Illinois has become a rival for Michigan basketball in the last five years. Back and forth contests, as well as high-level players, have put these programs in title contention almost every season. This season, the Wolverines seek to avenge last year’s loss against a loaded Illini squad The Fighting Illini are 12-3 on the year with losses to a title contender in Arizona, and underwhelming performances against Cincinnati and Marquette. This team might not be as lethal as last year’s; however, they have strong pieces to complement All American Kofi Cockburn that might bring them a Big Ten title this year.
Kofi Cockburn #21 7’0” 285 lb (Center)
Cockburn returns from testing the NBA draft waters for his junior season in college basketball. Cockburn is easily the strongest player in college basketball, and he bullies nearly everyone that he plays against. Averaging over 22 ppg and 12.5 rebounds per game, Cockburn scores the majority of his points in the paint and at the free-throw line. Illinois does a great job of getting Cockburn into positions where he can easily score. Cockburn also does an incredible job of using his body to get strong position for offensive rebounds.
In this scenario, Cockburn already has two feet in the paint before any shot has been taken. The play wasn’t designed for him to catch the ball in the paint, but he walks his defender into the paint just in case a shot goes up. Williams who has the ball isn’t even looking in Cockburn’s direction, yet he knows where Cockburn will set up.
After the shot goes up, Cockburn already has his feet in the paint, and he easily pushes his defender from Maryland under the basket. This is how he creates his advantages. As mentioned before, he constantly hangs around the paint and moves into position when the defense isn’t focused on him. Once he is in this position, he almost always grabs the rebound and scores. In this case, he grabs the rebound, shot fakes, and scores easily against Maryland.
Illinois also runs a lot of “high low” actions to get Cockburn the ball. This usually involves Jacob Grandison, their most efficient 3PT shooting threat. Grandison goes to the top of the three-point line to catch the ball and finds Cockburn in the middle of the paint. Illinois feeds Cockburn the ball in the middle of the floor more than on either block because it is difficult for opponents to double team in the middle of the floor. This gives Cockburn the opportunity to overwhelm one defender rather than trying to score over two.
These “high low” passes create two choices for the defense. Cockburn’s defender can stand in front of him, but give up the lob pass over the top. In the above picture, Maryland chooses to front Cockburn and force a pass over the top. This puts pressure on the help defense. Notice on the baseline, Maryland’s defender has to help over more to deter the lob up to Cockburn. On the other hand, the defense can stand behind Cockburn allowing an easier pass, but not giving up the lob. I don’t think Michigan will entirely front Cockburn with Dickinson guarding him; however, I think Michigan needs to show help defense to prevent any pass to Cockburn at all.
Alfonso Plummer #11 6’1” 180 lb (Guard)
Alfonso Plummer has been a star for Illinois on the offensive end this year. He averages nearly 16 ppg, shooting 46% from the field and 41% from three. He takes incredibly difficult shots which makes his shooting percentages very impressive. He has been held in check in his last three games, scoring 12 or less in each. However, Michigan cannot allow him to get easy looks throughout the game. The help defense required to guard Kofi Cockburn usually allows Plummer to move more freely across the court.
In this play, Illinois creates a lot of movement by utilizing the superior speed of their guards and forwards. Where I circled the ball in the image is where the play starts. They start the play with a handoff near the top of the key. At the same time, a screen is being set to free up Alfonso Plummer on the other side of the floor. Plummer curls around the screen to get the ball with his defender trailing him.
As the play continues, Plummer gets the handoff at the top of the key, and Kofi Cockburn sets a ball screen for Plummer to use. This movement coupled with the screen from Cockburn puts a great deal of pressure on the defense. Defenders need to decide whether to put pressure on the ball to prevent an easy three or to sag off a bit to deter a pass to Cockburn on the roll.
Plummer hits a three-point shot with the little amount of space that Maryland chooses to give him. Michigan needs to stay alert guarding Plummer. His smaller size matches up well with Brooks and Jones in Michigan’s backcourt, and even with a lack of guard size, Michigan can force Plummer to drive to the rim by not allowing him easy three-point looks.
Jacob Grandison #3 6’6” 210 lb (Guard/Forward)
For the third player in this preview, I chose Grandison over Trent Frazier because I believe he has the most key role in the offense in feeding Kofi Cockburn in a lot of actions. Grandison has developed into a lethal 3pt shooting threat at 48% on the season. This combination of skill allows Illinois to put him at the top of the key in various plays.
In this play, Grandison, who I circled, floats into the paint to set a back screen on Kofi Cockburn’s defender. Once Kofi rolls to the rim, Grandison replaces Kofi at the top of the key. Once he gets the ball, Grandison can either shoot or pass to Kofi in the paint.
In this play, Grandison sees a lot of space from his defender because Nebraska focused their defense on guarding Cockburn. Grandison sees Cockburn in the paint and has a potential pass to the paint. However, the space given to him allows Grandison to show off his range and he hits the open three point shot.
Michigan’s challenge in this game will be deciding how to prevent easy three point shots from the prolific trio of shooters in Trent Frazier, Jacob Grandison, and Alfonso Plummer as well as making it difficult for Kofi Cockburn in the paint. Look for Michigan to go one on one with Kofi and Hunter Dickinson in the paint on defense, and guard the three-point line closely in tonight's game.
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