Ayo Dosunmu All-Big Ten First Team, Kofi Cockburn B1G Freshman of the Year

#52      

illini55

illini55
The Villages, FL
illini55
My post from February 2019:

If Ayo comes back, we simply will NOT be in the third tier next year. Have you looked at the amount of talent on this team? No team in the Big Ten will be better than Illinois. I know we are all battered by the early season losing, but that is a thing of the past, thankfully. Go Illini!!

"Ya gotta have faith, people!"
 
#53      

kiwanegarris22

K
South Carolina
kiwanegarris22
Calvin said:
Been a while since we had a guy who could get to the line like Ayo. So many killer traits, but he can finish like a pro.
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Funny you mention this. I noted in stats shared for the six All Big 10 1st teamers that Al Cowan made nearly 3x as many FT's as Ayo. So I don't think Ayo is that prolific at getting to the line! He's still damned good and it's great having a 5-star player on the roster.

Here are a few random FT stats for comparison:

Made
212 A. Cowan
148 J. Smith
115 C. Winston
111 K. Cockburn
77 A. Dosunmu
80 A. Feliz
 
#54      

kiwanegarris22

K
South Carolina
kiwanegarris22
illini55 said:
My post from February 2019:

If Ayo comes back, we simply will NOT be in the third tier next year. Have you looked at the amount of talent on this team? No team in the Big Ten will be better than Illinois. I know we are all battered by the early season losing, but that is a thing of the past, thankfully. Go Illini!!

"Ya gotta have faith, people!"
Click to expand...
Had Kofi yet signed with the Illini or were you thinking we'd even be Top 7-8 in the conference without him?
 
#56      

RedRiver24

R
RedRiver24
kiwanegarris22 said:
Funny you mention this. I noted in stats shared for the six All Big 10 1st teamers that Al Cowan made nearly 3x as many FT's as Ayo. So I don't think Ayo is that prolific at getting to the line! He's still damned good and it's great having a 5-star player on the roster.

Here are a few random FT stats for comparison:

Made
212 A. Cowan
148 J. Smith
115 C. Winston
111 K. Cockburn
77 A. Dosunmu
80 A. Feliz
Click to expand...

Telling. Ayo doesnt seem overly good at shooting FTs. I know his percentage is in the 70s, but it still seems bad to my memory. Especially considering how he can pull up after running full speed and making a similar percentage.
 
#59      

ejam21

E
ejam21
hoopsfan47 said:
Had a tough time predicting Ayo to be a unanimous pick over Cowan but I was giving Winston an auto spot. IMHO, neither Cowan nor Ayo really separated from the other. Cowan was a much better perimeter shooter with a bit better handle while Ayo was a better mid range shooter and better at the rim. Both were tough in the clutch. Could not go wrong with either but of course I like Ayo and sure would love to see him together with this team for one more season. However, that would be shocking unless the NBA wants him to prove he can shoot better from the perimeter after another year of college work. Who knows for certain? Kofi, OTOH, has a lot of work to do. Not that he will not get there, but he is not yet ready for an NBA team to use a draft choice on him. If he can improve his ability to hold onto the ball in traffic and become a solid jump shooter inside 15 ft., he may be a lottery pick...but much work to do.
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How was cowan a much better perimeter shooter? he shot 29.1 % from 3 in conference play and ayo shot 29.6. Cowan also shot 37% overall for the conference season so he wasnt that great at 2s either. For comparison, ayo was 47% from teh field in conf play.
 
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#64      

Berg88

B
Berg88
How unreal is it that Oturu was second in scoring, first in rebounds, first in blocks and didn't make either first team?
 
#67      

Emerson Bigguns

Emerson Bigguns
Emerson Bigguns
ejam21 said:
How was cowan a much better perimeter shooter? he shot 29.1 % from 3 in conference play and ayo shot 29.6. Cowan also shot 37% overall for the conference season so he wasnt that great at 2s either. For comparison, ayo was 47% from teh field in conf play.
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Cowan got to the Free Throw line... A LOT. I believe he led the league in foul shots, and not by just a few. The ability to consistenly draw fouls (especially in this league) is certainly a skill Maryland could hang their hat on. You get easy points, you get opponents in foul trouble... It's a great skill to have. I really don't think there was a wrong answer. There are a lot of really good players who didn't get recognized at all. For a lot of voters team success is going to break things one way or another. Maryland won a share of the B1G title, the Illini did not. We also lost both games head to head. Cowan got 20 points in both games, and I doubt I need to remind you how game 1 ended.
As much as I love Ayo and what he has brought to this team, it is really hard to make a case that he was unquestionably better than Cowan. They were both outstanding and deserving of any hardware that comes their way.