BIG TEN: Hunter Dickinson, Kofi Cockburn Pull Out of NBA Draft Process

Two Big Ten centers, Michigan's Hunter Dickinson and Illinois' Kofi Cockburn, opted to return to the college game on Tuesday, with Dickinson staying in Ann Arbor and Cockburn deciding to look around in the transfer portal

College players who entered the NBA Draft process have to make a decision by Wednesday, and a flurry of announcement came on Tuesday.

Most notable was Michigan sophomore center Hunter Dickinson, who has decided to return to Ann Arbor. Illinois center Kofi Cockburn has pulled out of the draft as well, but he's also in the NCAA transfer portal and he said he is going to take some visits before quickly deciding where to play his college season.

Like all players, he can take advantage of a new NCAA rule too, where he can transfer without sitting out a year.

Dickinson, a 7-footer, averaged just over 14 points per game as a freshman last year and helped lead the Wolverines to a Big Ten championship and a trip to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. Dickinson was named as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and is considered to be one of the top returning centers in the nation for the 2021-22 season.

Cockburn said that Kentucky could very well be an option for him, because former Illinois assistant Orlando Antigua left Illinois this spring to become an assistant to John Calipari at Kentucky.

"He's the reason I went to Illinois," Cockburn said of Antigua. "When he left along with Chin Coleman, I decided to go in the portal to leave my options open.

"Kentucky? It's a serious option. Antigua is my guy. I'm going to consider them, but there [are] a lot of schools. I wasn't really focused on that while I was in the NBA draft. Now I can take my time and evaluate it better."

Michigan's Hunter Dickinson puts up a shot over Illinois' Kofi Cockburn during a game in March in Ann Arbor, Mich. Both withdrew from the NBA Draft process on Tuesday (USA TODAY Sports)

Indiana's Miller Kopp, who transferred from Northwestern in April, withdrew his name from the NBA process on Monday. The two-round 2021 NBA Draft is on July 29, with 60 players to be drafted.

Here is a list of Big Ten players who were NBA draft early entrants, along with their decision on returning to school, or heading off to the professional ranks:  

Illinois Fighting Illini

• Giorgi Bezhanishvili, staying in draft
• Kofi Cockburn, returning to school, but in transfer portal
• Ayo Dosunmu, staying in draft

Indiana Hoosiers

• Miller Kopp, returning to school

Iowa Hawkeyes

• Luka Garza, staying in draft
• Joe Wieskamp, staying in draft

Maryland Terrapins

• Eric Ayala, returning to school
• Aaron Wiggins, staying in draft

Michigan Wolverines

• Chaundee Brown, staying in draft
• Isaiah Livers, staying in draft
• Mike Smith, staying in draft
• Franz Wagner, staying in draft
• Hunter Dickinson, returning to school
  
• DeVante’ Jones, returning to school

Michigan State Spartans

• Aaron Henry, staying in draft

Minnesota Golden Gophers

• Marcus Carr, returning to school, but in transfer portal

Nebraska Cornhuskers

• Dalano Banton, staying in draft

Ohio State Buckeyes

• E.J. Liddell, returning to school
• Duane Washington Jr., staying in draft

Penn State Nittany Lions

• Izaiah Brockington, returning to school at Iowa State after transferring.

Purdue Boilermakers

• Trevion Williams, returning to school

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

• Geo Baker, still undecided
• Ron Harper Jr., still undecided
• Jacob Young, transferred to Oregon, staying in school 

Wisconsin Badgers

• Aleem Ford, staying in draft
• Micah Potter, staying in draft
• Nate Reuvers, staying in draft
• D’Mitrik Trice, staying in draft