Ah good. Now, could you decipher that?
Illini Basketball 2020-2021
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Post #287
TheFameProtector
- Champaign
You very well may be right, but DMW also has the length and lower body strength that helps him defend above his height (I would argue, to a degree, that wingspan is more critical for defense than height). Think of that game clinching block, for instance -- his wingspan was on full display there. Obviously playing him at the 4 will be matchup dependent. But when I think of DMW, I'm reminded of a less burly Marcus Smart (minus the ball handling) -- tough a** defenders that can slide across matchups and be effective on quick guards or against bigger wings/forwards, but also can't shoot worth a lick.
Was just hiding talent until March when is was 5/8 from three point. Secret weapon for tournaments. May be unleashed earlier in 20-21.
I love DMW and he gets the most out of his talent. Two years ago before Kofi arrived and GB at the 5 defending the 4 was a major issue and it still is. Kofi being behind them instead of GB just helps hide that hole. DMW may be ok vs some teams but against top post players he will be over matched. I am just thankful we have Kofi behind our 4 and I hope someone with size, and strength to match up that posses some type of perimeter game steps up. Hopefully GB, BBV, or Grandison so DMW can play his true position . I hope our new or healed guys can step up. I look for DMW to start at the beginning of the season but with the talent we have at the 1 through 3 if someone does step up at the 4 he would be great to provide a spark and leadership off the bench.
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JJE
- Bethalto, IL
Yikes. Thanks for the link.
Really? He guarded Lamar Stephens last year and shut him down. Stephens is what, 6'8"? If there's a 6'10" guy playing the 4 we with Giorgi in there, but if DMW can shut down Lamar Stephens, he can guard most 4s.
I just checked the box score from the matchups. Lamar had 13pts n 16pts with 9 and 6 boards vs DMW 0 and 2pts and 2 and 3 boards. We lost that match up.. Without Kofi it would be even a larger difference in both areas. It is not desirable for our 4 to be out rebounded, scored and over matched it not a slight in DMW he is a guard not a forward. . While one game Steven's didnt shoot well we need to be more competitive than that on both ends of the court imo. DMW needs to be a 3. I love DMW but he is not a 4 no matter how much we love him and I think that's obvious.
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Stevens did average 17.6 and 7.9 so he didn’t go wild on DMW but wasn’t shut down either.
Not bad but Kofi behind our entire defense had a major impact on our entire teams defense. Before Kofi arrived we allowed way to many lay ups. Having the big man and changing our defensive style h er led a lot last season. I also hope we can have an inside and outside game offensively from our 3s and 4s and I think we will. We have reasons to be optimistic and expect better shooting.
Am I missing something? I can only find Illinois playing PSU once last year. Stevens had 13 pts and 9 rebs, while DMW had 0 pts, 4 rebs and 4 asts. I’m sure he wasn’t on Stevens the whole game, but I remember in a crucial stretch he held Stevens in check. I don’t want to see DMW at the 4 all the time, but I think we’ll see him there for stretches against matchups that make sense and he’ll do just fine.
Maybe you should've checked the box score better. We won that game 62-56 and Stevens was 3 of 11 from the field, so basically awful. DMW had 4 rebounds and 4 assists, plus 2 blocks and a steal. DMW did have 4 fouls and Stevens was 7 of 8 from the line. Still, terrible efficiency that likely cost PSU the game at home.
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I agree that he will be ok in spots with Kofi behind him. I just disagree that Steven's was shut down scoring more points than shot atempts by getting to the line. (Like Kofi often did) and getting 9 boards with a guy like Kofi on the floor. Peoriaillini can see DMW as a 4 on a top 5 team. I just see him as a 3 that would struggle out of position vs elite teams. . And your right only once last year but twice in 2019. One of which Steven went off without Kofi n had 25
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Decided to watch it again.
Stevens 3 baskets were as follows
Early game Ayo turnover leads to a run out
Pull up 15 footer against DMW
With about 1:30 to go he hits a 5 footer against Feliz after DMW was picked off
At least 2 of his free throws were the result of I believe Kipper on his back off of our miss.
13 of the quieter points you are ever going to see.
Kipper did a good job on him when DMW was out.
Stevens 3 baskets were as follows
Early game Ayo turnover leads to a run out
Pull up 15 footer against DMW
With about 1:30 to go he hits a 5 footer against Feliz after DMW was picked off
At least 2 of his free throws were the result of I believe Kipper on his back off of our miss.
13 of the quieter points you are ever going to see.
Kipper did a good job on him when DMW was out.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
That is dedication, my friend!
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
DMFW is an elite B1G defender. It's really time to stop questioning what he brings to our rotation.
We won't be counting on him for offense, but if he shoots like late year, go ahead and collapse off him.....WEAPONIZED DMFW!!!
He will start, and he will draw some of the toughest defensive assignments in the country....and just like vs. Stevens last year....he will neutralize them.
We won't be counting on him for offense, but if he shoots like late year, go ahead and collapse off him.....WEAPONIZED DMFW!!!
He will start, and he will draw some of the toughest defensive assignments in the country....and just like vs. Stevens last year....he will neutralize them.
Stevens was held 4.5 pts below his season average. In the game before and after the Illini game, he had 23 and 29 pts respectively. So maybe not shut down but held in check for sure. And he played 31 minutes to DMW’s 24, so DaMonte wasn’t guarding him the whole time — and likely not even the whole 24 minutes. AndI highly doubt DMW saw much time if any against Stevens the year before — that would have been Jordan and Kipper predominately — so not sure what Stevens’ stats from that year have to do with the DMW come conversation.
Like I said, DMW full-time at 4 isn’t ideal, but I don’t think that will be the case. But he’ll certainly see time there and will be fine. I trust BU to use him there in the right situations, and DMW to rise to the occasion when he has the tough matchup.
Need him on the opponent’s biggest (2-4) offensive weapon. Trent on PG and Kofi on Ctr. If that is a 2 or 3 then 4 is covered by Grandy, Giorgi, BBV, or Coleman (which one is a mystery to me). Having a defensive stopper is money in the bank.
No one's arguing that Da'Monte is a 4, but he CAN defend most 4's including Lamar Stevens (which he did effectively).
First: it's faulty logic to look at Da'Monte's scoring as a negative in this game because Lamar was not defending Da'Monte. Also, Da'Monte went 0-1 shooting but had 4 assists and 0 turnovers. So his missed shot is the only time he gave up the ball while he contributed to 4 assists so he was still useful on the offensive end of the floor. Da'Monte's 0 points were only 2.8 points below his season average so we didn't lose a lot by him scoring 0. If you're going to argue he should be scoring more that's fine, but it has nothing to do with how well he defended Lamar.
Second: it's faulty logic to look at Lamar's overall rebounding since again, he wasn't paired up with Da'Monte when he was on D. Lamar only got 2 Offensive Rebounds to Da'Monte's 4 Defensive Rebound so that means Da'Monte out-rebounded him 2-to-1.
Third: Lamar scored 13 points on 27.3% shooting which is well below his average of 17.6 pts on 42.3% shooting. Lamar also scored 2 of those on a fast-break after stealing the ball in the first minute and 2 more on free throws after Kofi committed a bad foul on him. Williams was directly responsible for at least 5 points when he sent Lamar to the line after fouling (Lamar went 5/6 on free-throws that Williams gave him). I can't tell from ESPN's play-by-play when player's subsituted so I don't know if Williams was on the floor for Lamar's other 4 points so he was responsible for 5 to 9 of Lamar's total points (maybe up to 11 if Kofi only fouled due to blown coverage, but again I can't tell from the play-by-play). Williams also got 2 blocks and 1 steal.
This game is just overwhelming evidence that Da'Monte was effective in guarding one of the best PF's in the game. So again, while Da'Monte is NOT a 4 he IS an elite defender capable of defending an opposing teams 4.
Gary Payton was an elite defender too as I'd DMW. That doesnt mean you want him guarding 6"10 250lb Micah Potter, 6'7" 270lb EJ Liddell, Trayce Jackson Davis 6'9" 245, Or Joey Hauset at 6'9" 220. That is not good for us and we are lucky to have Kofi and others on the way. They also should provide outside shooting to improve on our teams 29% from three.
Yes, he is a elite defender that doesnt mean it's a good thing for him or any elite guard defender to be playing out of position. Kofi helps make it even possible against match ups with any of the top B10 teams except Iowa and they play 4 guards and shoot the lights out and take thier lumps against those teams in sf ide hoping to out shoot them. I hope someone helps out with this issue and it's no slap in the face to DMW I'm sure he will agree and prefer to play the 3 but will do what ever is asked of him. I love that about him.
But I've heard BU repeatedly say that Frazier and DMW are elite defenders!
Haha, I kid, kind of. I really do think both guys are really good defender who can make all-defensive teams if we continue to have success. I also love BU, but man does he like to put it on thick when he talks about our guys.
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