Big Ten Daily: Kofi Cockburn Announces Return to Illinois Basketball

Kofi Cockburn decides to return to the Illinois Basketball program, Marcus Carr may choose to play overseas and Rutgers beat out Penn State for a four-star 2022 linebacker. Here's the latest from around the Big Ten.

Kofi Cockburn is returning to Illinois. The star center withdrew his name from the 2021 NBA Draft after entering the transfer portal. Before he announced his decision, he had narrowed down preferred destinations to Illinois, Kentucky and Florida State.

KING’S BACK 🦍 pic.twitter.com/NooK3q9BKp

— King Kofi (@kxng_alpha) July 16, 2021

Cockburn was a key contributor to the Fighting Illini's 2020-21 season. He averaged 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, bringing the team to a 24-7 overall record and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

He was the only player in college basketball to average at least 15 points and nine rebounds while shooting 60% from the floor.

Cockburn was a second-team All-American selection and was named first-team All-Big Ten last season. After a successful sophomore year, he decided to enter the NBA Draft and present his talents for a professional evaluation.

Minnesota Transfer Marcus Carr May Forgo College Eligibility

Marcus Carr, a highly-touted transfer guard from Minnesota, is reportedly considering the possibility of taking his talents overseas instead of to a college basketball program.

According to Travis Branham from 247Sports, Carr has narrowed down his decision to either transferring to Texas or playing professionally in Australia. His previous top-four list also included Louisville, Kansas and Kentucky.

Minnesota transfer Marcus Carr is down to Texas and the option to play professionally in Australia, his mentor Vidal Massiah told @247Sports.

A decision is expected to be made by the end of the weekend. Kansas, Kentucky and Louisville are now off the table.

— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) July 15, 2021

Last season, Carr was a bright spot for the Golden Gophers as the team struggled to find consistent success. He started all 29 games and scored 19.4 points per contest as Minnesota finished with a 14-15 record.

Carr initially entered the transfer portal in March after coach Richard Pitino was fired from Minnesota. He spent the last two seasons with the Golden Gophers. As of now, he has not announced when he will officially make his decision.

Four-Star 2022 LB Moses Walker Picks Rutgers Over Penn State

Moses Walker, a 2022 four-star linebacker from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York, announced his commitment to the Rutgers football program in a Tweet below.

Walker held offers from 14 schools, including Penn State, LSU, Louisville and Boston College, among others.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound prospect is the 16th-ranked linebacker in the country for the 2022 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He is also the No. 1 recruit from his home state of New York.

As of now, Rutgers' 2022 recruiting class ranks 13th in the country, good for fourth in the Big Ten.