I know he’s received spotty minutes for the most part, but not sure I’d call him anywhere near “the best player on the court when it comes to . . . rebounding.” I noticed last night it didn’t seem like he was hitting the boards at all, and when I checked the box score he had one rebound in 14 minutes. He rebounded pretty well against Baylor, but other than that I wouldn’t call it a strength of his thus far. I think last night’s minutes for him were in line with what he should be getting — about 15 plus or minus depending on matchups and play.
Illinois 79, Penn State 65 Postgame
Deleted member 746826
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Certainly agree with this...
but if you are not using eye test and relying on stats he has averaged 6.2 minutes in 24 games....
EyeoftheIllini is talking about Hawkins I believe... Hawkins is a true-freshmen and the team only has 15 games played this season so not sure where you're getting 24 games from. EDIT: you probably meant 14 games (87 min / 14 games = 6.2 min/game), I think you should use the total of 15 so only 5.8 min/game.
Just looking at Conference play, Hawkins has received only 44 minutes in 9 conference games (only played in 8). That's less than 5 minutes per game. 1.8 turnovers, 2.7 assists, 0.9 steals, and 3.6 blocks per 40 minutes (conference only) are all great stats for a true freshmen in a position of need for our team. True, his rebounding is not amazing, but 4.5 per 40 min isn't terrible and with less than 5 min per game and the chaotic/luck nature of rebounding it's not crazy to think that number would fluctuate up if his minutes increased. The biggest issue Hawkins has is 5.5 fouls per 40 minutes, but he's only averaging 0.8 per game due to his low minutes - so I'm team Hawkins and think Brad should get him back on the floor and give him another shot until he picks up his 2nd or 3rd foul. Enough of this benching someone for the rest of the game after a single foul or missed play. That's not a learning experience. Sure, sit the kid and let him think for a minute and reflect so he can learn, but then get him back out there on the court in the same game to see if he can turn it around and improve. If he makes the same mistake then bench him for the game.
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GallopingGhost
- Denver, CO
My response was tongue in cheek, but I think there was a bit more improvements that just our opponent quality. Yeah that helped for sure but I believe we could have beaten higher quality teams with last nights effort too.
You can't blame Belo's turnovers on GB. Belo tries to force way too many things and would have a lot more turnovers if his teammates didn't run down a lot of his throw aways.
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Im surely not blaming all of his turnovers on gb. And yes he does have some head scratchers. But some of his best assists are from driving to the rim and then miraculously getting the ball to kofi. When he tries to donthe same thing with gb
in the game gb is nowhere near the rim and either does not have the ability to fight his way to the rim or he doesnt want to. Just saying that these are not the most beneficial rotations to habe belo and gb in at same time.
Several of Belo's turnovers are do to people not realizing they are open or that he can get them the ball. Belo could have had a bunch more assists if Kofi had not been stripped or fouled . Kofi got fouled several times not counting the ones that were not called and got stripped at least 3 times by bringing the ball down. Belo makes some bone head plays but he can get into the paint whenever he wants and makes passes that we have not seen since Pistol. Not that he is.
Exactly. Dee and Deron would have the same issues with this team when it comes to good crisp passes. Our players over the last few years did not have anyone who could make great passes and the other players aren't used to it
He also misses many wide open guys, tries to split double teams instead of passing the ball, and takes the ball far too deep into the paint instead of making an easy pass when he first drives into it. He is getting better but, he still over dribbles. We have some excellent shooters if he would make a pass when a guy is in rhythm but, he continually wants to create something instead of making a simple pass. I believe that the coaches have been talking to him about these things because he has noticeably improved upon them. He is still a long way off, though. Once he can make passes without all of the unnecessary dribbling and attempting to do the spectacular, I think that we will see far less of the dead spots in our offense, that people are always complaining about.
Illwinsagain
- Cary, IL
He is exiting, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Players have to be ready, but he has to realize that the miracle pass, despite that he can do it, may not always be the best pass. He seems to force the ball inside, when folks are open at the arc. Example, forced into Giorgi, when Demonte was open at the top of the key.
I think the thing he really needs to work on is as you say taking the ball in to deep without a plan. Yes, sometimes he makes a highlight reel pass or shot, but more often he puts up a shot he can’t make among the trees or has to leave his feet and pray. Those bad shots are the same as a turnover. He also needs to know what his teammates are capable of in certain spots. If he gets the ball to a player in a spot from which he’s not capable of making a play and that player turns it over, some of the blame is on Curbelo too. But as you said, he seems to be making some adjustments, and hopefully time and experience will get him to where we need him to be.
He also needs to work on not making silly fouls. With Ayo and Trent to handle the ball too this year, him having to go to the bench hasn’t hurt the team too much. But next year with Ayo and possibly Trent gone, he needs to stay on the court.
I purposely avoided reading the comments after the two losses. Is the sky falling in Champaign? Almost every team goes through a rough patch especially with the Big Ten being SO balanced. Michigan State some times goes through two in a season. But somehow they always right the ship when it's tournament time. I might be wrong, or looking through orange-colored glasses, but I have a lot of confidence in this years team to figure it out. There are so many different options, to me the question was more who was going to step up. So far, it's Kofi, Miller, and Trent. You know Ayo will break out again, And Curbelo will fight past the rookie wall. Two months to March Madness. That's the date to circle.
