Illinois Basketball: 3 keys for resurgence of Fighting Illini in 2019-20
By Ryan Kay
The Emergence of true freshmen Kofi Cockburn
However, the biggest impact player for Illinois this season has been true freshman Kofi Cockburn, who led the team in scoring for the majority of the season. Even though he is 0.6 points beyond leading scorer Dosunmu, his ability to score consistently for the Fighting Illini has been invaluable in Illinois quest for a Big Ten title.
Cockburn prior to putting on an Illinois jersey was a has a top-50 recruit and even ranked as high 45th in the nation by Rivals.com. In fact, he is Illinois highest rated recruit since Meyers Leonard arrived in the 2010 recruiting class.
He has really bolstered and helped enhance the efficiency of the front line for the Fighting Illini this season. Cockburn has scored 20 or more points in five games this season as well as pulling down 10 or more rebounds in eight games this season. His breakout game came early in the season on the road against Grand Canyon when he had 23 points and 14 rebounds. Most recently against Purdue he put up 22 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocked shots in leading the Fighting Illini to a 17 point road victory over the Boilermakers.
Cockburn could be the key for Illinois make a run to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament. Illinois has strong guard play and he along with Bezhanishvili can cause havoc to opposing teams moving forward. He may be on his way to being a dominate big man in the Big Ten which is not easy to do.