All you guys know the Xs and Os better than I do. I mostly like to sit back, enjoy the forum, and read what you have to say. But in my opinion, Underwood is the problem. He is not the coach we thought we were getting. This team has WAY TOO much talent to play this poorly. A bad game here and there is going to happen. With BU it's more often than not. Switch coaches for a night and there is no way this team (with these same players) loses by 20 to MSU -- if Izzo was coaching the Illini. I don't think the Illini will ever make the tournament while Underwood is the coach...Cubelo, Miller, etc. won't make any difference. That's assuming they don't decommit in the meantime. After year 2, I said the same thing about Groce and a lot of people flamed me. The only reason BU will be back next year is the amount of guaranteed dollars he is owed. If he was not owed that money, no way would (or could) Whitman bring him back.
Here is where the disagreement comes in. I don't think they have enough talent because the talent they do have all play the same positions.
I look at this team and The closest thing they have to a 2 is Griffin. They don't have a 4 on the roster. They're trying to force GB into the role and it's not working. They have no true PG. The one guy with a PG mentality is Feliz, but he isn't very good. Ayo isn't a great distributor and he isn't a great shooter. He's a good slasher and at 6'5" probably the closest thing to a 3 on the roster.
If I'm Underwood, to heck with worrying about draft statuses and put your guys where they best fit and to me, that means taking the ball out of Ayo's hands and putting it into Frazier's. If he doesn't come to life, the season is done. There just isn't enough scoring potential on the roster. We(and I'm sure the staff) were banking on a 13 to 15 PPG average from the guy and are getting next to nothing. He was at his best when the ball was in his hands.
Starters:
1. Frazier
2. Griffin
3. Ayo
4. Nichols
5. Kofi/GB(can't be on the floor together)
They'd be undersized and I'm not a huge Nichols fan, but I think he's the best they got at the position.
I also think that Frazier's confidence is shot and it has been since Ayo's arrival and the ball was taken out of his hands. That backcourt needs to be repaired. Frazier is too good of a shooter/player for this obscene lack of production.
Some feelings(and pride) are going to get hurt, but when the offense is this bad....they have to find a combination that works and for heaven's sake....mix in some full court pressure. If you're struggling, create some turnovers that will lead to easy buckets. It's funny how the mind works when you see the ball go in the basket.
Just my thoughts from seeing the same struggles game in and game out, most notably on the road.