We are suddenly a more complete team than we have been, especially offensively. I noticed far too many times that no one wanted to drive the lane like Feliz did. No one wanted to put up a shot. We passed around till 8 seconds to go and gave it to Ayo at the top of the key to improvise. Now I see Trent driving and making buckets. I see players taking intermediate range shots. Adam is taking the initiative. And Grandison has been superb.
Pregame: Illinois at Ohio State, Saturday, March 6th, 3:00pm CT, ESPN
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Love Ayo, but we rebound better without him! He rarely finds a body, most of his rebounds are when the opponent clears out to get back on defense. He also gets too under the basket at times and opponents get offensive boards over him.
I have no problem with people who want to criticize Ayo or anyone else on the team as long as the criticism only applies to their game and doesn't get personal. Even all-americans have flaws and pointing out those flaws doesn't mean that you can't love their overall game. Personally, I think Ayo plays great D and I'm confident that if he's back in the lineup on Saturday he'll show us once again how valuable he is to this team. Go ILLINI 
Liddell, granted a small sample size, versus Illinois: 21.5/9/1.5 in 27 minutes per game. I'm not sure what we did to make him angry during our recruitment of him, but he likes to have monster games against us.
Kofi has shown an improvement in closing out under control since out last match up. There is the occasional lapse when Kofi is overly aggressive, just gotta keep the big guy settled and focused on his assignment.
Limit Liddell and we should hopefully come out with a victory.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Criticizing Ayo ????????....on anything pertinent to BB ???????......he came BACK to try to win a NATTY......total team player.....leader.......etc....
I just can't understand the level of thought of some posters.....I'm a glass half full person....way more enjoyable than being constantly critical with menial and worthless posts.....JMHO
I still think our best strategy would be to put Kofi on Young with Grandi/Giorgi on Liddell, with some digs from our wings if he’s in the post.
Oh my. I hope none of the players read this. It would be like writing down every comment from the fans at a game and handing it to them afterwards....I mean that in a pre-Covid context btw...just to head off the 'it would be a short read' comments.
I could see where the other guys might play better at times without Ayo on the floor though.
That doesn't take away from his talent, it's just a chemistry thing and a fantastic statement about the talent level of the rest of the team.
Still better to have Ayo on the floor than not.
Deleted member 747903
D
Guest
Really? I thought we won there Ayo's freshman year when he hit a dagger.
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
Yep, Valentine's day 2019.
Illinois 63-56 Ohio State (Feb 14, 2019) Final Score - ESPN
Game summary of the Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Ohio State Buckeyes NCAAM game, final score 63-56, from February 14, 2019 on ESPN.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
good info....thanks.....was going to see myself, but you saved me the trouble.....Yep, Valentine's day 2019.
Illinois 63-56 Ohio State (Feb 14, 2019) Final Score - ESPN
Game summary of the Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Ohio State Buckeyes NCAAM game, final score 63-56, from February 14, 2019 on ESPN.www.espn.com
Or maybe the team came together with their leader out and turned it up a notch on defense — doing what good teams do. On the offensive side, there was a good article on 24/7 about how Gentry made adjustments. I’m sure Chin made some on the defensive side.
Maybe Ayo should come off the bench.
Sixth Man award.
Or maybe Seventh or Eighth. (Where's my rolling eyeballs emoji when I need it?)
I love Ayo and what he has done for this program. He's an excellent and dedicated worker towards his craft.
I've never noticed him to be quite to the level of Frazier with his defense, nor to be a particularly voracious rebounder (boxing out aggressively for example). Maybe that's not his role all the time, depending on the game. I don't know. But it is what I've observed. I don't even think he's bad at these things, just haven't noticed him being excellent at them or even standing out.
One can hold both opinions.
I've played basketball for 25 years and have watched rather religiously for about that amount of time. I know basketball fine.
I've never noticed him to be quite to the level of Frazier with his defense, nor to be a particularly voracious rebounder (boxing out aggressively for example). Maybe that's not his role all the time, depending on the game. I don't know. But it is what I've observed. I don't even think he's bad at these things, just haven't noticed him being excellent at them or even standing out.
One can hold both opinions.
I've played basketball for 25 years and have watched rather religiously for about that amount of time. I know basketball fine.
Again, I love Ayo too!
He's not perfect, however. I'm definitely not perfect and you're not either. I thought this was a message board where we could share our opinions freely without being shout down by the masses, but I guess I'm wrong. Insults about height (I'm 6'2" - not sure why that matters), about my history playing basketball (I played as a youth and have coached at the middle school level) or telling people to STFU because they don't necessarily agree with you don't belong here or in society.
I hope Ayo plays this weekend and leads us to the National Championship like all of you ... but let's be civil about it ok?
He's not perfect, however. I'm definitely not perfect and you're not either. I thought this was a message board where we could share our opinions freely without being shout down by the masses, but I guess I'm wrong. Insults about height (I'm 6'2" - not sure why that matters), about my history playing basketball (I played as a youth and have coached at the middle school level) or telling people to STFU because they don't necessarily agree with you don't belong here or in society.
I hope Ayo plays this weekend and leads us to the National Championship like all of you ... but let's be civil about it ok?
From my perspective, we have been very good on defense whenever we have fully embraced the challenge of playing defense. Playing without Ayo put them in position in which they were all fully aware that the only path to winning was through doing the hard work, playing defense.
The biggest difference has been at the point. Andre has remained aggressive, but is beginning to understand the limits of high major D-1 basketball. What works, and what leads to turnovers. Trent Frazier has been more aggressive offensively than he has been in two full seasons. He has limited himself to being a spot up shooter, and he can be so much more than that, as we saw Tuesday night.
If Ayo's presence has any limiting effect on the team, it isn't because of him. I think he is so good, guys tend to defer to him. As though Trent has been asking himself, "Should I drive, or just pass the ball to Dos and let him go to work?" I think the same goes for Adam Miller. I think they have been afraid their aggression will lead to less efficient shots. Without Ayo, they understand they have to go get it.
Hopefully, whenever Ayo does return, they remember how good they are.
The biggest difference has been at the point. Andre has remained aggressive, but is beginning to understand the limits of high major D-1 basketball. What works, and what leads to turnovers. Trent Frazier has been more aggressive offensively than he has been in two full seasons. He has limited himself to being a spot up shooter, and he can be so much more than that, as we saw Tuesday night.
If Ayo's presence has any limiting effect on the team, it isn't because of him. I think he is so good, guys tend to defer to him. As though Trent has been asking himself, "Should I drive, or just pass the ball to Dos and let him go to work?" I think the same goes for Adam Miller. I think they have been afraid their aggression will lead to less efficient shots. Without Ayo, they understand they have to go get it.
Hopefully, whenever Ayo does return, they remember how good they are.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
All very valid.
Criticizing Ayo however is mostly petty. It's like trying to find something wrong with...bacon. Or Jennifer Aniston. Of course they have flaws, but c'mon man!
IT'S F@#KING BACON AND JEN ANISTON!!
Because if you want to be petty and critical of bacon, or Jen...you can expect some pretty harsh push back.
illini55
- The Villages, FL
Now I'm dreaming of breakfast with Jen. Don't wake me up.
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
I'm becoming convinced that Jennifer Aniston sold her soul for physical immortality somewhere in the last 10-12 years.
Sorry to be OT, but Jen Aniston. C'mon.
Ahhh the classic Mike Davis "can only get the easy rebounds" resurrected
People can certainly poke holes at Ayo's game without it being a criticism (we need to talk about something on this board) he's not a perfect player and he'd be the first to tell you that. However, I certainly would say the main reason we might have looked better in certain areas with him out is more due to our team needing to learn to play better with him on the floor than any significant deficiencies in his game. There is no reason Trent and Miller can't drive hard to the basket while he is on the floor(or any other player). That's been my biggest "gripe" about our 80 ppg offense when Ayo has been in. It's ok to defer more to Ayo but to completely eliminate yourself as a threat to drive and kick can really bog us down at times. Hope Ayo comes back healthy ASAP no matter what because he will be missed.
I'm still wondering just how and why the Illini clobbered #2 Michigan on its court. For starters, Wolverines played like that number.
But somebody, some Illini, must have said something right pre-game, I guess. Maybe ILLINI got together and decided they had to come out FIGHTING without Ayo. Don't know.
But I'm not gonna spend too much more time trying to figure it out. I'm a great believer in the analysis-paralysis thing.
I think that photo of Illini solidarity watching the free throw says it all. How do I get a copy?
Ayo for president.
We're having a lot of fun this year following Illini, aren't we?
But somebody, some Illini, must have said something right pre-game, I guess. Maybe ILLINI got together and decided they had to come out FIGHTING without Ayo. Don't know.
But I'm not gonna spend too much more time trying to figure it out. I'm a great believer in the analysis-paralysis thing.
I think that photo of Illini solidarity watching the free throw says it all. How do I get a copy?
Ayo for president.
We're having a lot of fun this year following Illini, aren't we?
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Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Little recent history vs. OSU:
1/16/2021: L 87-81 vs. #21 Ohio State [Illini ranked #14]
3/5/2020: L 71-63 at #19 Ohio State [Illini ranked #23]
2/14/2019: W 63-56 at Ohio State
12/5/2018: L 77-67 vs. #19 Ohio State (Chicago, IL)
We seem to have played them remarkably little since Underwood got here, but maybe that is just me. They seem to have been a tough matchup for us in the past, with many viewing our victory in 2019 as a true shock, even though OSU wasn't exactly a top tier team that year. Regardless of history, I actually think this current iteration of the Illini (specifically our outstanding defensive intensity) makes for a favorable matchup against OSU, and I predict we pull out the win. As long as we can keep their shooters in check with good defense, I am confident that our offense will be just fine. My final prediction:
#4 Illinois 74
#7 Ohio State 68
Let's lock up a 1-seed, what do ya say?!
1/16/2021: L 87-81 vs. #21 Ohio State [Illini ranked #14]
3/5/2020: L 71-63 at #19 Ohio State [Illini ranked #23]
2/14/2019: W 63-56 at Ohio State
12/5/2018: L 77-67 vs. #19 Ohio State (Chicago, IL)
We seem to have played them remarkably little since Underwood got here, but maybe that is just me. They seem to have been a tough matchup for us in the past, with many viewing our victory in 2019 as a true shock, even though OSU wasn't exactly a top tier team that year. Regardless of history, I actually think this current iteration of the Illini (specifically our outstanding defensive intensity) makes for a favorable matchup against OSU, and I predict we pull out the win. As long as we can keep their shooters in check with good defense, I am confident that our offense will be just fine. My final prediction:
#4 Illinois 74
#7 Ohio State 68
Let's lock up a 1-seed, what do ya say?!
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