No participation in the G League Elite camp, the 5 day NBA draft combine in Chicago and the Portsmouth Invitational does not bode well for Ayo. Throw in the fact that Europe, Russia, China, South America and others don't appear to be options, odds are pretty good of Ayo coming back.
Kofi Cockburn declares for NBA Draft
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No participation in the G League Elite camp, the 5 day NBA draft combine in Chicago and the Portsmouth Invitational does not bode well for Ayo. Throw in the fact that Europe, Russia, China, South America and others don't appear to be options, odds are pretty good of Ayo coming back.
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
Garza being in the unanimous "GO BACK TO SCHOOL!" section brings me untold amounts of petty joy.
I also liked how the 3 from Miznoz and 2 from SLU were just included at the bottom with no notes.. like what are you doing here, go back to school
I wish Ayo all the best but if he and Kofi come back with what we have coming in we are going to be a bit-h to play
I think we could really see Ayo and Kofi both come back next year...
Possibly adding Chaundee Brown into the mix as well.
Actually I would have loved for him to be gone. Particularly if he stayed in the draft, became ineligible, and went undrafted.
Based on the NCAA's ruling this morning regarding transfers, Brown is probably a sit.
Word from his camp is that they think that he can get a waiver for next year.
Now, it's the NCAA so who knows, but they think they've got a case.
Kofi should absolutely come back. His game right now is circa 1985. He would be unable to defend effectively at the perimeter in the NBA.
As well, everyone in the league can shoot and he would have to have some kind of an outside shot to succeed, if not a three point shot.
(See Meyers Leonard)
If he can learn to defend against smaller quicker players and develop a shot away from the rim he could have a long NBA career.
As well, everyone in the league can shoot and he would have to have some kind of an outside shot to succeed, if not a three point shot.
(See Meyers Leonard)
If he can learn to defend against smaller quicker players and develop a shot away from the rim he could have a long NBA career.
Ayo should also come back.
So as to avoid the fallout from this forum, I will not comment further other than to say he is not an NBA player yet.
So as to avoid the fallout from this forum, I will not comment further other than to say he is not an NBA player yet.
TheFameProtector
- Champaign
I'm guessing most of this has to do with the first half of the season, where he didn't show much improvement over the prior year, and his tanking 3P%. He needed to come back and show he can be a good outside shooter and he did the opposite. His late game heroics was awesome for us, but I don't think it offers much for evaluators to project to the pros -- it's unlikely he is the guy with the ball in his hands in late game situations, and if he's not that guy, then he's a way below average floor spacer for that guy.
The fact that Ayo and Kofi have this much uncertainty with the NBA, they should be advised to return.
I don't think they are that well known outside the BIG. Several years ago when Dee Brown was playing
more NBA folks didn't know who the Illini Dee Brown was, they were tracking on the Celtic's Dee Brown.
Our Dee was a POY type player for two years as well.
I don't think they are that well known outside the BIG. Several years ago when Dee Brown was playing
more NBA folks didn't know who the Illini Dee Brown was, they were tracking on the Celtic's Dee Brown.
Our Dee was a POY type player for two years as well.
Pretty tough to predict rotation with both coming back but sure would be a lot of coaching options. Use Ayo, Adam, Hutch, Giorgi, and Kofi and a lot of size to defend. Shooters like Trent, Adam, Hutch, mixed with a passer like DreC and maybe a Cole. Defenders like DaMonte, Trent, and Kofi with speed like Ayo and DreC. We will have 4/5 mos to argue about the starting lineup. Bring it on!
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
I would have rather seen him go as the #1 pick than to come back. Really ready for Easter Island to be gone.
Haha, does his camp think they can play the "hostile environment" card??
I know nothing about the situation, but supposedly Wake is trying get out of paying Manning the full $15 million. If Manning did something that justifies Wake firing him For Cause, it seems plausible that the situation (depending on what Wake claims) may have affected Brown enough to warrant a waiver. Obviously the NCAA is inconsistent so who knows, but that works both ways.
Sub 30% 3 point shooting comes to mind.
Epsilon
M tipping over
- Pdx
If they do, we should be preseason top 10.
We’d be a few key improvements away from being a title contender:
1) Ayo, Damonte improve their 3pt stroke (and Frazier finds it again)
2) Freshman coming in, and playing as expected
3) someone stepping up at 4 (aka Grandison living up to the hype, and/or BVV/Giorgi stepping up)
These things happen and Illinois could be a final four team.
Agreed. The negative momentum is likely from a development standpoint, not based on performance. When Ayo arrived it was pretty well known that he needed to improve his outside shooting and ballhandling to have a shot at getting drafted early. While we saw great improvement on his ability to affect the outcome of games and his overall confidence, the questions about his shooting and ballhandling remain. The older you get without significantly improving your perceived deficits, the more scouts will question whether you will ever develop in those areas. This negatively affects your long term perception from scouts, hence the "negative momentum." Having the "Clutch gene" only matters if you are the guy who has the ball with the clock winding down. He is absolutely THAT GUY at Illinois. At this point, I doubt many GMs envision him in that role at the next level.
JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
What I've seen discussed is that Manning's contract has a provision setting benchmarks for graduation rates and academic performance. Apparently, he hasn't been hitting those benchmarks, so WF is willing to roll the dice to see if they can use that to get out of paying the full buyout or to push for a settlement (which would also come in below the full $15 mil).
Isn't the NCAA more generous with waivers when it comes to coaching changes?
YEAH BABY
Nonsense. Every scout, at every NBA franchise, knows who's available, who they're most likely to have a shot at, etc. They have a ton of quantitative and qualitative data they're sorting through.
Ayo's shown the ability to drive at an elite level, play in transition, and be THE MAN, but he has some serious questions. A guard shooting 30% from 3? A:T of 1.3? GMs are more statistically driven than ever, and looking for missing pieces, or at least value. Ayo has some real question marks, and those two areas did not improve in his sophomore season, even though he played better overall. I think part of the issue is that we sucked early in the season. Underwood himself said he struggled sticking with the plan as guys were trying to pick up everything and didn't really gel until almost half way into the season.
The pandemic hitting the post-season really hurt his chances. He could have erased a lot of those questions with a good showing over tourney competition. Unfortunately, that's just another piece of adversity. If he comes back, we might have too many weapons for teams to key off him, and won't be asked to do as much. Whatever his path, he's been special here. As far as I'm concerned, he's among the greats we've had.
So, this is a silly question, but we have very little else to talk about so let’s go down a rabbit hole...
I just rewatched the highlights from the second Iowa game, and that first alley oop Kofi really shook the rim. If the basket breaks there, does he then get more national pub/Shaq comparisons and ultimately help his draft stock?
I just rewatched the highlights from the second Iowa game, and that first alley oop Kofi really shook the rim. If the basket breaks there, does he then get more national pub/Shaq comparisons and ultimately help his draft stock?
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