“He’s SHAQ Without The Hands, Handles or Footwork” Kofi Cockburn! Stunted Growth

Kofi is not for everybody you know the style of play some teams play uh they don't want that Kofi Coburn ONN September 1st 1999 if I told you I had a 7 Foot Center 293 lb of all muscle averaged 20 and 10 his final year in college LED his team to the tournament and was a consensus first team All-American you think Shaquille O'Neal AKA Shaq all over again and get excited what the future could hold if he were to be drafted to your team Shaq to dominated college basketball and like Kofi left after his junior year where he averaged over 20 and 10 as well O'Neal was the first overall pick in the 1992 draft and went on to have a dominating career that set the standard for big men entering the NBA was a five-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer that has statues built in his likeness because of his exceptional work on the floor and off except the player I present to you is in Shack and didn't changeed the future for any team because shockingly he wasn't drafted at all in 2022 a true Testament to where the game of basketball has gone and a sad reality for players like Kofi Coburn who for their hard work and dedication all throughout high school and college that made them top prospects and high-profiled athletes received little in return turn as far as NBA opportunity many don't understand that as an athlete your entire life is Athletics the way you carry yourself the way you go about your day the friends you make the way people treat you is all focused on the sport you play and if you're deemed talented enough you lock in even deeper into developing your young self for a future in sports when you go undrafted on the professional ranks it can either create a chip on your shoulder that allows you to push even harder and eventually prove doubters wrong or it sends you down a path through other leagues all around the world and you either become content or forgotten and the NBA never comes calling for a guy like Coburn who should have been a shoe-in lottery pick who knows what that did to his confidence to see 58 players some you've dominated over the years as a high rank Prospect throughout high school and All-American caliber player in college all taken without your name called at all then to learn that eight of them never even made the team they were drafted to and never played in the NBA at all can be even more frustrating for a 7-footer mobile High motored dunked almost everything he touched in the paint and as physically imposing as Kofi it leaves many surpris that never translated to NBA success like it did for the affr mentioned Shaquille O'neal He was a standout player that did everything they tell you should get you to the NBA level and still still that opportunity has yet to be given he's 24 years old now and has been overseas since being undrafted in 20122 fighting to one day get that call for these reasons that day hasn't come yet and may never come what happened to Kofi Coburn let's talk about it salute to my name is my name on IG for this request it's your boy JC stuned growth let's get it take a minute to like subscribe and comment on who I should do next Kofi Coburn is a 7 Foot Center from Kingston Jamaica and like many where he's from grew up with sports like soccer and track and field as focuses before he was encouraged by his brother to play basketball the elder brother saw kofi's potential at an early age beginning with his physical advancement compared to most of his pairs at 11 he moved to Brooklyn New York and began really playing the game at 15 becoming a high caliber Prospect by by his junior year he transferred to Powerhouse oakill Academy for his senior year where schools like Kansas Oregon Yukon and of course Illinois were all after the program changing Center he'd visit Illinois on a night they lost to Florida Atlantic and realized where he could be of assistance it was then the decision to commit to Illinois was made and immediately he became an intricate piece to the fighting Alani improving his play every season over the next 3 years stun number one the game changed and left him behind not necessarily Kofi specifically but all centers like him that possess a game style better suited for past erors the main reason a player like Shaquille O'Neal can go number one in 1992 and 30 years later nearly the same player in size and production goes undrafted is because of the time and different styles of play era to era after evaluating Coburn at the NBA Combine Scouts labeled him the most imperfect fit for the modern-day game which has been most affected by the emergence of small ball small ball basketball in layman's terms is where every player on the court is a threat to do anything if need be especially on offense and especially the big men they're expected to be able to switch everything on defense including guarding small guards quick enough to keep them out the lane and also quick enough to get back to to a position they can protect the basket offensively they can step out and knock down a mid-range jump shot and from three-point line with comfortability and underratedly important they can pass with quick enough reaction and creativity that gives their team another uncommon attack Point these things is why a guy like nicolea yic is a two-time MVP champion and one of the best players in the league he does all that at a high level small ball though isn't some new thing thing teams like the Denver Nuggets used small ball in the80s to outrun teams Don Nelson did as well with the Mavericks to gain advantages and who can forget the Mike dantony Steve Nash Amari staya ERA with the Suns that really put small ball on the map the Golden State Warriors found the perfect mix and are the first and latest to dominate using small ball changing how teams likely play Forever Coburn in this era is basically the anti change he doesn't shoot jumpers only attempting one three his entire college career that was a Miss he isn't at all a passer or playmaker averaging .5 assists for his career and although he dunked a lot wasn't seen as a guy that could play smoothly off pick and rolls for a lob or a high IQ pass finding an open teammate M's production was back to the basket and against smaller competition which nowadays is easily defended through schemes in in the NBA and met with similar size and strength making an average athlete like Coburn in no man's land and a clog on the floor in the '90s he'd be a lottery pick in 2024 he's playing somewhere in Korea stun number two not developing those attributes Kofi Coburn tested the NBA draft Waters after his sophomore year in college a year he was a second team All-American and First Team all conference heend end up returning to school for his Junior season saying he learned that the NBA is an entirely different game and he's absolutely right but I wonder if he understood certain pieces of what that meant and how it affected him because he returned to school as a junor and stylistically was the exact same player just used more often in the lineup being the only High Caliber prospect on the team his Junior season there was no added jump shot no different offense that utilize Pro sets and the pick and roll and no improved passing and playmaking from that position I also often wonder how these coaches on the college level who seen exactly what teams in the NBA need and want who also understands how the game is changing yet they don't do anything to protect their players future they just use them the best way they could to help their program win more games and not focus on developing the player for life after he leaves College yes it falls on Coburn to help himself but it's also the responsibility of the grown adults around young men like Kofi to teach them what's right and how they can go further along with how to win on the college level Kofi Coburn with a jump shot and better playmaking ability is a scary prospect on any level why wasn't that a focus all he did his Junior season was further round himself into the most imperfect fit in today's game and no teams were left interested did and even after successful showings in Japan and now Korea still has no prospects of joining the NBA mainly because his skill set still isn't needed stunt number three Last Chance not going so well what I will say is the NBA specifically the Utah Jazz did at least give him an opportunity he was signed by the team after going undrafted to an exhibit 10 contract which is a one-year non-guaranteed deal and was added to its summer league roster a chance to show his team and the league his style could still be effective in this era he played in three games for the Jazz and in 18 minutes per averaged six points and nine rebounds his nine boards a game ranked him 11th throughout summer league but outside that further drove home the fact he still wasn't ready for that level nine rebounds in summer league is like four or five rebounds in the same minutes in the NBA he still couldn't shoot shoot attempting no threes and shot 47% overall from the field with the ball in his hands he seemed out of place in the faster more spread offense with a shot already in the air before he could set up for position on the Block to prepare his moves the Jazz decided against picking up his contract and a training camp invite from them or anyone else never came he headed to Japan to play in the B league for a year where he averaged 19 and 12 and for the 232 24 season signed to play in Soul Korea where he's averaging 23 and 11 boards he's now 24 and who knows maybe he does get the call at some point but for now it looks like the game has left him behind all in all Coburn still can enjoy a great pro career even if not in the league for a guy that started playing less than 10 years ago he's done well for himself getting to this point but for these reasons his growth was stunned salute respect it's your boy JayZ stun growth and I'm [Music] out

Channel: Stunted Growth

Views: 39,376

Keywords: stuntedgrowth, stunted growth, jcstuntedgrowth, nba basketball, highlights, pro basketball, nba bust, nba workout, basketball, growth, learn, teaching, poem, stories, what happened to, Kofi Cockburn, kofi, cockburn, kofi cockburn stunted growth, shaquille o'neal, illinois basketball, kofi cockburn japan, kofi cockburn high school, kofi cockburn nba, nba combine, kofi cockburn workout, interview, kofi cockburn korea

Id: fdFoRtnGv7w

Length: 11min 33sec (693 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 26 2024