Lions

In the only two seasons he played after winning Big Ten Rookie of the Year at the University of Illinois, Kofi Cockburn was a two-time consensus All-American.
His scoring jumped from 13.3 to 17.4 to 20.9 points per game, and his rebounding leapt from 8.8 to 9.5 to 10.6 boards per contest. Over his three-season career, he shot 59.6% from the field, and although he isn&rsquo;t a perimeter threat, he made 62.3% of his free throws on 6.5 attempts per contest.
Basically, the former Oak Hill Academy and Christ The King center has been one of the most productive collegiate bigs in the past couple of seasons.
Unfortunately, like other traditional 5s who get theirs in the post and probably would&rsquo;ve been a first-round pick a decade or two ago, the 7-foot, 293-pound big man starting at a lottery green room in his future.
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At the NBA Draft Combine last week, Cockburn let it be known to reporters that he could be staring at being undrafted right in the face.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s very unique,&rdquo; Cockburn said of his situation. &ldquo;A lot of people tell me, back then, if it was the 1990s, I&rsquo;d be drafted probably top-10. When I look at it now, the game has changed, but it hasn&rsquo;t changed that much. There are still big men that need to rebound that need to play defense, be vocal, give their guards, put their guards in better position to score.&rdquo;
<a href="https://theathletic.com/3325417/2022/05/20/illinois-kofi-cockburn-nil-nba/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One executive told The Athletic</a> that Cockburn should&rsquo;ve stayed in school. Cockburn insists, however, that he&rsquo;s ready and people are underestimating his ability to produce in the modern NBA.
&ldquo;A lot of people doubt my ability to adapt to make the NBA,&rdquo; Cockburn said. &ldquo;(I just want) to show that you could put me in whatever situation (and) I&rsquo;ll definitely contribute &mdash; whether that&rsquo;s rebounding, setting good screens, rolling &mdash; just to show them I can do that at the next level... My motor, I&rsquo;m relentless, I&rsquo;ll give you extra possessions, definitely set good screens, I roll, I play good defense, I bring the energy, I talk.&rdquo;
BasketballNews.com's draft coverage team doesn&rsquo;t have Cockburn listed on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its latest 2022 NBA Mock Draft</a> as of this writing.
Our Sr. NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock explains that, while Cockburn&rsquo;s ability is unquestionable, the reason he&rsquo;s not registering on mock drafts is rooted in the questions he is attempting to answer to.
Though, Babcock adds that he&rsquo;s not a name to be ignored with the draft looming less than a month away:
<blockquote>
There is no denying that Kofi Cockburn had a significant impact at the college level. However, there are legitimate concerns about how he&rsquo;ll translate to the next level. He is a big-bodied 5 who is incredibly physical, but he doesn&rsquo;t have much perimeter skills on the offensive end, and it&rsquo;s questionable whether he can keep up on the defensive side in the NBA, which is more spread out and fast.
I do not currently have Cockburn projected to be selected in the draft, but he is a relevant prospect. I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised to hear his name called on draft night.
</blockquote>
Although we might not hear his name called on draft night, it&rsquo;s likely we&rsquo;ll hear about Cockburn at some point this summer &mdash; regardless of if he&rsquo;s one of 60 picks made on June 23. (Note: It&rsquo;s actually 58 picks since the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks forfeited their second-rounders this year.)
Cockburn, who also entered the draft in 2021 and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg45tIlOdV4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">produced in the G League Elite Camp</a> before returning to school, believes that he&rsquo;ll be impactful however it shakes out for him. Sure, he probably won&rsquo;t get 20 and 10 a night in the NBA, but could he follow a model being laid out by current bigs of similar size and skill sets.
&ldquo;The NBA is changing obviously,&rdquo; Cockburn acknowledges. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all about big guys being in shape and being able to have an impact &mdash; whatever that impact is. Not necessarily coming in and shooting threes, but always having an impact on the game.&rdquo;
For him &mdash; as is the case with at least 95% of prospects and players in the league overall &mdash; fit will be significant, as will be his own player development and work ethic.
He recognizes that, and hopes to change some minds going forward.
<a href="https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2022/05/23/hawks-kofi-cockburn-nba-pre-draft-workout/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Getting a workout with the Atlanta Hawks</a> isn&rsquo;t a bad start.
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Bryan Fonseca takes a look at Kofi Cockburn's potential at the NBA level and why being a traditional big man shouldn't hold him back.

2022 NBA Draft: Kofi Cockburn insists he'll have impact at next level

With the 2020 NBA Draft quickly approaching, Oak Hill standout Josh Hall sat down with BasketballNews.com to discuss a number of topics including his personal interests, his game and why he believes he'll make a solid pro.
Could you start off by sharing where you&rsquo;re from and telling me a little bit about your family and background?
Josh Hall: "I&rsquo;m from Durham, North Carolina. My mom is a defense attorney, so I always made sure I stayed out of trouble so she didn&rsquo;t have to represent me in court one day. My pops is the main reason I am the player that I am today. He taught me early on about the importance of being able to rebound and still handle the ball and make decisions like a guard. He knew I would be tall, but he helped me work on my wing skills and [helped me] be a versatile player."
You attended Oak Hill Academy for high school; you didn&rsquo;t make their national traveling team as a junior and instead played for their local team. Did that put a chip on your shoulder?
Hall: "Yes, sir. My sophomore year, I felt like I had areas of my game that I could improve on. That summer, I made sure that I put the work in to be on the gold team, so being a competitor, of course I was let down when I didn't make the team. That put a chip on my shoulder and it's still there to this day."
You opted to do a post-graduate year developing at Moravian Prep. What went into your decision to take that route, and how do you feel it helped your career?
Hall: "I chose that route because I didn&rsquo;t feel like I was ready at the time to step on a college campus and start from day one. It gave me more time to continue to get better and improve on my body so that I could make an immediate impact the day I stepped on campus." 
You were extremely productive in your year at Moravian. In which aspect do you feel you grew the most there, either on or off the court?
Hall: "I feel like I grew in all aspects on and off the court. The two areas I feel I grew the most were leadership and being an all-around basketball player. Before Moravian, I was known as just a shooter. So that post-grad year, I worked on putting the ball on the floor more and becoming a three-level scorer. I also wanted to make sure I focused on rebounding and improving on my defense."
You originally committed to NC State. What was it about the program that drew your attention?
Hall: "Growing up, I wasn't ever a big fan of any of the blue bloods that most kids around North Carolina were. I was drawn to the fact that Coach [Kevin] Keatts and the staff went out of their way to see me every week. They laid out a game plan for me and were detailed about how I would fit in and why NC State would make sense for me. Also, I am very family-oriented, so I liked the fact that my parents would get to see me play."
You competed on all three major shoe circuits for grassroots basketball. Which league did you enjoy playing in most and why?
Hall: "The EYBL (Nike Elite Youth Basketball League) is a league like no other. Every game, you can walk around and casually bump into an NBA All-Star. The atmosphere was also unlike the other two circuits. It helps bring out your best in every game."
You ultimately decided to skip college and declare for the draft, taking a similar route to guys like Anfernee Simons and Thon Maker. What led you to opt for the professional route?
Hall: "Towards the end of my season, there were a lot of rumblings about me skipping college to make the jump to the NBA. In my mind, I always felt like I had a skill set and the versatility to do well in the modern NBA; there were just a few things I wanted to improve on. When I met with ProSport Management, they felt the same way about my skill set and they laid out a game plan to help address those areas that I needed to improve on. After a few weeks of strength training and working with pro trainers, I saw improvement in my body and in my game and knew that I would be ready to help an NBA team by the start of the season."
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Besides basketball, what other interests and hobbies do you have?
Hall: "I am a chill and laid-back type of guy. I like to play video games and listen to old-school music."
Could you walk us through a typical day for you currently as you prepare for the NBA Draft?
Hall: "Usually, we work out two to three times a day -- twice on the court and one workout to improve my body, like yoga, pilates or strength training. Typically we work out around 9 a.m. on the court, then rest for a few hours, eat lunch and go to weights. Then, we have a shooting session towards the end of the night, and I try to do some form of recovery after our last workout. Finally, I get back to the house and play the game for a little and get ready to do it all over again."
For those who are unfamiliar with your game, would you mind giving me a quick rundown of who you are as a player on the court?
Hall: "I think I am a versatile wing who can score from anywhere on the court. I can space the floor and I finish at the basket a number of different ways. Even though I am 6-foot-9, I feel like I was always taught to have a floater or an in-between game in case you can't get all the way to the rim. I can also defend 1-through-4 and switch on to anyone."
Who is one player you model your game after the most?
Hall: "Being from North Carolina, I always watched Brandon Ingram growing up. He is someone I modeled my game after because we always had similar measurables and he could score at all three levels."
What are some things that you would like to continue to work on and improve in your game?
Hall: "I want to continue to work on my body so I can be a good defender, since I know that is the key to staying on the floor, especially as a rookie. I also am continuing to work on my ball handling so I can get my shot off against the best defenders in the world."
Let's pretend that I&rsquo;m an NBA general manager that's considering selecting you and we&rsquo;ve just entered an elevator. What is your elevator pitch as to why I should select you?
Hall: "I am a hard worker that is a sponge, and I&rsquo;m willing to listen to everything that those around me are telling me. I have a skill set to help a franchise win and I won't be outworked if selected."

Matt Babcock sits down with Moravian Prep's Josh Hall to discuss his North Carolina upbringing, choosing to go to Moravian Prep over college and training for the upcoming NBA Draft.

Stalin