Who guards Ayo Sunday?
- Thread starter Miggins
- Start date
No way. Would you expect an untested freshman to guard Harper?
Tez will match Ayo's substitution pattern. Option B would be JY or Geo
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Another vote for Montez. It's going to be quite a battle.
Montez. JY is too small. Geo still has a bum wheel. I can see some RHJ in there for spots.
And if Montez plays his tough he will be energizered. Anytime he is shutting down on the defensive side and buying in it pays dividends on the other end of the floor.
The good news is they're saying the same thing about RHJr
Here are their top 8 based on yesterday's game, with their listed heights (ESPN)
I think Ron may start out on Dosumu and Dosumu will guard Ron - Mano a mano! JY on Frazier, Mathis on Miller, Geo/Paul on Williams
Coburn (7')
Miller (6'3")
Dosumu (6'5")
Williams (6'3")
Frazier (6'2")
Curbelo (6'1")
Georgi (6'9")
Hawkins (6'10)
I think Ron may start out on Dosumu and Dosumu will guard Ron - Mano a mano! JY on Frazier, Mathis on Miller, Geo/Paul on Williams
Coburn (7')
Miller (6'3")
Dosumu (6'5")
Williams (6'3")
Frazier (6'2")
Curbelo (6'1")
Georgi (6'9")
Hawkins (6'10)
I was discussing this in another thread the other day. Its Kofi and all guards unless they bring Giorgi in to play the 4 but he plays the backup 5. Who guards Harper???
As for Dosunmu...
- Mathis seems like the obvious choice
- Geo has a bum ankle and isn't the best defender. Terrible idea
- Young has the quickness but not the height to contest shots when he drives
- Harper I dont like due to fatigue of guarding someone like that and the risk of foul trouble.
- Mag would probably do a great job but doesnt seem like Pike trusts the freshman yet
If I'm Pike, I put Ron on Dosumu. I think it's more likely that Mathis would pick up quick fouls since he'll want to prove himself and he'll be overly aggressive, and Dosumu has a height advantage on Mathis, which they'll try to exploit. By the same token, Harper presents a matchup problem for them, so I hope Dosumu starts off on Ron. They'll probably throw Pike a curveball and start Georgi at the 4, so Ron will guard him and Mathis will guard Dosumu after all.
I think it'll be a mix of Mathis and Young, with Mathis being a touch better at guarding him when he has the ball in his hands and Young being a touch better at denying him the ball. But with the way we play defense, we'll almost certainly switch at points to see other people guarding him - just need to be able to provide help defense.
Best shot is just trying to deny him the ball entirely as much as possible.
Best shot is just trying to deny him the ball entirely as much as possible.
Mathis is basically the same height and much stronger so not sure how they would exploit the height. Would rather Mathis get in foul trouble than Ron.
Asking Ron to guard Dosunmu who handles the ball and runs a lot while playing 35+ minutes and be the focal point of the offense is asking a lotttt
We come out with a box and one zone, with Young harassing Ayo all game, two of (Myles/Ron/Cliff) down low, and (Geo/Paul/Montez) on the top of the box.
Or more realistically, it will be Mathis drawing the assignment.
Or more realistically, it will be Mathis drawing the assignment.
Young/Frazier will be exciting with the speed they both have
Agree here, this is just about throwing him off his game and minimizing the damage he can cause; he'll get his. Going to need good games from Geo and Harper, and the Bigs have to stay in game until the end; cannot foul out.
I think Tez will definitely guard Ayo. We do not need Ron to pick up any early fouls like he did against Maryland. I think it is too risky to put Ron on him. Jacob is shorter and he might be able to cause hectic moments on one of the other Illinois guards. I doubt we try a Box and 1. Coach very rarely tries a zone. If we did I would think it would only be a very short time. I also worry about Cockburn backing in and forcing the issue like he did last year in the game at Illinois. Myles got called on cheap fouls which Cockburn initiated. Hopefully Johnson will get more respect this time.
Young would be a great option to match his quickness which is something Ayo has not seen much but I'd be afraid that Young would be too aggressive and pick up some fouls. Young needs to be on the floor as much as possible so I'd want to keep him from picking up early fouls. Young's become that important offensively and with Geo recovering from his ankle sprain, he's even more important. No way can Geo guard him even more so with a bad wheel so I guess Mathis is a good bet here. No way in hell should Harper guard him.
Myles on Cockburn
Ron on Miller
Tez on Dosunmu
Paul or Geo on Williams
JY on Frazier or Curbelo
Cliff on Georgi B
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Pike run a box-and-one, which is good because Dasunmo would break it down pretty easily and either pull up on a mid-range jumper, dish to Cockburn underneath or Georgi on the wing. Cliff will have his work cut out with Cockburn, but Cliff will pose some challenges for Cockburn due to Cliff’s athleticism. He’s gonna be taken to school, but Cockburn takes everyone to school. Myles can also limit him due to his length, but I expect Myles to get in foul trouble.
Two things are key in this game—pressing so we shorten their shot clock, and limiting our turnovers. We pose matchup problems for them when we’re on offense, so if we don’t turn the ball over more than ten times we’ll be in position to win this game.