Cockburn not focused on All American nod
Published:Wednesday | March 16, 2022 | 12:09 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
WITH HIS path towards an NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament title now determined, Jamaican basketball and University of Illinois centre Kofi Cockburn has added another individual accolade to a strong 2021-22 season.
Cockburn, 22, was named to the Associated Press (AP) All American First Team yesterday, his second consecutive nod to an AP All American team after he was named to the second team last year. The individual honour comes as Illinois prepare to face Chattanooga University in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Friday.
Illinois, who won a share of the Big 10 regular-season title, were selected on Sunday as the fourth seed to face Chattanooga who was seeded 13th. After opting out of last year’s NBA draft to return for his junior year, Cockburn is averaging 21.1 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game.
At the pre-NCAA tournament press conference on Sunday, Cockburn said that the reaction to being selected this year was more subdued than last when the team made its first tournament appearance in eight seasons. He said they are more focused on completing a job they felt was unfinished when they were eliminated in the second round.
“We have been to the tournament last year, so we know how that feeling was for us (getting selected). We are not trying to get too high right now. We are prepared to go out there and play hard and compete at the highest level. So we are not focused on not celebrating right now but celebrating when we complete the task,” Cockburn said.
HISTORY
Cockburn’s selection marks the second consecutive year that an Illinois player has been named to the All-American AP first-team after alum Ayo Dosunmu was named last year. Dosunmu, who was drafted by the Chicago Bulls last year, was the first Illinois player in school history to be selected as an AP First Team All American team.
With last year’s second-round loss still fresh in Cockburn’s mind, he said that the experience has made him and his team better prepared to navigate through the tournament this time around.
“With the experience that I had last year being in that locker room, regretting that we didn’t play our best, I know that we won’t have that feeling this year because we are prepared,” Cockburn said.
“That was one of the reasons why I chose to come back with these guys. I knew how good we were. But I still don’t think we have come close to hitting that peak. We are still learning, we are still getting better. But I did envision this.”
Cockburn is among three players from the Big 10 conference to be selected, including forward Keegan Murray of Iowa and shooting guard Johnny Davis of Wisconsin.