Kofi Commits to Illinois

[B1GEast]

Some kids simply do not want to take road trips to play Tulsa or Tulane or Houston or UCF.

And some kids don't care.

I don't see any reason to suspect Illinois did anything here.

You might be right, but I'm willing to bet that Uconn will have a lot more success on the court than Illinois. Kofi will probably play at the next level, but he might look back and regret his choice sooner than later

 

[Adios]

The Big East is a DII conference long-term. Anyone who wants us there now hates UConn basketball.

Or hate themselves.

 

[Ewekon]

Illinois basketball is pure garbage.

But it's Big Ten garbage and sometimes that's enough.

Yup.

He basically stated that, after his Illinois official, in an interview posted on this very board.

 

[Ewekon]

Its been explained by people on here, by his HS coach, by his closest friends and by Kofi himself
If some folks can't, don't want to, or refuse to believe it then so be it
Quite obviously the Ilini offered something that Hurley, the AAC and UConn couldn't - if you folks who want to believe it was money, ok, but I think it is something else entirely. I just hope against hope that it's not this damn conference but it keeps pointing that way (IMHO)

For a tiny bit of solace remember he also "chose against" the NBE, Big 12 and ACC as well as the American. I hate our conference situation but kid said he wanted B1G and he got it.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

OK last time Illl say it then I won’t mention it again- I still can’t believe he chose Illinois! this whole board should be absolutely shocked - I still can’t wrap my head around why he would go there -unless it’s something strange and shady we don’t know about - to be fair , there’s always surprising commitments and decommitments , but this one is definitely a head scratcher - I’m not saying he should’ve come to UConn but Illinois ? I’m still waiting for somebody to explain it to me so it makes sense in my head. This is by far one of the most surprising recruiting choices involving Uconn I’ve seen in a long time. Ok I’m done. I’ll let it go.

Kofi Cockburn doesn’t look at the world the same way you do. In general, 18-year-old kids don’t look at the world the same way as diehard UConn fans who have loved the Huskies for many years. How is that so hard to understand?

I have to agree with JB here.
I understand if he picks Pitt- new coach, rebuilding ACC team with lots of playing time to offer and a good basketball brand (Kind of similar to us but in a better conference).
St. Johns also makes sense- Good bball brand in the NBE and killing it this year with a household name head coach
Kansas- Well, can't really complain if he chooses Kansas. Perhaps frustration, but not surprising if a recruit wants Kansas over UConn.
But Illinois out of those 5? It's a head scratcher a bit, for sure.
There are possible explanations, though...Kofi might just value different things than the average recruit. Maybe Illinois truly was the hardest recruiter of Kofi. Or maybe something else fishy went on. Who knows? But it's certainly a surprise.

 

[olehead]

Tark was awesome. Gimme LJ, Augmon, hot tubs and crew.

Don't forget Lloyd Daniels!

 

[olehead]

NBE is a mediocre conference now that will be no better than the AAC 15-20 years from now. All of the NBE apologists here are nostalgic for a past that's never coming back.

Either Bleacher Report or ESPN lists the NBE along with the Big Five conferences as major conferences. The AAC is listed as a mid-major. None of this info is really surprising though. The AAC struggles with promotion of teams and players. Additionally, regional rivalries are lacking and with directional schools thrown in the mix, well, we have to understand how the AAC factors into the decisionmaking of the 17, 18, or 19 year old recruit.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Some kids simply do not want to take road trips to play Tulsa or Tulane or Houston or UCF.

And some kids don't care.

I don't see any reason to suspect Illinois did anything here.

Few things better than a roadtrip to New Orleans. Although I ended up in a COPS outtake my first time. Wouldn't recommend that.

All things considered, we could be in a much worse spot. Wahab and Mitchell could have committed by now. Nobody bats 100% and some of our favorite Huskies of all time were offered because we whiffed on our first choice. Hello, Brandon Jennings.

 

[olehead]

Strange, I've seen a lot about Memphis and all the buzz there this year

There's Penny (a well known sports personality) in his hometown who will be coaching kids he coached in high school and kids he has developed deep relationships with over a period of time. Penny stands for more than just a new head coach. Penny is a Memphis icon and will continue to garner more pub than other coaches in the AAC.

 

[olehead]

I know basketball is in its third season of significantly under performing. The half empty arenas are a clear sign that the fan base has lost interest. Now we are losing recruits to Illinois, of all places? It's time the administration realizes that and cuts our losses so that Men's basketball stops drawing off resources from football. We need to drop basketball now!

We need more UConn football.

 

[olehead]

The P5 split will come. Dragging UConn down to the NBE before it happens will destroy UConn basketball. Come to your senses and stop advocating for UConn basketball’s destruction.

What happens IF we are not invited into a P5 at the next realignment party? Anyone aware of what our plan B is? Should we stay in the AAC and wait for the next go around? Ultimately what will the UConn mens hoops program look like ten years from now IF we are in the AAC?

 

[fatlucy]

Let’s move on.

 

[djct1999]

Some kids simply do not want to take road trips to play Tulsa or Tulane or Houston or UCF.

And some kids don't care.

I don't see any reason to suspect Illinois did anything here.

If you commit to Illinois, you are willing to take road trips to New Orleans. Sometimes the truth lies beneath the surface.

 

[CTBasketball]

If you commit to Illinois, you are willing to take road trips to New Orleans. Sometimes the truth lies beneath the surface.

And East Lansing, State College, and Piscataway. Those places suck! Awful pizza.

 

[yukonfan4]

What happens IF we are not invited into a P5 at the next realignment party?

that party isn't happening until 2023-2025 when all the p5 tv deals expire so there's no point in speculating or arguing one way or the other for at least 4 years

 

[upstater]

Either Bleacher Report or ESPN lists the NBE along with the Big Five conferences as major conferences. The AAC is listed as a mid-major. None of this info is really surprising though. The AAC struggles with promotion of teams and players. Additionally, regional rivalries are lacking and with directional schools thrown in the mix, well, we have to understand how the AAC factors into the decisionmaking of the 17, 18, or 19 year old recruit.

Where is this list?

 

[Friendship]

View attachment 38009

Kofi is a bad Friend

 

[ucawn]

Wasn’t crystal balls in like November-early December 80% Uconn, 20% Syracuse

 

[ARIDE]

The number 1 recruit signed on to play in the AAC next year. Just the hard facts![
I would like to believe that a few recruits would turn this conference into a juggernut but the facts are they will not. It's nice to hope for it. We do have a good coach and could not have done better. He is up against a wall with top 20 recruits. I hope we land some and I hope others aac teams do as well. Memphis fortunes may be short lived if Hardaway cant teach some defense . We will have to wait and see but how long is the wait! How long does Hurley stay if we cant get top recruits to get him to his dream of winning a national championship ! Where do we turn next to get back to top 10. I say it's a move to a conference that has the stature already!

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

Where is this list?

Would also like to see this reference. Everything I’ve seen on espn lists the AAC and big east with the rest of the power 5 for basketball, something they call the “major 7” or something like that. Granted most power rankings I’ve seen have AAC consistently 7th (but never below that)

For football (where terms like mid major are meant to apply), obviously the big east doesn’t exist, but I’ve never seen the AAC teams referred to as mid-majors. In fact ESPN articles make it pretty clear that the AAC has a clear separation from a “mid major” conference; whenever you read articles on mid-majors, like power rankings or whatever, no AAC or mountain west teams are really bever mentioned.

Whoever refers to the AAC as a mid major conference is pure stupid...

 

[JMick]

Would also like to see this reference. Everything I’ve seen on espn lists the AAC and big east with the rest of the power 5 for basketball, something they call the “major 7” or something like that. Granted most power rankings I’ve seen have AAC consistently 7th (but never below that)

For football (where terms like mid major are meant to apply), obviously the big east doesn’t exist, but I’ve never seen the AAC teams referred to as mid-majors. In fact ESPN articles make it pretty clear that the AAC has a clear separation from a “mid major” conference; whenever you read articles on mid-majors, like power rankings or whatever, no AAC or mountain west teams are really bever mentioned.

Whoever refers to the AAC as a mid major conference is pure stupid...

I'm convinced their website deliberately makes me click on "AAC" multiple times to actually get the scores. It never fails. All the other conferences are fine.

 

[superjohn]

Big East is considered a power conference in basketball, ours is not.

 

[CL82]

BPI ranks the top leagues in college basketball

 

[HawkHusky]

BPI ranks the top leagues in college basketball

That link is from January 2018...

 

[August_West]

You might be right, but I'm willing to bet that Uconn will have a lot more success on the court than Illinois. Kofi will probably play at the next level, but he might look back and regret his choice sooner than later

over the next immediate 1 or possibly 2 years Kofi is going to be in school and our current trajectory are you sure you want to hang your hat on that?

Crap I would almost take that bet from the Illini side and I know nothing about them.