2021-22 Men's Basketball Roster
Jersey Number 21
Kofi Cockburn
- Class:
- Junior
- Height:
- 7-0
- Weight:
- 285
- Hometown:
- Kingston, Jamaica
- High School:
- Oak Hill Academy (Va.)
Cockburn for Player of the Year | Cockburn's Career & Season Game-By-Game Stats (PDF)
2021-22 Junior
- NCAA Consensus First-Team All-American
- Only NCAA player to average 20+ points (20.9 ppg) and 10+ rebounds (10.6 rpg) on the season
- Only player to rank in the top 20 nationally in both scoring (11th) and rebounding (8th)
- Associated Press First-Team All-American
- NABC First-Team All-American
- USBWA First-Team All-American
- The Sporting News First-Team All-American
- Wooden Award All-American Team
- Sports Illustrated First-Team All-American
- The Athletic First-Team All-American
- USA Today First-Team All-American
- Field of 68 First-Team All-American
- College Hoops Today First-Team All-American
- Lute Olson Award Finalist and All-American
- CBS Sports Second-Team All-American
- Naismith Trophy Semifinalist (Top 10)
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Finalist (Top 5)
- Unanimous First-Team All-Big Ten
- NABC First-Team All-District 7
- USBWA All-District V Team
- Academic All-Big Ten selection
- Naismith Trophy Player of the Week (Feb. 7)
- Three-time Big Ten Player of the Week (Dec. 27, Jan. 10 & Feb. 7)
- Nation’s 11th-leading scorer at 20.9 ppg
- Eighth in NCAA in rebounding at 10.6 rpg
- First Illini player in 50 years to average 20+ points and 10+ rebounds (Nick Weatherspoon, 1972)
- Third in NCAA with 11 games of 20+ points and 10+ rebounds
- Ninth nationally in kenpom offensive rating (114.7)
- 10th in NCAA in double-doubles (despite missing five games) with 17
- 16th in NCAA in field goal percentage at 59.3% (226-381)
- Illinois school record holder with 45 career double-doubles, second in NCAA over last three years
- Most career points (1,546) and career rebounds (861) in Illini history among three-year players
- 17th double-double of season with game highs of 17 points and 13 boards in NCAA Tournament first-round win over Chattanooga (March 18)
- 11th 20/10 game of season with game highs of 23 points and 10 boards in Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal vs. Indiana (March 11)
- 20/10 game with 21 points and game-high 14 rebounds in Big Ten title-clinching win over No. 24 Iowa (March 6)
- Game-high 27 points on 11-15 FG in win at Michigan (Feb. 27)
- Game-high 27 points on 10-15 FG & 7-9 FT in win at No. 19 Michigan State (Feb. 19)
- 20/10 game with 20 points and 10 boards at Rutgers (Feb. 16)
- Set scoring high in Big Ten play with 37 points on 16-19 FG and 12 boards in win over No. 11 Wisconsin (Feb. 2)
- Game highs of 22 points and nine boards in win at Northwestern (Jan. 29)
- Ninth-straight double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds in win over Michigan (Jan. 14)
- 20/10 game with 23 points and career-high tying 18 boards in win over Maryland (Jan. 6)
- 20/10 game with 29 points and 10 boards in win at Minnesota (Jan. 4)
- 20/10 game with 25 points and 14 rebounds in Braggin' Rights win vs. Missouri (Dec. 22)
- 20/10 game with 21 points on 9-11 FG and 11 boards vs. Saint Francis PA (Dec. 18)
- Double-double with 17 points and career-high 18 rebounds in win at Iowa (Dec. 6)
- 20+ points for third straight outing with game-high 28 points in Big Ten/ACC Challenge win over Notre Dame (Nov. 29)
- Career-high 38 points vs. UTRGV (Nov. 26) on 15-19 FG and 8-11 FT with 10 boards
- Double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds in win over Kansas State (Nov. 23)
2021-22 Preseason
- Associated Press All-America Team
- Big Ten Player of the Year, conference media
- Wooden Award Top-50 Watch List
- Naismith Trophy Watch List
- NABC Div. I Player of the Year Watch List
- Lute Olson Award Watch List
- Kareem Adbul-Jabbar Center of the Year Watch List
- First-Team All-American, Sporting News
- First-Team All-American, CBS Sports
- First-Team All-American, Blue Ribbon Yearbook
- First-Team All-American, Athlon Sports
- First-Team All-American, Dick Vitale
- First-Team All-American, College Hoops Today
- No. 2, CBS Sports' Top 101 Players
- No. 3, March Madness 365's Top 25 Returning Players
- No. 4, Athlon Sports' Top 100 Players
- No. 4, Lindy’s Top 150 Players
- Second-Team All-American, Lindy’s
- Second-Team All-American, Field of 68
- Big Ten Player of the Year, The Athletic
- Big Ten Player of the Year, Blue Ribbon
- Big Ten Player of the Year, Lindy’s
2020-21 Sophomore
- NCAA Consensus Second-Team All-American
- Only player in the NCAA to average 15+ points and 9+ rebounds while shooting at least 60%
- Wooden Award All-American Team
- Associated Press Second-Team All-American
- NABC Second-Team All-American
- USBWA Second-Team All-American
- Sporting News Second-Team All-American
- CBS Sports Second-Team All-American
- USA Today Second-Team All-American
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Finalist
- No. 7 in final kenpom.com National Player of the Year standings
- Sports Illustrated Third-Team All-American
- Big Ten All-Tournament Team
- First-Team All-Big Ten
- USBWA All-District V Team
- NABC Second-Team All-District 7
- Naismith Trophy Midseason Team
- Third nationally with 16 double-doubles
- Fourth in the NCAA in field goal percentage at 65.4% (214-327)
- Led the nation with 78 dunks
- Fifth in Big Ten in scoring (17.7 ppg)
- First in B1G and 24th in NCAA in rebounding (9.5 rpg)
- Game-high 21 points with nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals in NCAA Tournament second round vs. No. 17 Loyola Chicago (March 21)
- Game-high 18 points in NCAA Tournament first-round win over Drexel (March 19)
- 16 points and nine rebounds in Big Ten Tournament title game win over No. 9 Ohio State (March 14)
- Game-high 26 points on 11-17 FG with eight boards in Big Ten Tournament semifinal win over No. 5 Iowa (March 13)
- 16th double-double of season with 18 points and 12 boards in Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal win over Rutgers (March 12)
- 19 points in win at No. 23 Wisconsin (Feb. 27)
- Game-high 24 points on 8-10 FG and 8-10 FT in win over Nebraska (Feb. 25)
- 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting in win at Minnesota (Feb. 20)
- Double-double with 17 points and 10 boards in win over Northwestern (Feb. 16)
- Double-double with 21 points (7-8 FG), 13 boards and season-high tying four blocks in win at Nebraska (Feb. 12)
- Double-double with 23 points on 10-13 FG and school-record eight dunks along with 14 rebounds in win over No. 19 Wisconsin (Feb. 6)
- Double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in win at Indiana (Feb. 2)
- Double-double with 21 points, 12 boards and four blocks in win over Penn State (Jan. 19)
- Double-double with 15 points on perfect 7-7 FG and 11 boards vs. No. 21 Ohio State (Jan. 16)
- Double-double with 21 points (8-10 FG) and 10 rebounds vs. Maryland (Jan. 10)
- Double-double with 18 points (8-9 FG) and 12 boards in win at Northwestern (Jan. 7)
- Double-double with 15 points and season-high 15 boards in win over Indiana (Dec. 26)
- 23 points on 11-13 FG in win at Penn State (Dec. 23)
- Double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds at No. 19 Rutgers (Dec. 20)
- Season-high 33 points on 12-15 FG with nine FT and 13 rebounds in win over Minnesota (Dec. 15)
- Three straight double-doubles to open season: 18 pts-10 reb vs. North Carolina A&T (Nov. 25), 14 pts-11 reb vs. Chicago State (Nov. 26) and 13 pts-14 reb vs. Ohio (Nov. 27)
- Preseason honors: Wooden Award Watch List, Naismith Trophy Watch List, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Watch List, third-team All-American (Dick Vitale), fourth-team All-American (Blue Ribbon Yearbook), All-Big Ten Team
2019-20 Freshman
- Big Ten Freshman of the Year (coaches & media)
- Big Ten Newcomer of the Year (AP)
- Big Ten All-Freshman Team
- Third-team All-Big Ten (media)
- Honorable mention All-Big Ten (coaches)
- Illinois Freshman of the Year
- Seven-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, tying the second-most awards in B1G history (Nov. 11, Nov. 25, Dec. 9, Dec. 16, Dec. 30, Jan. 13, Jan. 27)
- Big Ten Player of the Week (Nov. 25)
- Only Illini player to start all 31 games on the season
- Second on team and 13th in Big Ten in scoring at 13.3 ppg
- Sixth in B1G and fourth among NCAA freshmen in rebounding at 8.8 rpg
- 12 double-doubles, ranking fifth among all freshmen nationally and doubling the previous Illini freshman season record
- Top rebounding freshman in Illini history and No. 5 freshman scorer in school history
- Highest rebounding average (8.8 rpg) and most double-doubles (12) by an Illini player since 2010
- Third in B1G and 23rd in NCAA in offensive rebounds (3.5 rpg)
- Shot 53.2% from the field (151-284)
- Led Illini with 44 blocked shots (11th in B1G)
- 24 games scoring in double figures, with five 20-point performances
- 12 points and eight boards in win over No. 18 Iowa (March 8), preserving the victory by blocking Luka Garza’s shot with 1 second left
- 15 points and career-high 6 blocked shots in win over Indiana (March 1), with the 6 blocks ranking fifth-most in school history
- 12th double-double of season with 12 points and game-high 14 rebounds in win at Northwestern (Feb. 27)
- 15 points and 10 rebounds in win over Nebraska (Feb. 24)
- 11 points and eight boards vs. Michigan State (Feb. 11), hitting two free throws with 19 seconds left to put Illini up by one
- 13 points and 10 boards in win over Minnesota (Jan. 30)
- Game highs of 22 points and 15 boards in win at Purdue (Jan. 21)
- 11 points and career-high tying 17 boards in win over Rutgers (Jan. 11)
- Season-high 26 points in win over North Carolina A&T (Dec. 29)
- Game-high 19 points and 10 boards with four blocks in win over No. 5 Michigan (Dec. 11)
- Game-high 23 points on 8-8 FG and 7-8 FT vs. Miami (Dec. 2)
- 20 points on 8-10 FG/4-4 FT and 13 boards vs. Hampton (Nov. 23)
- Game-high 18 points and career-high 17 boards in win over The Citadel (Nov. 20), setting Illini single-game freshman rebounding record
- Game highs of 23 points and 14 boards in win at Grand Canyon (Nov. 8)
- Double-double in collegiate debut with 10 points and 11 boards vs. Nicholls (Nov. 5)
High School
- Four-star recruit ranked No. 43 by the recruiting services consensus index, checking in at No. 45 by Rivals, No. 46 by 247Sports and No. 50 by ESPN
- No. 9-ranked center by Rivals and No. 12 by 247Sports and ESPN
- Highest-rated post player to join the Illini since Meyers Leonard from the Class of 2010
- Averaged a double-double at Oak Hill, tallying 14.8 ppg and 10.1 rpg
- Shot 62.1 percent from the field and also led the Warriors in blocks with 1.8 bpg
- Concluded his Oak Hill career by averaging 9.5 points and 9.5 rebounds at the Geico High School Nationals tournament in New York City (4/4-6/19)
- Competed for the World Team at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland (4/12/19)
- Prep school coach was Steve Smith
- Played for the NY Rens AAU Program, coached by Andy Borman and Karriem Memminger
- Came to the United States from Jamaica in 2015, arriving in New York City
- Played organized basketball for the first time as a high school freshman
- Attended Christ the King before spending his senior year at Oak Hill
Personal
- Born Sept. 1, 1999
- Majoring in community health
- Parents are Dorothy Wray and the late Laffette Cockburn
- Has two brothers and two sisters
- Older brother, Nagash, played University basketball in Jamaica
- Hobbies include listening to music, writing, drawing, watching TV and hanging out with friends
- Grew up playing soccer and running track. Was a midfielder on the pitch and ran the 100- and 200-meter dashes
- Favorite athletes are DeMarcus Cousins and Lionel Messi
- Favorite artist is Bob Marley
- Favorite meal is rice and peas with chicken
- Lists his brother Nagash, mentors Stephen Johnston and Karriem Memminger, and his coach in Jamaica Lamar Dixon as the people who have most influenced his basketball career
- Chose Illinois because, “Coach O recruited me for years and we developed a great connection. And I love the environment; the fans are so passionate. I wanted to be here and help turn the program around and be part of the excitement.”
David Mirković Will Return to Illinois
Wednesday, April 15
Illinois Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference - NCAA Final Four vs. UConn 4/4/26
Sunday, April 05
Illinois Men's Basketball | NCAA Final Four Pregame Press Conference 4/3/26
Friday, April 03
Illinois Men's Basketball | Brad Underwood Pre-Final Four On-Site Press Conference 4/2/26
Thursday, April 02
