Purdue looked tired tonight. Big game Tuesday night then a road trip to Ann Arbor for a Thursday game. Michigan was absolutely unconscious down the stretch.
As much as I hate to say it, Dickinson’s developing outside game, relative quickness, footwork etc. gives Michigan a better matchup with Purdue’s bigs than Kofi gives us. I didn’t buy all the hype last season, but he’s been playing really well. And he’s probably going to give Kofi fits when we play them up there.
I really wish the light bulb would go on for Hawkins. The guy has the tools to be a solid defender but he just doesn’t seem to get it. He did a great job on RHJ back in December and has pretty much been MIA ever since. The experiment with him trying to guard quick slashers has been an abysmal failure and is a foul waiting to happen.
His failure to make the sophomore leap many expected based on his workouts and practice play is probably the biggest thing holding this team back right now. He really seems to have trouble keeping his composure and playing disciplined ball when the bright lights are on.
Also agree it probably isn’t going to be a great year for the B1G in the tourney again. The best two teams in the league, who run through their bigs, both struggle with athletic mobile bigs that can pass and shoot. Despite flaming out against ORU last year, Ohio State might have the best chance of a deep run. Illinois and Purdue really need to get good matchups imo. Wisconsin could give some teams fits if Davis stays hot but they just don’t have enough other pieces around him to go deep unless they get a cakewalk. Actually if Michigan is turning the corner they could be a tough out but they’ll probably get a rough go of it due to where they’ll likely be seeded if they even get in.
Other conferences have evolved toward pro style lineups while the B1G is clinging to lumbering behemoths. It’s no surprise Iowa, IL, Purdue, etc all got ran out of the tourney early by quick, feisty teams with non-traditional bigs. None of the teams in the Final Four featured traditional big men. The closest thing to a traditional big in the round of eight was probably Dickinson.
Kofi immediately raised our floor and our ceiling. He’s a once in a lifetime big for us. Yet in a way he also created our ceiling because we are so dependent on what he gives us, but he’s so one-dimensional on both ends of the floor. Now, that’s true for a lot of really good basketball players and their respective programs, but having him here as a showcase makes it really hard to get other quality bigs to join the program knowing he’s going to get the tick if he comes back. And it’s hard to get an elite stretch 4 to join him unless they know he’s staying. So we’ve never gotten a high quality backup and then when he’s out or has a bad matchup the drop off is enormous. Take the Loyola game, for example: We couldn’t afford to sit him and we couldn’t afford to play him.
There was a lot of smoke that Liddell was interested in playing alongside Kofi after last season because he was tired of playing the 5 at OSU and playing with Kofi would help him showcase his developing perimeter game. It would have been a match made in heaven, but Kofi stayed in the draft til the 11th hour, and effectively killed any chance of Liddell or any other big name 4 or 5 from transferring here.
The Liddell talk may all have been BS and of course no one can blame Kofi for doing what he did, but it’s a little frustrating nonetheless. I hope this off-season we aren’t hamstrung by Kofi’s decision making process. Hopefully we can come up with enough NIL money to get him to come back another year, he announces it early, and the staff can go to work selling high quality transfer stretch 4s to come feast alongside a super star 5 and a stud PG. If he is for sure gone, you have time to go get an impact guy to replace him and keep the program rolling. Of course, it sure didn’t help we lost our primary recruiters to Kentucky and it took precious months to backfill after last season.
I know people are tired of me saying it, but even if we take some lumps in league play by teams with traditional bigs I really want to see the program move towards more modern construction. If you look at most of the teams that are considered national title contenders, there are few that are overly reliant on traditional bigs.
Oscar Tshiebwe is a traditional big but their offense doesn’t run through him. He’s more of a rim protector, putback guy, and rebounder like a premium version of Vital at Baylor. If you’ve got enough firepower from the guard and wing positions a guy like that is perfect. I was kinda hoping Payne would be our version of Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, but sadly the similarities end at physical appearance.
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