If Underwood didn't want Grandison shooting. wide open corner 3s, I don't think he'd be on the court. He didn't have a bad game.
Illinois 69, Indiana 60 Postgame
Needs to keep getting closer.
altenberger22
- South Carolina
I watched Kofi really closely on "D" today, throughout the entire game. His presence in the paint as our rim protector was absolutely something we've never before seen at Illinois (throughout our long, proud basketball history). I thought he played that role exceptionally well --- particularly any time an Indiana player started to beat his man into the paint and towards the rim. He always took a step away from Jackson-Davis to ensure there was no pathway to the hoop.
Looking ahead to next year with Kofi's likely departure, I think Giorgi can/will provide some very strong offensive stats for us with his prowess in the paint, but we're going to suffer greatly in missing Kofi's defensive dominance. What a monster!
"Toy with Role"....kind of like Trent as PG and Ayo off guard....sometimes you just need to put a player in a position that they dont think too hard just produce naturally...Ayo has found that.
Freshmen Year Numbers
MP FG% A R PPG
Deron 27 42% 4.5 3.0 6.3
Dee 34 43% 5.9 3.7 12.0
Ayo 31 43% 4.0 3.3 13.8
Alan Griffin was jumpy....which I thought made him an elite rebounder and transition guy
100%. He's just a kid. No one on the planet wants him to succeed more than he does. For 90% of incoming freshmen it takes some time to understand the nuances of the game. In high school there is much less nuance. It's just give me the ball and I'll make baskets. Totally different game at this level. Especially in the BIG.
Absolutely correct!
Interesting that at his size Belo has more rebounds as well as more assists. He seems to have a sense for where the ball is going and think he will be very good defensive player by season end. Not a shooter at this point so not NBA bound until he develops that.
Criticism of Kofi’s hands and not dunking the ball seems to ignore the beating he gets when he gets the ball under the basket. There are some very strong players hanging on him and it is not going to be called.
Adam tried taking it to the basket early on and got stuffed a lot and he learned that wasn’t going to work. Smart guy. Needs the mid range jumper and the cleverness of a Dre who could get those shots off. He will get there but just a different player than Belo and we need both.
Still think Jacob is contributing and need him less for scoring than defense and rebounding. He has a role.
Illini in OC
In. The. Alley.
Agree.
In HS, players like Adam are just so much better than everyone else and can always find another way to score... and maintain their swagger. If the 3's aren't falling, just go to the hole against an overmatched defender... which, of course, builds confidence to hit 3's. Rinse and repeat..
Given that Ayo is such a force and the offense is oriented around his abilities, Adam is naturally relegated to a subordinate role where his ability to "take over" is limited. I have no doubt BU has many options up his sleeve to help Adam to find his groove within the team dynamic.
On the other hand, Curbelo is such a unique player - and highly focused on distributing vs doing it himself - that it makes it easier for him and much more natural to find his place. Athletes at this level are incredibly competitive *AND* are used to being the acknowledged alpha. It would no surprise to me to discover that watching Curbelo's progress is making Adam press even more.
Just keep grinding Adam. It's in there. You are a stud. You'll find your rightful, high-production, place soon enough.
Needs to go the other way!
Think the slow starts offensively are partly due to Curbelo not starting.
BELOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO to AYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Christmas music!
GO ILLINI!
ILL-
Just wanted to point out how nice this pass was. On the move with one hand off the dribble and right into the shooting pocket.
CURBELO is changing this team in so many ways. His ability and style of play is obviously making others better by giving them more scoring opportunities but he is making everyone more active to get/be open because he may very well get them the ball. This is only going to continue and the passing and cutting becomes contagious and "taught" by watching and seeing what he does (not going down the Larry Bird comparisons but Bird and Magic taught people a lot about passing). He is really pushing Trent to do more and to his credit he is trying to make more happen with the ball and not seeing a big jump in his turnovers. Last year Trent was very content to always slow the ball down so not to make a turnover but this put more pressure on Ayo and Kofi to create their own points. Curbelo is quickly making his team impact much like Deron did in HS, college and NBA. He is small but plays bigger due to his anticipation, athleticism and competitive nature. I think we saw last night that Underwood is all in with playing Curbelo. He made a few careless plays in a short period the second half and didn't look like we even considered substituting. Once Miller and Trent start shooting like we know they can we are going to be tough to stop!
Fun game to watch. They didn't put them away early, but they fought through some off shooting, and when Ayo put that 3 up with no time left on the clock and it went in....wow, just wow. Guy always carries a dagger. Lot to be happy with. I think they way they upped the effort when the game was in doubt was what made it fun. Curbelo is the epitome of playing with your hair on fire. Guy seems to always have more effort. Trent to.
What about Kofi do you think is historic?
Egwu was amazing in the paint --possibly the best help defender I've seen at Illinois.
Myers was also intimidating to guys driving because his combo of height and athleticism was NBA lottery level. You could see guards hesitate or reconsider a drive if he was in position.
Kofi has insane upper body and core strength, and uses it smartly rather than fouling. When he does use his hands, it's usually well timed. Definitely a great defender, and elite rebounder.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Dosunmu helps Illini close out win over Hoosiers
Guard has 30 points and Cockburn has 15 points and 15 rebounds in 69-60 win.
With 10 minutes, 2 seconds left in the game, Underwood called a timeout after Giorgi Bezhanishvili hit a 3-pointer to get back within two points, 46-44. That’s when Underwood laid into his team about the importance of rebounding. The message stuck and No. 18 Illinois (7-3, 3-1) went on a 25-14 run to close the game as preseason All-American guard Ayo Dosunmu had 18 of those 25 points on his way to 30 points, five assists and two rebounds.
“Basically playing a mind game with them,” Dosunmu said. “I’ve been watching a lot of film on them. I knew when the game gets long, the duration of the game increases, their tendencies start getting lazy. I just wanted to attack on that, pretty much knowing the scouting report.”
Sophomore Kofi Cockburn, who had 15 points and 15 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season, interrupted Dosunmu’s response.
“He knows he can takeover whenever he feels like it,” Cockburn said. “Nobody can guard him. It’s that simple. He knows whenever he feels like it, he can take over. That’s it. He’s trying to be a nice guy.”
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I watched Deron play HS ball his Jr and Sr year and Texas was loaded with talented players throughout the state. Deron was the third best player on his team in The Colony. Bracey Wright was an AA and went to IU and Bam Harmon went on to Rhode Island. Their Jr year they made the Final Four but lost to Daniel Ewing's and TJ Ford's Sugar Land Willowridge's in the Semi's. Bracey grabbed all the headlines while Deron ran Tommy Thomas's fast paced offense. It is hard to compare Deron to AC because both played under two different styles. Deron's abilities to do the things AC can do were hampered by Weber and his plodding offensive scheme. AC has more freedom to create. Not to say Deron was not the player AC is currently is not what I am saying. Deron under BU would flourish with his keen passing skills and driving prowess. I think after it is all said and done, both will be the best two PG's in Illinois history.
All too often Trent will lead a break and then pull up at the arc instead of driving to the basket. And he is not shooting. Adam Miller is this year's version of Mark Smith. Corbelo is this year's Andres Feliz, the only player who wants to penetrate. Whenever Giorgi gets the ball in the paint, he will go for a score. And usually get the bucket. Hawkins is unimpressive. Naysay Grandison all you want, but he provides a spark.
Regarding Grandison, no one is saying he is going to be a star. He’s a role player who right now is the best option for minutes. Hawkins may be the better option in the future, but I don’t think that is the case now and, obviously, either does BU. And I highly doubt other options are coming. The chances of Hutch seeing the court this year seem to be dwindling, and I doubt BBV really plays many meaningful minutes at all this season.
Grandison can give us solid defense and rebounding, and some hustle plays. And, yes, he can give the Illini some offense off the bench. He missed all 4 of his shots, which isn’t good, but I only had a problem with one of his 3-point attempts. The other 3-attempt I was fine with especially given that he was shooting over 50% from 3 (albeit in limited attempts) and shot over 36% from 3 his last season at Holy Cross. His missed transition layup wasn’t good but I liked the way he ran the floor. And though he short-armed his reverse layup a bit, it was a nice move from the corner. So if your definition for success for Grandison is 8-10 points a game of the bench, yes he will be a failure. As would anyone be except for Giorgi and Curbelo.
What I find interesting is that the recent discussion around Grandison is similar to the discussion around DMW the prior two seasons. Seems like at times offense is the only thing valued. The big difference though is that there is no AG that Grandison is taking minutes from.
Grandison can give us solid defense and rebounding, and some hustle plays. And, yes, he can give the Illini some offense off the bench. He missed all 4 of his shots, which isn’t good, but I only had a problem with one of his 3-point attempts. The other 3-attempt I was fine with especially given that he was shooting over 50% from 3 (albeit in limited attempts) and shot over 36% from 3 his last season at Holy Cross. His missed transition layup wasn’t good but I liked the way he ran the floor. And though he short-armed his reverse layup a bit, it was a nice move from the corner. So if your definition for success for Grandison is 8-10 points a game of the bench, yes he will be a failure. As would anyone be except for Giorgi and Curbelo.
What I find interesting is that the recent discussion around Grandison is similar to the discussion around DMW the prior two seasons. Seems like at times offense is the only thing valued. The big difference though is that there is no AG that Grandison is taking minutes from.
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My observation of Frazier is that he drives hard with the intent to penetrate if he can, but is somewhat easily stopped by a decent defender. For this reason, he isn't the best one to manage bringing the ball up the court with the desire to score within 7 seconds. I like him getting down the court and camping in the corners for 3's and 15 footers if he has to pump fake and take a dribble or 2.
Deleted member 186590
D
Guest
BU will have to turn this offense over to Curbelo soon, it’s been several games now where we are awful on offense until he takes the floor- we can’t afford these slow starts against good teams. It also takes some pressure off Ayo to create everything himself, which we ran into that against Missouri
I would also love to see more of Giorgi and Kofi on the floor at the same time- that lineup is when we pulled away. Giorgi is such a good passer it opens things up for Kofi
I would also love to see more of Giorgi and Kofi on the floor at the same time- that lineup is when we pulled away. Giorgi is such a good passer it opens things up for Kofi
I agree that Giorgi and Kofi are playing well and right now are complementing each other.....isn't it odd that last year everyone was saying that the two of them could not be on the floor at the same time that it just wouldn't work? Like Curbelo coming off the bench and providing the spark...if it ain't broke don't mess with it
I don't think it would work for every game, but there are definitely situations that make Kofi/Gio a deadly combination. Depends on what type of team we're playing, IMO.
I saw Kendrick Nunn play at Wisconsin when he was a freshman. His defense was horrible and not much offense. Look where he is now. Hard to judge freshman by their early performance. Mark Smith looked like a world beater in his first few Illini games but does not seem to be a whole lot better now. Time will tell on Miller.