Having Kofi is great for winning a bunch of games in the B1G and then losing in the tourney to a team that can exploit the very weaknesses that keep him from being an NBA draft pick.
It just doesn’t matter if he can go for 20 and 10 every night with a ton of awesome dunks when he can’t pass out of the post effectively and can’t guard anyone mobile. His presence also necessitates a slowdown in both the half court and transition because so much of the offense runs though him.
I said it all of last season: Of the better teams in the nation, Illinois had one of the most traditionally constructed rosters.
If Illinois wants to compete for Final Fours/National titles we need elite guard play/three point shooting and mobile athletic bigs who can guard multiple positions without switching, protect the rim, rim run, and rebound to get the guards in a position to score in transition.
And at least one of them needs to be able to stretch the defense with the ability to shoot from deep. Giorgi and Kofi just weren’t those guys. Grandison could but he’s a liability in other areas. He’s a below the rim 3 playing the 4.
If we could add Garcia, we’d have Hawkins, Garcia, and Payne filling the roles of Kofi and Giorgi. And Grandison is back. Our guard play should be good to great next year but lack of length will be a problem unless the lengthy freshmen step up.
The key to the season might be getting something out of Hutcherson on the wing to help that out a little.
With Garcia next year’s team may not win as many games in the B1G, but would certainly have the ingredients for a deep tourney run.
I fucking loved watching Kofi play basketball for Illinois, but our blueprint should be what Baylor put on the floor this past year. I’m all in favor in continuing to move in that direction.
Agree. Pin this post by Custard.
We need to become a modern team. Watch the NBA and this is what college teams are all moving to. Yes, Kofi can get his and is a beast, but not sure it makes a better team. That was issue last year- we really only had two scorers and both could be shut down. Kofi had 5 assists last year. He is a black hole and cannot guard the PnR.
This is why I think we might even be better in some ways this year. Plummer is a legit 3 point shooter. Frazier will get more looks. The kids coming in are shooters. Hutcherson is an unknown but the reports are he is a shooter and a player. Grandison and DaMonte can shoot. Of course Curbelo is a true PG. Ayo was not in any way shape or form. He was a very good scoring guard.
We should be taking 25-27 threes a game - not 17.
We will certainly have nights where we die by the three, but our ceiling will be higher.
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