If pumping the brakes means we aren't 2005 caliber then fine.
I obviously think there are other tweaks needed -- both mental and game planning -- but to me, the solution is Ayo. This is his team. He needs to get back to playing like the Player of the Year. Not every now and then, but the whole game.
So on one hand we are missing on all these recruiting targets, then on the other hand people say "with all this talent" as if we are loaded with 4 and 5 star players at every position. You complainers can't have it both ways. In the recruiting forum we suck but in this forum we are a loaded team. Ayo, Kofi, Miller, and Curbelo are our 4 best recruits and 2 are freshmen. I agree that we were overhyped after we blew out Duke. We are also being humbled by a seriously tough conference schedule. Train is not off the rails guys, we are just going through a skid. Plenty of games to straighten things up.
I can't agree with all of BU's coaching decisions. That said, we have some glaring holes. The 4 is obvious, though DM has played amazingly most of the year. He is undersized. We still lack consistent shooting, and GB and AC are liabilities from range outside of the lane which is very problematic. Turnovers are killing us and outside of Ayo, we don't have anyone that can create their own shot consistently. Outside of Kofi and Ayo, we are easy to defend bc we are predictable and an easy scout.
I think what you are saying is: "Fan" is short for "fanatic". There are bound to be overreactions.
We look like a team that just played sloppy a** basketball for long stretches of the majority of the games we've played this year, and lost 4 games to inferior talent, 2 of them at home. We played poorly in all four of those games btw. None of those losses was a fluke. In isolation none of those losses would be concerning, but there is a definite pattern at this point, and honestly the frequency of these sloppy, disoriented stretches is increasing, even in the games we're winning. Either other teams have figured us out, or we are actively playing worse. Neither possibility is encouraging.
What constitutes good coaching is a question that everyone answers a bit differently I suppose. But consistency is a big one for many of us.
Exactly...this team plays without energy too often and doesn't seem to do the little things well on a consistent basis. The talent is there for a long run in the tourney, but not sure we will get there.
THIS!!
Kofi's handwork still needs improvement. He turns the ball over a lot when he catches on the move. It's a lose/lose scenario, because P&R could foil some of the double-teaming that he gets playing purely in the post.
Every single excuse you came up with (no regular practices, no scrimmages, no tune up tourneys, no family contact, etc.) applies to every other team as well. So your excuses for the Illini's poor play (against less-talented teams, btw) are just that. Excuses. When Ayo and Kofi are gone and the Illini can't reach .500, the fire BU talk will be a lot louder. He can't coach in-game and it's glaringly obvious. It will be John Groce making excuses all over again.
Makes sense. I guess I've just seen plenty of times where his hands still lose him the ball when its tossed in to him (and contested) or when he makes his move, particularly if it involves a dribble.
Regression to the mean. What was the same record last year? Ayo bailed us out every time last year
I actually think he does better on the move — when the passes are up. He also does pretty well with direct, straight on passes to post. Problems seem to come with lower passes (waist and below) when there are some “angles” involved. Seems like he doesn’t look the ball into his hands in those situations and fumbles the ball.
Not too bad for a guy that half the posters on here constantly nit pick at. Where would we be this year without him?
