Pregame: Illinois vs Michigan, Thursday, March 2nd, 6:00pm CT, ESPN

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#204      

HailtotheChief

H
HailtotheChief
I hope Epps is fine first and foremost. With Skyys departure he is the one guy I was most afraid to lose. He has taken good care of the ball and is by far our best PG at running the offense and caring for the ball. When Coleman and others initiated things we had far to many turnovers. Harris and Ty bring a lot but shooting to spread a D isn’t one. I know Epps has struggled lately shooting but I know he can do it well. I hope we can knock down some shots tomorrow night and cover their bigger guards
 
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#205      

aaeismacgychel

A
aaeismacgychel
sulli said:
Kofi did not have high basketball iq. he never learned to pass well out of the double/triple teams. he was just really big and strong.
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I don't get this take at all or how you'd come to this conclusion. Kofi was a very intelligent player and I'm not sure what in his play would make you think otherwise. You mention that he never learned how to pass well out of double and triple teams, but there's a difference between having a low basketball IQ and not being proficient at something. Kofi was still learning how to play the game in college, and he would recognize at times that he needed to pass out, but that was not one of his strengths and had a strong chance of resulting in a turnover, so instead he played to his strength of using his size and strength to go at the double team and fight for a basket which quite frankly was probably the higher percentage play. Kofi took coaching direction extremely well and rarely did things outside of what was asked of him by the coaches. Furthermore from a stats perspective, despite all those double and triple teams you talk about he was still a 60% career shooter with a very low turnover rate (heck he was ranked in the top 500 as a Soph in the NCAA which is incredible for a big). Considering a decent percentage of those turnovers came from attempting to pass the ball, it's almost like he realized that playing to his strengths and taking it inside whenever he got a touch on the ball was best for the team. That's bball IQ.

You know what Kofi would have done if he actually had low bball IQ? Started jacking up threes or trying to take defenders off the dribble from the 3pt line with the game on the line, or forcing passes to other players when he had on single defenders or taking long fadeaway midrange jumpers. Hell, I'd argue Kofi had the best bball IQ for a big on our team since Augustine.
 
#206      

HailtotheChief

H
HailtotheChief
sulli said:
My evidence is that last season one of the things i loved about melendez was that he was at least trying (at times) to move without the ball. His 3 point percentage was much higher. This year he, along with everyone else stands in a single spot for entire possessions sometimes.

Kofi did not have high basketball iq. he never learned to pass well out of the double/triple teams. he was just really big and strong.

I agree that Ayo, Trent, and Damonte all had high basketball iq. Ayo is an NBA level player though, so. I like Underwoods ability to recruit. That is what has made these teams good. What has made them underperform in the tournament has been partly luck and partly coaching. When Kofi was on the team, it was easy to write off the lack of movement to the fact that he clogs the middle and his presence demands touches. But they don't have Kofi anymore and they still have three guys standing on the weak side watching the play.

Their inconsistency (to respond to the other post) I think is largely to do with the fact that they play inconsistent but generally very good defense (sometimes great) and it often creates points. If they can get a team against the ropes with their defense and turn it into a wide open game, they can crush teams. When the opposing team avoids turnovers and turns it into a half-court game, then the flaws in the Illinois offense get exposed. I don't have the stats to back it up, but i bet fast break points vs w-l or margin of win would likely tell that story.
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Come on man. Does BU have a high basketball IQ? I think so. However knowing what to do and being able to do it with 2,3 or even 4 guys coming at you are two different things. Kofi was a two time All American and personally I think he knew what to do and was fouled a ton. It’s easy to be critical of him from a lazy boy about his choices on the court. I just whole he doesn’t regret not staying.
 
#207      

mydosburns

mydosburns
mydosburns
I can’t take credit for this. I found it on twitter. Hilarious though
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#211      

Tacomallini

T
Washington State
Tacomallini
aaeismacgychel said:
Ummmm, if you could add some context to this quote. Was he joking around or actually being serious? If he's being serious that's really ominous. As in not sure why someone would say something like that unless it was really serious. Concussions come in all shapes and forms and affect people differently, but for a comment like that, if he's serious, that had to be one with really bad visuals... Really hoping for a fast recovery with no lingering effects.
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It’s in the MM Michigan preview interview clip. He says he didn’t see Epps get hurt, because he (MM) was in his caffeine detox phase of life, and not at practice when it happened.
 
#212      

aaeismacgychel

A
aaeismacgychel
Tacomallini said:
It’s in the MM Michigan preview interview clip. He says he didn’t see Epps get hurt, because he (MM) was in his caffeine detox phase of life, and not at practice when it happened.
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Ah, so just another day in the life and times of Matt Mayer... I'll give it a listen. This guy... He's like the Michael Bay of day to day events. "So Matt, I see you didn't turn in your homework assignment. What happened?" "It starts with my dog, a molotov cocktail, the ghost of Buddy Holly, and me on a manic ramen overdose. I'll let you take it from there."
 
#217      

ElGran

E
ElGran
HailtotheChief said:
I hope Epps is fine first and foremost. With Skyys departure he is the one guy I was most afraid to lose. He has taken good care of the ball and is by far our best PG at running the offense and caring for the ball. When Coleman and others initiated things we had far to many turnovers. Harris and Ty bring a lot but shooting to spread a D isn’t one. I know Epps has struggled lately shooting but I know he can do it well. I hope we can knock down some shots tomorrow night and cover their bigger guards
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Agree 100%. We're pretty much screwed.
 
#218      

jumpingjack

J
jumpingjack
aaeismacgychel said:
Ah, so just another day in the life and times of Matt Mayer... I'll give it a listen. This guy... He's like the Michael Bay of day to day events. "So Matt, I see you didn't turn in your homework assignment. What happened?" "It starts with my dog, a molotov cocktail, the ghost of Buddy Holly, and me on a manic ramen overdose. I'll let you take it from there."
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I would like this about 50 times if I could. 🤣
Dude is Austin Weird personified.
 
#219      

Second place is 1st loser

S
Second place is 1st loser
HailtotheChief said:
I hope Epps is fine first and foremost. With Skyys departure he is the one guy I was most afraid to lose. He has taken good care of the ball and is by far our best PG at running the offense and caring for the ball. When Coleman and others initiated things we had far to many turnovers. Harris and Ty bring a lot but shooting to spread a D isn’t one. I know Epps has struggled lately shooting but I know he can do it well. I hope we can knock down some shots tomorrow night and cover their bigger guards
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I hope that Epps is ok. That's the most important thing. That aside, he's been absolutely atrocious defensively the last few weeks. That combined with poor shooting has been a real problem. Will be interesting to see BU's rotations.
 
#221      

jayd

J
jayd
He will challenge anyone to a stare down
 
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