Despite a deep connection with Kentucky’s two new assistant coaches and a great deal of recent buzz that the Wildcats would top off their talent-gobbling binge by pulling Illinois star Kofi Cockburn from the transfer portal, multiple sources now say the 7-foot All-American is not coming to Lexington after all.
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Cockburn pulled out of the NBA Draft and plans to announce where he’ll continue his college career on Friday. While he has not publicly removed UK from the race, the two realistic options now are a return to Illinois or a surprise move to Florida State. The former would stabilize Brad Underwood’s program, which has been hemorrhaging coaches and players since the conclusion of its best season in 15 years. The latter would elevate Leonard Hamilton’s Seminoles to legitimate national title contenders.
Illinois lost star Ayo Dosunmu to the draft and former top-30 recruit Adam Miller (LSU) to the transfer portal. But dazzling freshman point guard Andre Curbelo is back and would make a formidable one-two punch with Cockburn, who averaged 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds and shot 65.4 percent from the field as a sophomore last season. The pitch from Illinois: This would be his team now and the NIL market with a fan base that already knows him and would adore him for the decision to return would be significant.
Meanwhile, Florida State is already an ACC title contender with the return of Anthony Polite, transfer additions Caleb Mills (Houston) and Cam’Ron Fletcher (Kentucky), top-30 recruits Matthew Cleveland and Jalen Warley, plus top-10 junior college transfer Naheem McLeod. Cockburn would make the Seminoles a popular preseason Final Four pick. They’ve been to the Sweet 16 each of the last three NCAA Tournaments and made the 2018 Elite Eight. Cockburn might be the missing piece to get Hamilton’s consistently strong squad over the hump.
Worth noting: Cockburn wants to be a pro and Scottie Barnes is about to become FSU’s sixth first-round pick, fourth in the lottery, since 2016.
And what about Kentucky? Well, John Calipari still might not be done adding to his already reloaded roster.
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Cockburn to the Cats had become almost a foregone conclusion, though, and it made sense for two reasons: Calipari clearly wants to add one more big man and he hired Illinois assistants Orlando Antigua and Chin Coleman this spring. Antigua recruited Cockburn to Illinois and they remain close, so there was obviously some mutual interest and initial discussion of a reunion. But Cockburn never visited Kentucky and the recruitment never heated up to the point that Cockburn and Calipari actually spoke, sources say.
Calipari is all-in on the pursuit of the No. 1 high school prospect in the country, Jalen Duren, a 6-foot-10 center who visited UK on June 28 and is also considering Memphis, Miami and the G League. Duren has reportedly been offered seven figures if he goes to the G League, but Calipari is confident that the NCAA’s new name, image and likeness rules put Kentucky back in the mix for truly elite players like Duren. Frankly, getting Duren instead — or getting neither — is probably a better outcome for everyone involved than Cockburn coming to Lexington.
For one, the PR victory of proving they can sign the nation’s top player again would be massive for Calipari and this new staff. But even if they don’t, Cockburn going elsewhere could avoid a major headache in the locker room. It was hard to see how he and bruising West Virginia transfer Oscar Tshiebwe, a former McDonald’s All-American and All-Big 12 selection, would coexist. Remember, Tshiebwe left the Mountaineers in part because he and Derek Culver could not play together.
Tshiebwe and Duren could more easily play together, if it comes to that, and the current team has ostensibly already given a thumbs-up on adding Duren after they all met and hung out and hooped together on his visit.
(Photo: Patrick Gorski / USA Today)
