2021-22 Men's Basketball Roster
Biography
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.”
Statistics
Season Statistics
No statistics available for this season.
There are no statistics available for this player.
Historical Player Information
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2019-20Freshman
C
7'0"
290 lbs
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2020-21Sophomore
C
7'0"
285 lbs
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2021-22Junior
C
7'0"
285 lbs