NCAA Basketball: Pros and cons of transfer Kofi Cockburn’s final 3 options
Kentucky Wildcats
Pros
I mentioned before that a “pro” for Illinois is the familiarity Cockburn has with them. Well, the Wildcats have a little argument for that too after landing former Illini assistants, Chin Coleman and Orlando Antigua. That put Kentucky in the conversation as soon as he entered the portal.
After winning just nine games last season, head coach John Calipari has been determined to bounce back in a big way, upgrading the entire roster and coaching staff. Guards Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington, Davion Mintz, sharpshooter CJ Fredrick is good depth but none of them are superstars, allowing Cockburn to be the star of the blue blood program if he so chooses.
And it almost goes without saying but with NIL in effect, Cockburn would benefit greatly in Lexington, while also joining a program that has sent more players to the NBA than any other NCAA Basketball program from the past decade. The chance to get to a Final Four would also be higher here than the other two options.
Cons
As great as Kentucky looks on paper, there’s one giant roadblock that could get in the way. And that comes via a 6’9 and 270-pound big man from West Virginia in Oscar Tshiebwe. He transferred to the Wildcats midway through last season and has been the projected starting center for next season.
Tshiebwe has also developed a relationship with the rest of the roster and there could very well be chemistry concerns if Cockburn arrives. These two have fairly similar games and there’s no way they can play together on the court, so this would put Tshiebwe on the bench for less than 20 mpg, far different than what he anticipated. This would affect Cockburn as well, as any negativity in the program would circle back to his decision to play for Kentucky.
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The last point is that Cockburn isn’t the only big man Kentucky is after, as No. 1 class of 2021/22 prospect Jalen Duren has them in his top 3 of college options, along with Miami and Memphis. If they land Duren, the frontcourt would be way too crowded for Cockburn, who wouldn’t benefit all at that point.