran did get one win over Kofi, but then lost five straight including season-ending defeats in 2020 and 2022 that were both completely winnable games for Iowa that Illinois out-fought them for in large part because of Kofi, plus a BTT semifinal loss in 2021
And even better, poor Hunter NEVER beat Kofi, really never came close.
Kofi, I know you accomplished much more than this in your awesome Illini career, but I thank you for kicking the crap out of Iowa and Michigan.
Fran did get one win over Kofi, but then lost five straight including season-ending defeats in 2020 and 2022 that were both completely winnable games for Iowa that Illinois out-fought them for in large part because of Kofi, plus a BTT semifinal loss in 2021
And even better, poor Hunter NEVER beat Kofi, really never came close.
Kofi, I know you accomplished much more than this in your awesome Illini career, but I thank you for kicking the crap out of Iowa and Michigan.
Hoping to see him running with Ayo!
- Status