Illini Basketball 2020-2021

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#1      

Dan

Admin
Welcome to the Illini Basketball & College Basketball 2020-2021 thread

2020 Emerald Coach Classic
Illinois vs Florida (Fri., Nov. 27th)
Illinois vs Iowa State or Oregon (Sun., Nov. 29th)


Roster
Trent Frazier
Andre Curbelo
Adam Miller
Jacob Grandison
Coleman Hawkins
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk
Giorgi Bezhanishvili
Da'Monte Williams
Austin Hutcherson
Jermaine Hamlin
Brandon Lieb

NBA Draft Early Entrants
Kofi Cockburn
Ayo Dosunmu
 
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#2      

ILL in IA

Iowa City
Not trying to start a debate or share an opinion on the matter, and delete if needed. But with what I heard from Ayo the other day, and Adam Miller on twitter, I am proud that we have athletes who are also able to stand up for what they feel is right.
 
#3      
Sounds like Kofi will be back and heavy odds Ayo won’t. IMO stronger team than if Kofi left and Ayo stayed. There is just more backup talent behind Ayo than Kofi. Miller, Curbelo, and Hutcherson (even with Griffin gone) are pretty strong replacements. Behind Kofi we have Giorgi and Jermaine. If BBV and Hawkins are ready then you have size to play beside Giorgi but need to be two bigs to replace Kofi. Even with Kofi we were out rebounded in the last three games we played with Giorgi playing reduced minutes. Against OSU Giorgi played 11 mins and Liddell got 11 rebounds. Need the size at the 4 if we are to compete for a championship.
 
#4      
Sounds like Kofi will be back and heavy odds Ayo won’t. IMO stronger team than if Kofi left and Ayo stayed. There is just more backup talent behind Ayo than Kofi. Miller, Curbelo, and Hutcherson (even with Griffin gone) are pretty strong replacements. Behind Kofi we have Giorgi and Jermaine. If BBV and Hawkins are ready then you have size to play beside Giorgi but need to be two bigs to replace Kofi. Even with Kofi we were out rebounded in the last three games we played with Giorgi playing reduced minutes. Against OSU Giorgi played 11 mins and Liddell got 11 rebounds. Need the size at the 4 if we are to compete for a championship.
Like the fact that your comment included "compete for a championship". That's all we can ask for.
 
#5      
Is a team with kofi but without ayo a top 25 team preseason?
 
#7      
Is a team with kofi but without ayo a top 25 team preseason?
I would guess, not quite. Evaluators are going to wonder who is going to pick up Ayo's scoring slack. Obviously, as fans, we believe Miller will be able to get buckets, but if I were a voter I might be more inclined to give pre-season credit to a team with more guys who are proven on the wing. That doesn't mean I don't think Miller and Curbelo will change a lot of minds in short order. It's just hard to predict how quickly freshmen are going to adapt to the size and speed of Division I NCAA basketball. some highly rated guys have no trouble adapting, and others take a little time. It took Ayo a year and a half to really blossom into the player we all hoped he would be, and have a profound effect on the win/loss column.
 
#8      
Is a team with kofi but without ayo a top 25 team preseason?

Losing a star player might keep them out. The team played their way into the national rankings last year, and if they're not in at the start, I think they will do so again.
 
#9      
I would guess, not quite. Evaluators are going to wonder who is going to pick up Ayo's scoring slack. Obviously, as fans, we believe Miller will be able to get buckets, but if I were a voter I might be more inclined to give pre-season credit to a team with more guys who are proven on the wing. That doesn't mean I don't think Miller and Curbelo will change a lot of minds in short order. It's just hard to predict how quickly freshmen are going to adapt to the size and speed of Division I NCAA basketball. some highly rated guys have no trouble adapting, and others take a little time. It took Ayo a year and a half to really blossom into the player we all hoped he would be, and have a profound effect on the win/loss column.
I agree with your take. I'm sure BU will be pushing things to move through Kofi as he was very effective and very difficult to stop by the end of the year. We should have very good size this year and hopefully Giorgi will take a step forward. I'm very interested to see how much Hawkins, Hamlin and Verdonk can contribute this season.
 
#11      
Is a team with kofi but without ayo a top 25 team preseason?
With at least one prognosticator no. We are losing 4 of 8 rotation and over half of our scoring so understand that. However do have problem with other big teams that are ranked ahead of us with their losses. Doesn’t include WI and IA however as they basically have their teams back. Still like our roster with experience and new talent. If Giorgi, BBV, or Hawkins emerge at the four we are top 10 IMO. Wings score but Kofi in the center and Trent at the point (with Belo as a backup) will be tough to deal with. Believe the quickness of Belo and Adam will give us a different look.
 
#13      

hooraybeer

Pittsburgh, PA
Sounds like Kofi will be back and heavy odds Ayo won’t. IMO stronger team than if Kofi left and Ayo stayed. There is just more backup talent behind Ayo than Kofi. Miller, Curbelo, and Hutcherson (even with Griffin gone) are pretty strong replacements. Behind Kofi we have Giorgi and Jermaine. If BBV and Hawkins are ready then you have size to play beside Giorgi but need to be two bigs to replace Kofi. Even with Kofi we were out rebounded in the last three games we played with Giorgi playing reduced minutes. Against OSU Giorgi played 11 mins and Liddell got 11 rebounds. Need the size at the 4 if we are to compete for a championship.

besides for that new big board someone posted today, is there any other new news that makes you say that? seems like last week a lot of people felt pretty good about him coming back
 
#14      
besides for that new big board someone posted today, is there any other new news that makes you say that? seems like last week a lot of people felt pretty good about him coming back
His last interview was pretty definite.
 
#18      

201154JC

Rockford, IL
I don't think fans are understanding just how good AC and AM are going to be. AC may turn out to be the best freshman point in the country. I'm "all-in" on this team so long as the big man returns.
I agree with you and if Giorgi learns to move off the ball he may get a lot of easy buckets also. Hoping Boston takes Ayo in the first round.
 
#21      

illinimike

Wheaton, IL
Sounds like Kofi will be back and heavy odds Ayo won’t. IMO stronger team than if Kofi left and Ayo stayed. There is just more backup talent behind Ayo than Kofi. Miller, Curbelo, and Hutcherson (even with Griffin gone) are pretty strong replacements. Behind Kofi we have Giorgi and Jermaine. If BBV and Hawkins are ready then you have size to play beside Giorgi but need to be two bigs to replace Kofi. Even with Kofi we were out rebounded in the last three games we played with Giorgi playing reduced minutes. Against OSU Giorgi played 11 mins and Liddell got 11 rebounds. Need the size at the 4 if we are to compete for a championship.

Kofi coming back would be huge for the development of our program. It allows us to play upperclassmen at the 5 the next year and maybe a highly ranked big if we can land one in '21. Having that rhythm of having guys come in and stay for 3-4 years to develop will create the depth to consistently compete for championships.
 
#24      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior

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