Cockburn withdraws from 2021 NBA Draft
Published:Wednesday | July 7, 2021 | 12:08 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
Jamaican basketballer Kofi Cockburn will have to wait a bit longer to become an NBA player as he has withdrawn from the 2021 NBA Draft.
Cockburn, 21, originally declared for the draft in April and announced his departure from the University of Illinois after his sophomore season. However, yesterday, he confirmed his intention to return to college for his junior year.
He entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal last week as he was considering his options before the deadline yesterday. Cockburn told ESPN yesterday that while he felt he was ready to progress to the NBA, he decided to return for his junior season to improve his game and his chances of being drafted higher next year.
"I think I'm ready for the next level, but I wasn't happy with the input I was getting from NBA teams," he said. "I didn't want to settle. I'm going to return for another year, raise my game, and improve my draft stock."
Cockburn said that based on the feedback from NBA teams, they wanted to see improvements in his perimeter play in shooting and passing.
"NBA teams are going to see my mid-range game next year and my play-making," Cockburn said.
He declared for the 2020 NBA draft after his freshman season with Illinois but chose to return for his sophomore season, guiding Illinois to the Big 10 conference championship and an appearance in the NCAA men's basketball tournament this year.
Cockburn was named first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All American last year, averaging 17.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and a 65.4 per cent shooting rate from the field.
While he has not made a decision of where he will be playing this autumn, Cockburn said that he seriously considering the University of Kentucky, where former Illinois assistant coach Orlando Antigua is a part of the coaching staff, led by John Calipari.
"Kentucky? It's a serious option," Cockburn says. "Antigua is my guy. I'm going to consider them, but there [are] a lot of schools. I wasn't really focused on that while I was in the NBA draft. Now I can take my time and evaluate it better."
National youth coach Nyron Hurd says that should Cockburn choose Kentucky, he will be in what he describes as an ideal environment working with Calipari, whose programme has produced several NBA-calibre players.
"His work speaks for itself," Hurd said. "You have a lot of players that have worked with him within one year and have gone to the NBA and have been doing well.
"With a big time player like Kofi, one would expect greatness. I think it's just a touch of gold."
Jamaica College alumni Nick Richards, who was drafted last year, spent three seasons with the Kentucky Wildcats.