Illinois junior Kofi Cockburn announced on Thursday that he is declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft.
The 22-year-old Cockburn was born in Kingston, Jamaica, before moving to New York in 2014. He played his high school basketball at Christ the King Regional High School in New York before transferring to renowned basketball school Oak Hill Academy in Virginia for his senior season where he was teammates with current NBA players Cole Anthony of the Orlando Magic and Cameron Thomas of the Brooklyn Nets.
The 7-foot centre averaged 20.9 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.0 block on 59.3 per cent shooting in 28 games during his junior season with the Fighting Illini.
Cockburn was the only player in college basketball to average over 20 points and 10 rebounds this past season. The consensus first-team All-American helped lead Illinois to a Big Ten Championship, which it shared with Wisconsin.
Cockburn, who tested the waters prior to the 2020 and 2021 NBA Drafts before ultimately withdrawing both times to continue playing at Illinois, told ESPN his decision is final this time.
"I'm 100 per cent in now. I'm not going back to college. I'm signing with agent Todd Ramasar. I've tested the waters enough, I'm 100 per cent dedicated to going all the way," he said.
The 2022 NBA Draft will take place on June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.