I reject the premise of grading BU on his non-Kofi performance, as though the Kofi years didn't count. Kofi playing at the U of I wasn't an accident. It wasn't as though Kofi was a can't miss prospect. He was a borderline top 50 prep player. A very good prospect, but a significant project. Most scouts that saw him play were there for Cole Anthony. Kofi was largely an afterthought. BU & Co went to NY to recruit him specifically. They sold him on U of I, how he would be utilized, and he committed very quickly.
BU has been tremendous at identifying talent. We missed on quite few big men early in his tenure, but he was always chasing the right guys. Think about some of the misses...
Flo Thamba
Oscar T.
Timme
Kalkbrenner
Castleton
We are consistently barking up the right trees. Occasionally, it pays off.
If you are going to count his first two seasons against him, seasons where he had maybe 3-5 B1G caliber players on the roster and was desperate to find anyone taller than him to play for us, you need to count the seasons where his plan came together too.
Anyone pretending Freshman Ayo was an NBA guy has a warped sense of history. There were MANY people on this board, even halfway through his Soph year that were saying "This guy was supposed to be an NBA prospect? I'm not seeing it..." The backcourt of Frazier and Dosunmu didn't have anyone shaking in their boots. (Sophomore Dos was a All-B1G honorable mention, so considered maybe the 4th best SG in the league) We all see him through the lens of the 2020-21 season, when he grew into one of the best players in the country.
Did Kofi change the fortunes of Illini basketball? Of Course! He was fabulous. He's my avatar! It took some dang good coaching to turn him into an All-American.
No one is going to argue that this season was his best job at constructing a roster or coaching up a group of guys, but it's a pretty good team considering what was left in the cupboard after last March. It's still a team with enough talent to make some great memories this month.
I know it's not the season anyone was hoping for, but if we can remain competitive in an obvious re-build year, imagine what can be done with a little continuity.