Boilermakers Country

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.

D.J. Fezler

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. 

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. 

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. 

Content is unavailable

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. 

Recent Stories From Boilermakers Country

  • SASHA STEFANOVIC JOINS BOILERMAKERSCOUNTRY.COM: Thanks to new NCAA legislation where college athletes can make money off of their name, image and likeness, Purdue guard Sasha Stefanovic has signed a deal to do a weekly 30-minute podcast here on our Sports Illustrated Purdue site, BoilermakersCountry.com. It will start the first week of November and run throughout the college basketball season. CLICK HERE 
  • WHY WILLIAMS RETURNED: Purdue center Trevion Williams talks about why decided to pull out of the 2021 NBA Draft and return to the Boilermakers for another season. CLICK HERE
  • PURDUE HIRES WELSH: Braden Welsh was named the Purdue basketball program's strength and conditioning coach on Tuesday. He spent the last two seasons at Temple following a sting with IMG Academy. CLICK HERE
  • USA WINS FIBA U19 WORLD CUP: Purdue guard Jaden Ivey recorded a team-high 16 points in an 83-81 victory over France on Sunday. The USA won its eighth FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in 15 renditions of the tournament. CLICK HERE
  • CANADA WINS BRONZE AT WORLD CUP: Purdue center Zach Edey was one of four Canada players to score in double figures in a 101-92 victory over Serbia. He recorded his sixth double-double of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup to help the team earn its second-ever podium appearance. CLICK HERE
  • IVEY, EDEY NAMES FIBA U19 WORLD CUP ALL-STARS: Purdue teammates Jaden Ivey and Zach Edey were named to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup All-Star Team for their performances throughout the event. Ivey was the USA team's second-leading scorer while Edey led the entire tournament in rebounding. CLICK HERE

Become Part of the Boilermakers Country Community!

Published
D.J. Fezler
D.J. FEZLER

D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball. 

Home/Basketball