Pregame: Illinois at Ohio State, Saturday, March 6th, 3:00pm CT, ESPN

Status
Not open for further replies.
#76      

CarsonHowe_9

CarsonHowe_9
CarsonHowe_9
TheFameProtector said:
From my eyes, Ayo's main issue is that he doesn't always get in a good stance. His offensive load is a good explanation of the why: it takes a lot of energy to stay in a good defensive stance and he uses a bunch of that energy running our offense. Trent and Miller do a great job getting low and moving laterally with the drive, and being in that stance helps one's 'springiness' in making close outs or getting deflections/steals. Ayo is certainly capable of reaching that level on defense, but he knows he has to manage his energy for the whole 40. If he was playing Trent-like D all game, I doubt he'd have enough legs left to be the closer we all know him to be.
Click to expand...
i see what ur saying about ayos defence we seem to be a better team defensively without him not cause he’s not a good defender but because he uses his energy on offense. when we played indiana after ayo fouled out we played great defensively and have been doing good these past 3 games. we are no doubt a better team with him but maybe ayo should spend more of his energy on defence
 
#82      

POWURR

POWURR
From Downtown
POWURR
League game #20 FINISH HIM!!
#Roadkill

subzero GIF
 
#83      

TheFameProtector

TheFameProtector
Champaign
TheFameProtector
CarsonHowe_9 said:
i see what ur saying about ayos defence we seem to be a better team defensively without him not cause he’s not a good defender
Click to expand...
I think Ayo is a good defender, I just think he's not fully devoted to that end 100% of the time like a Trent is, but I also think there's a good explanation for why that's the case (i.e., he's not just being lazy). When he is locked in (and does a better job getting in a stance), he can stop guys as well as anybody else on this team, and that defensive ability is something that several draft evaluators have touted (thinking Mike Schmitz in particular). At the next level, he'll unlikely have the same offensive burden and will need to devote more energy on D to earn playing time.
 
#84      

texillwek

texillwek
🔶🔹🔸🔷
texillwek
TheFameProtector said:
I think Ayo is a good defender, I just think he's not fully devoted to that end 100% of the time like a Trent is, but I also think there's a good explanation for why that's the case (i.e., he's not just being lazy). When he is locked in (and does a better job getting in a stance), he can stop guys as well as anybody else on this team, and that defensive ability is something that several draft evaluators have touted (thinking Mike Schmitz in particular). At the next level, he'll unlikely have the same offensive burden and will need to devote more energy on D to earn playing time.
Click to expand...
Has Brad ever referred to his defense as "elite" in a presser? If not, probably safe to say he's aight
 
#85      

hodgesonfire

H
hodgesonfire
I really want to see the team focused for this game. The Vitalle hype and end of year awards are just a distraction IMO. Plus nobody is even mentioning Lidell for awards and he personally kicked out butt last game. This game will be a good indicator of how the team plays after success. No let down and finish the season with strong D and focus on offense. These are necessary for a deep tournament run.
 
#86      

skibdaddy

skibdaddy
skibdaddy
FromTheLogo said:
I've asked myself (and so have a few buddies): 'How is Illinois so good without Ayo?' Obviously, there are a number of opinions, theories, and stats to analyze.

But here is one I haven't read yet (and probably because it is stupid): It seems we are better defensively.

I don't have any metrics to prove it. But the eye test and 2 wins may reveal it. For example, in my opinion, we lost the first OSU game largely because Ayo sagged off or lost Ahrens on at least two blatant occasions, a guy who shoots 95% of his attempts from 3. Ayo's length is a luxury because we are often undersized, and while I love his icy veins on offense, I just don't see the same consistent intensity on defense.

This being said, we need him on the floor. The real stars shine when the lights are the brightest. So hopefully he's healthy enough to play sooner than later. The Closer is ready to show why he came back. Let's finish the deal.
Click to expand...
I agree with you... it's not a popular opinion in the echo chamber, but I think Ayo loafs on defense and in defensive rebounding/boxing out too often (not always, but enough to hurt us on occasion). Hopefully he was able to see the defensive effort his teammates put in and work a bit harder on that end of the floor.
 
#87      

Ga65

G
Ga65
hodgesonfire said:
I really want to see the team focused for this game. The Vitalle hype and end of year awards are just a distraction IMO. Plus nobody is even mentioning Lidell for awards and he personally kicked out butt last game. This game will be a good indicator of how the team plays after success. No let down and finish the season with strong D and focus on offense. These are necessary for a deep tournament run.
Click to expand...
Strange to me that Wagner is always on the list and not nearly the player as Liddell.
 
#88      

Ga65

G
Ga65
skibdaddy said:
I agree with you... it's not a popular opinion in the echo chamber, but I think Ayo loafs on defense and in defensive rebounding/boxing out too often (not always, but enough to hurt us on occasion). Hopefully he was able to see the defensive effort his teammates put in and work a bit harder on that end of the floor.
Click to expand...
Can’t believe we are now after Ayo. Guess we needed a new target after Belo.
 
#89      

mikeyo

M
mikeyo
Ga65 said:
Can’t believe we are now after Ayo. Guess we needed a new target after Belo.
Click to expand...
Some people just need to complain. lmao @ criticizing an All-American from your couch as someone who has never played basketball and is only 5'2".
 
#90      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
Deleted member 29907
Its simple - Ayo starts and if we aren't playing well with him in there - you bench him. ;)
 
#91      

Ransom Stoddard

Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
Ransom Stoddard
skibdaddy said:
I agree with you... it's not a popular opinion in the echo chamber, but I think Ayo loafs on defense and in defensive rebounding/boxing out too often (not always, but enough to hurt us on occasion). Hopefully he was able to see the defensive effort his teammates put in and work a bit harder on that end of the floor.
Click to expand...
Ayo's #2 on the team in both rebounds steals. This is a strange take.

And to break that down even further, he's #3 in total OR behind Kofi and Giorgi, and #3 in total DR behind Kofi and DMW (only 1 behind DMW despite not playing the last 3 games).
 
#93      

othawhitemeat

O
othawhitemeat
JFGsCoffeeMug said:
I wonder if Ayo ever reads this board and wonders why we don't always bring our A-game.
Click to expand...
If he does, he will use it as motivation. He is like a Mamba/Jordan type (not saying he is nearly as good) in terms of using that motivation to spark him. If he does, Ayo, you have a lot you need to improve on. I don't think you can take this team to the promise land.







I am joking because he has been our best player at least in the last 15/16 years. Appreciate all he has done for the university.
 
#94      

FromTheLogo

F
FromTheLogo
mikeyo said:
Some people just need to complain. lmao @ criticizing an All-American from your couch as someone who has never played basketball and is only 5'2".
Click to expand...
I don't think we are "criticizing" really. Just throwing out some opinions. Our All-American is going to get plenty of criticism come draft time, does currently from his coaches (after his first triple-double he admitted coaches have been on him about rebounding better), and will continue to do so from his father and trainers. That's how people get better.

We aren't attacking him, and by the way, since when does height matter in hot takes? Ease up. We all love and respect Ayo.
 
#95      

mikeyo

M
mikeyo
FromTheLogo said:
I don't think we are "criticizing" really. Just throwing out some opinions. Our All-American is going to get plenty of criticism come draft time, does currently from his coaches (after his first triple-double he admitted coaches have been on him about rebounding better), and will continue to do so from his father and trainers. That's how people get better.

We aren't attacking him, and by the way, since when does height matter in hot takes? Ease up. We all love and respect Ayo.
Click to expand...
Since yesterday. It was a joke.

www.sportingnews.com

Jim Boeheim continues beef with Syracuse reporter by mocking his height

The Syracuse coach had a strange reaction to this reporter's question.
www.sportingnews.com www.sportingnews.com
 
#96      

Homecoming 2019

Homecoming 2019
Chicago
Homecoming 2019
Ga65 said:
Can’t believe we are now after Ayo. Guess we needed a new target after Belo.
Click to expand...
Right? There will be debates on this forum about whether his season was the greatest individual season in the very long history of our program.
 
#100      

Rap73

R
Rap73
skibdaddy said:
I agree with you... it's not a popular opinion in the echo chamber, but I think Ayo loafs on defense and in defensive rebounding/boxing out too often (not always, but enough to hurt us on occasion). Hopefully he was able to see the defensive effort his teammates put in and work a bit harder on that end of the floor.
Click to expand...
You must be watching a different Ayo than I am.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.