Illinois Basketball: Illini player assessment from the two-game losing streak

Fail

Giorgi Bezhanishvili

The fail category hurts my soul because I think each player on this Illinois team is good, but I am going to start with Giorgi Bezhanishivili as the first player in the fail category.

Honestly, Giorgi has regressed greatly this season. I have been shocked by his regression. The last two games were ugly too. He is averaging 5 points, 6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 3 turnovers per game. The three turnovers negate any positives from the other stats.

Overall, Giorgi has been frustrating. His defense is lacking because he doesn’t have the size for a traditional big man, but he is too big for a guard and too slow for a wing. The timing of his turnovers is a killer too. An example is the game against Maryland. He had a bad turnover under the Terrapins basket that could have been a six-point swing. We can’t have that.

Kofi Cockburn

The most controversial player on this list is probably Kofi Cockburn. I believe Kofi is a superstar and is one of the best players on the team, but he has earned a fail grade over the past two contests.

Kofi is almost averaging a double-double this season, but he is only averaging 7.5 points, 5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game over the past two games. Those are underachieving numbers plain and simple. But he is also averaging three turnovers in that span, which is unacceptable. And he doesn’t have a single block, which blows my mind.

I think Kofi is a rare talent, but his lack of solid play in the past two games is a huge reason we aren’t winning. He is the center of this team, literally and figuratively. He needs to perform well but has failed to do so.