Illinois 117, Chicago State 64 Postgame

Status
Not open for further replies.
#152      
BashCtIllini
sdiver68 said:
Hopefully someone can explain why Ayo is getting more credit than Kofi as the lynchpin for the turnaround.
Click to expand...
Kofi was the more important player, Ayo was the more important recruit.

Ayo was higher ranked and he was a Chicago guy. People are also not bringing up that not only was our results on the court not great prior to Ayo, but our success in recruiting Chicago was perhaps even worse. That was a big deal back in the day. Now everyone goes to prep schools, but at the time getting back into Chicago was huge.

I personally think you can't compare a transfer that came in and played for 2 years to a guy who committed out of high school. But also, as others are pointing out, committing to a good team is not as game changing as committing to a struggling team.

In terms of Kofi, he was just an absolute beast. He wasn't terribly skilled, but he was such a monster in the middle, he changed us from a terrible defense to pretty solid almost by himself. Then his ability on the boards and the fact that you couldn't really stop him from scoring. 2 time All America, he was probably a top 5, top 10 for sure all time Illini.
 
#153      
Fly Illini Fly!
Second place is 1st loser said:
Would he make them winning 74-72, one and one, where two free throws put it away? Or down 72-71? It's one thing to step up there when up 40. It's a other when you're on national.TV, the game on your shoulders and 15,000+ screaming at you.

That has to be a consideration late in games. Heck, Chris Collins went after Tomi in a tied game with a minute to go. Tomi split, which was a big, big deal.

We have a couple of guys in our squad that could be considered a target with MJJ being at the very front of the line.
Click to expand...
No. It was a rebounding foul.
 
#154      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
Second place is 1st loser said:
Would he make them winning 74-72, one and one, where two free throws put it away? Or down 72-71? It's one thing to step up there when up 40. It's a other when you're on national.TV, the game on your shoulders and 15,000+ screaming at you.

That has to be a consideration late in games. Heck, Chris Collins went after Tomi in a tied game with a minute to go. Tomi split, which was a big, big deal.

We have a couple of guys in our squad that could be considered a target with MJJ being at the very front of the line.
Click to expand...
What team doesn't??? Bet you can't find more than a handful if even that.

All teams have substandard foul shooters that are integrate parts of the team and play hefty, meaningful minutes. Nothing's different this year, nothing's different any year. It's just about managing it correctly, weighing the positive vs the negative, and recognizing a guy's strengths and making sure to maximize them as much as possible.

My goodness man, you come in saying the same thing every thread. No one's calling Rez some demigod of a foul shooter. The OP was just referring to how he has improved from where he was which is a valid point.
 
Last edited:
#155      
Mobi
AirNeazy said:
No one's taking away from any legacies here lol Just giving Ayo his credit for committing to the beloved at literally the worst point in our program since the early 70s.

Yeah sure, Assembly Hall/SFC might not literally be the house that Ayo built....but he sure as hell was the one that chose to renovate it and rebuild it after an almost decade long disaster when almost no one else would.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say Ayo built the house but he was definitely our hero and a program savior at the time.
 
#156      
Brosky
Second place is 1st loser said:
Would he make them winning 74-72, one and one, where two free throws put it away? Or down 72-71? It's one thing to step up there when up 40. It's a other when you're on national.TV, the game on your shoulders and 15,000+ screaming at you.

That has to be a consideration late in games. Heck, Chris Collins went after Tomi in a tied game with a minute to go. Tomi split, which was a big, big deal.

We have a couple of guys in our squad that could be considered a target with MJJ being at the very front of the line.
Click to expand...
Oh god. Somebody who complains we don't get to see the dark side of the moon.
 
#157      
Battle89
NASchamp said:
Why would Booth regret being at Illinois? It’s not like the dude is going to be a star somewhere right now. Not getting a ton of minutes but I’m sure he’s learning and developing 10x more right now.
Click to expand...
Because he signed early and then watched many others get signed over him? Because with every signing he slipped further down the bench?

At this point the NIL reward and good feeling is long in the past. Sunk cost to Illinois and whatever the positive inverse is to Booth. No way he is happy with his current standing and I’m sure he is feeling regret.

And every one of these guys thinks he would have been a star elsewhere. If hoops had a redshirt equivalent to football (quarter season or similar) I’d bet Booth would be sitting with Ty.
 
#159      
Battle89
Original statement was ‘I would think’ and final statement was ‘l’d bet’. Both opinions, not facts.

Kind of like your ‘if he didn’t’ before you posit his idiocy.

In my opinion, every guy on a high-major bench has been the go-to guy since his junior high team, thinks he’d be a star if he only got the chance, and would absolutely regret being as deep on the bench as Booth is now.
 
#160      
illini55
No one, with the possible exception of the coaching staff, EVER thought we’d sign as talented a group as we now have on the floor. It was unprecedented talent from places (Europe, Canada) where we had always struggled. So, no, he’s not an idiot. At all.
 
#161      
AZILL
Are there connections with Booth's father in the program that may have facilitated this move? As an NBA guy I'm sure he evaluated what the staff/program has to offer his son and that was a big part of the decision. Maybe it's just too early, maybe the plan was being here 2 years from the start, maybe Booth just hasn't progressed the way everyone wanted...???? Seems it's impossible to try and assign reasons at this point in the year/season.
 
#162      
Second place is 1st loser
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
What team doesn't??? Bet you can't find more than a handful if even that.

All teams have substandard foul shooters that are integrate parts of the team and play hefty, meaningful minutes. Nothing's different this year, nothing's different any year. It's just about managing it correctly, weighing the positive vs the negative, and recognizing a guy's strengths and making sure to maximize them as much as possible.

My goodness man, you come in saying the same thing every thread. No one's calling Rez some demigod of a foul shooter. The OP was just referring to how he has improved from where he was which is a valid point.
Click to expand...
And that's fine, but the post SPECIFICALLY made Morez the topic with regards to free throws. The point of the OP was to show that he's improved free throws it was it low key attacking a guy that many don't want seeing get any more minutes.

I don't disagree with you for one second that every team has their poor shooters and we're not special to that. Why the need to bring Morez up? You know the answer just as well as I do.
 
#163      
Guest
FreshlySqueezed said:
Does Kofi come here if Ayo isn't already here?
Click to expand...
You’re probably right, but I remember that he really hit it off with Giorgi (similar music tastes), and I think (emphasis on “think” but based on things I read or heard) that Giorgi had a pretty strong influence on his coming here.
 
#164      
Brosky
I don't know the why of it, but I'm sure happy Kofi was an Illini!
 
#170      
biglug58
Kenan Thompson Eating GIF by Saturday Night Live
 
#171      
blackdog
AZILL said:
Are there connections with Booth's father in the program that may have facilitated this move? As an NBA guy I'm sure he evaluated what the staff/program has to offer his son and that was a big part of the decision. Maybe it's just too early, maybe the plan was being here 2 years from the start, maybe Booth just hasn't progressed the way everyone wanted...???? Seems it's impossible to try and assign reasons at this point in the year/season.
Click to expand...

Don't know if it's actually a connection but Neel Ganta just came back Illinois after working under Booth in Denver.
 
#172      
HailtotheChief
Bbuck21 said:
DGL's minutes are definitely going to pick up
Click to expand...
I hope so because that would most likely mean more comfortable wins! Because as we enter conference play minutes go up not down for key players at their positions. I expect KJ and Boswell to get more minutes not less during B10 play at the 1 n 2 spots. It may be tough for DGL to get more time in league play baring foul trouble or hopefully some larger leads. The only current starter I bet may play less unless he really improves n hus time decrease is Ben. Others barring fouls the other 4 starters will play more in league play.
 
#175      
Brosky
It seems to me we will have Tomi and Riley back next season. Our only NBA draftee would be KJ. Of course we also lose Ben, which might open up some PT for Booth (assuming he doesn't transfer out. He still needs to get bigger and stronger.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back