Cockburn feels justified in waiting for NBA bow
Published:Sunday | March 13, 2022 | 12:11 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
AFTER FLIRTING with making the jump to the NBA for two years, Jamaican basketballer Kofi Cockburn says he feels justified in delaying his professional career for another year.
Cockburn, 22, who is in his junior season with the University of Illinois, will discover his team’s path to Men’s college basketball glory when the 68-team field for the NCAA Men’s National Basketball Tournament is unveiled today.
Despite being knocked out of the Big 10 Conference Tournament on Friday in their quarter-final defeat to Indiana, Illinois are still expected to be selected for the tournament, having won a share of their conference regular-season title. After his freshman and sophomore seasons in 2020 and 2021, he elected to return to college both times after initially declaring for the NBA.
As he waits for their first-round tournament opponents to be named, Cockburn says that he has not ruled out a return for his senior season and believes he made the right choice to return for a third year.
“The thing with me is that sometimes you put yourselves in some situations at the beginning you start thinking like is this really what I need to do? And you have your doubts. Every year that I chose to come back in the past two years I have been really happy with my choice. I think it is just a thing where I let go and I let God,” Cockburn said on Thursday before the start of the Big 10 tournament.
GOD’S PLAN
“When I came back for my second year, I was like this is God’s plan. I want to do what I can to be successful and do whatever I can to make it where I want to get.”
Cockburn’s return this season has been rewarded with a first-team all-conference selection as he has averaged 21 points per game and leads the conference in rebounds per game (10.6). Cockburn posted 23 points and 10 rebounds in Illinois’ 65-63 quarter-final defeat to Indiana on Friday.
Making it to the NBA is still the ultimate goal for Cockburn, but he will determine his future after the tournament. While he is confident that he has the ability to make the jump this season, he says he is in no hurry to decide.
“All things are possible. I’m not in a rush. I want to be in the NBA. Right now I think that I’m ready, but anything can happen,” Cockburn said. “If I need to come back for another year, I’m not in any rush to go anywhere. I’m going to just ride the wave. Be where my feet are at.”
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament begins on Tuesday.