Illini in the NBA

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#352      

Tacomallini

T
Washington State
Tacomallini
altgeld88 said:
This (kinda) old man is truly touched seeing a young man like Ayo with such a rare mix of talent, leadership chops, poise, and humility, having parents who obviously raised him well, enjoying success right off the bat in the league and making everyone who sees him, and is ignorant of his career at Illinois, sit up and take notice.

And now, if you'll excuse me I'll sign off by endorsing the Illni, America broadly, apple pie, and motherhood, and move along to change my handle to Captain Obvious.

(Oh, and any English teachers among us, please forgive me for that abomination of a run-on sentence up top.)
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I love run-on sentences I use them all the time.
 
#353      

Calillini

Calillini
Now appearing in Tampa
Calillini
SescIllini said:
Difference with Ayo compared to some of the other players on your list is Ayo is a big guard with PG skills. Not an NBA uber athlete but with his size and speed he puts pressure on defense on fast breaks. Defensively his size, wing span, activity create problems.

Between the ears he is very coachable and a professional. He will continue to get better. Next year he might be a reliable 3 point threat.
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I now live in Florida so I can at least see beach houses but if I actually had one I would bet that he will be a reliable three point threat mid season THIS YEAR.
Why? Work ethic and access to great role models on his team he can emulate and learn from
 
#354      

Seagee

Seagee
Seagee
Working in Boston and SO pissed I didn’t go to this game. So psyched for Ayo and how this all reflects on the entire state of Illinois.
 
#355      

ejam21

E
ejam21
Calillini said:
Agreed. How can a first team All American AND Cousy Award winner be characterized as a “feel good” story.
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LOL are you gonna tell me if luka garza starts having games like this, that wont be a feel good story? those awards dont mean a damn thing to the nba draft.

He was the cousy award winner (best pg) yet the 9th PG picked in the draft.

BTW our last cousy/all american first team guard (dee brown) just had his career high in points (13) eclipsed by Ayo this week.

All american/cousy means jack in the league

Kofi will likely be a 2 time all american this year and late 2nd round at best on most draft boards.......so preemptively telling you that many here will feel good if kofi is putting up any sort of numbers in hte league in 2 years.
 
#356      

ejam21

E
ejam21
Ayo also was the 2nd lowest draft pick for a cousy award winner in the last 18 years (my source only went back to 2003)....
 
#357      

ToneTalk

T
ToneTalk
Love Ayo ... graduated high school with his dad, the dad's first cousin lived above me for 4 years... you won't find another upstanding family... not surprised AT ALL about Ayo's successful... it starts with family

Oh yeah, this guy is also a good guy alumni (see pictures)

IMG-20211102-WA0003_381252849956905.jpgIMG-20211102-WA0000_381122003191590.jpg
 
#359      

Timj83

T
Timj83
frozenrope9190 said:
I'm finding it weird that a truly nice story in the midst of a lot of craziness is being reduced to an argument over the meaning of a phrase. Can't we just all enjoy this?
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Splitting hairs on a fairly ambiguous topic or phrase and arguing over how each person relates to it? It's the Loyalty way!! Serious good lord people everyone is happy about Ayo doing well so can we all just agree we "feel good about it" and stop nitpicking to what degree?
 
#362      

illiniu

I
illiniu
I'm not quite ready to hop on the Bulls/Ayo bandwagon just yet, but I'll be watching tonight's game with great interest.

Go Ayo, Bulls and Illini.
 
#363      

RockfordIllini

R
RockfordIllini
Regarding the nba draft, I think it’s analogous to the mlb drafting pitchers. Guys who light up the radar gun are going to get the most attention and most likely will be picked highest on the hopes they can figure the rest out. Which, of course, most don’t.

Ayo is a Mark Buehrle type player, a guy who maybe only throws 88 but knows the game and knows how to compete/win. Those guys often pan out better, but if you’re a GM, a lot easier to justify your decisions and keep your job if you take the guy who throws 98.
 
#364      

Emerson Bigguns

Emerson Bigguns
Emerson Bigguns
To me, the best thing about Ayo is that he is one of those guys that will absolutely maximize every variable that he can control. Even if he is never an All-Star he will have a long career because he will always be in shape, maintain a positive attitude, ask questions, give max effort, and the only stories about him in the media will contain a box score.
 
#365      

TheFameProtector

TheFameProtector
Champaign
TheFameProtector
Illinilosch said:
I want to agree with you and I love watching Ayo garner minutes for the Bulls so early in his career. I want him to succeed so much because he was a great student athlete while at IL and comes from a terrific family. If anyone deserves success, it is him. But I just am not seeing what he brings to this team from a perspective of offense, especially a team that is so loaded in the back court. I hope like hell I'm wrong and that Ayo improves his game throughout his career to the point where he is a strong contributor to the team he is on. But judging from my own 2 eyes, there are times where aside from good to great defense he just looks invisible out there. It's very very early in the season and it could just simply be a thing where he's finding his niche on this team, and him understanding his role for this team that he's letting things come to him and he's not pressing things too much. Get to the All Star break, he could be literally a completely different time of rookie/player and be contributing more in the box score.
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Being a non-lottery (i.e., playing a limited role) rookie on a good team in the NBA is often not too dissimilar from being a freshman (or any year, really) on a Brad Underwood team: the way to earn minutes is not by being an offensive fulcrum but by not making mistakes on offense and playing good defense (DMFW). Ayo is doing the latter quite well. They don't need him to be junior year Ayo trying to run the show. Contrast that with a guy like Cam Thomas, who was more hyped in the draft and during/after summer league, yet has barely seen the floor for a good team (Nets). Why? Blah defense and trigger-happy, trying-to-do-too-much offense. Sometimes the best way to contribute to a team loaded with 'positive' players is to not be a negative (and while that is true, I think that's underselling Ayo).
 
#367      

skyIdub

skyIdub
Winged Warrior
skyIdub
Which is the opposite of what you'd expect after his last night out. Should be brimming with confidence.
 
#373      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
I started watching midway through the 3rd quarter , Bulls down double digits...

Ayo comes in , Sixers lead shrinks to 1-3 pts.....

Ayo goes out , Sixers lead goes back up to 9-11 points ...

Coincidence ???

I think not.......

I'm biased , for sure , but I know what I saw....

Derozan is about as automatic as it gets.....wow
 
#374      

Baskins Tiger

Baskins Tiger
Baskins Tiger
Emerson Bigguns said:
To me, the best thing about Ayo is that he is one of those guys that will absolutely maximize every variable that he can control. Even if he is never an All-Star he will have a long career because he will always be in shape, maintain a positive attitude, ask questions, give max effort, and the only stories about him in the media will contain a box score.
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He will be an Allstar this year, the Rising Stars Game is Allstar weekend
 
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