Illinois Basketball: Illini commit Kofi Cockburn still in ESPN’s top 50
The Illinois basketball class of 2019 should be able to help the program get over the top and get back to the NCAA tournament.
Kofi Cockburn is the most highly rated recruit from this class. Every recruiting site has him as a top 50 talent. Just about every team in the nation wanted the kid as well. But, Brad Underwood and the Illinois coaching staff were able to snag him for the No. 5 spot on the team.
The class of 2019 rankings are being adjusted for the last time. ESPN has now released their final rankings for this class and Cockburn is still going strong. ESPN now lists Cockburn as a 6-foot-10, 280-pound center from Oak Hill Academy, and he is from Middle Village, New York. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 46 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 12 center in the nation. He is also the No. 5 player in the state of New York as well.
I don’t have a complaint with the ESPN 100 rankings. Usually, they are behind updating their rankings compared to everyone else. It is hard to take them serious sometimes because they just focus on the top guys mainly. But, having Cockburn in the top 50 still is how it should be.
Cockburn is rated close the same by the other recruiting sites as well. On 247Sports, he is a four-star recruit who is the No. 41 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 10 center in the nation. They have him out of the state of Virginia because that is where Oak Hill Academy is located. He is the No. 2 player in the state of Virginia.
Rivals thinks a little more highly of Cockburn. They have him as a four-star recruit who is the No. 38 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 9 center in the nation. He doesn’t have a state ranking on Rivals, though.
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Overall, it looks like the big three recruiting sites think Cockburn is a top 50 recruit. ESPN’s final 2019 rankings have him at No. 46. I think everyone agrees, Illinois is getting a good one.