Friday Flashback: The 1939 Final Four

As noted every year by countless talking heads, Northwestern has never been to the Final Four. However, Northwestern did host the very first Final Four 70 years ago. That connection might seem somewhat dubious considering the Wildcats lack of postseason history, but at least it makes NU the answer to an annual trivia question. What’s interesting to me, considering the sports world’s love of alleged cruses (especially in Chicago), is that nobody has ever declared NU to suffer from the curse of Patten Gym or some such thing. At was at Patten Gymnasium on March 27, 1939 the Oregon Ducks defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes to win the first even Final Four title game in Evanston. Of course, the Patten Gymnasium which hosted that historic contest has since been torn down. Still, I wonder if Northwestern where to let a Billy goat walk around Patten if it would eliminate the problems of the both the Wildcats and Cubs. Think about it. With all the suffering Chicago fans have to endure each year—well—it might at least be worth considering.

As far as the actual contests which took place back in 1939, I guarantee nobody figured on the magnitude of the event which they were creating. What stated as an eight team tournament moved to the final two when Oregon defeated Oklahoma to reach the final game and Ohio State advanced by defeating Villanova. The tournament itself consisted of two regions (East and West) and drew a total of 15,025 fans. This year, that attendance total would be paltry for a single game. It is amazing to me to think the biggest sporting event in college athletics, maybe the biggest sporting even in the world outside of the Super Bowl, started in Evanston on Northwestern’s campus. Of course, those who organized this first tournament, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), obviously had no idea of the future event to which they were giving birth. How could they? The NCAA Tournament is currently the biggest money maker for the NCAA, but the first tournament lost $2,531. That was a pretty hefty total in 1939. In fac,t it was this large cash loss which caused the NABC to hand over the running of the tournament to the NCAA. The NABC might very well regret that choice now. Think of the convention they could put on with the NCAA Tournament funds.

In the final game of the 1939 tournament, Oregon beat Ohio State by the score of 46-33. That state of Oregon went crazy when they heard the win over the radio, but nobody else really cared. Interestingly, Ohio State’s Jimmy Hull was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player despite his team finishing second. Hull scored 58 points total in the tournament. A good total, but a total which a very good scorer might get in two games in today’s tournament. As far as Northwestern, perhaps the Wildcats just missed out on the glory of the NCAA Tournament. They captured two Big Ten Titles in the 1930s and the 1930-31 team was actually named National Champs after posting a 16-1 record. If the NABC had decided to start their tournament just a decade earlier NU’s dubious honor of hosting the first Final Four but failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament wouldn’t exist. Hopefully, after next year NU will eliminate this yearly discussion with their first NCAA Tournament appearance. Maybe they’ll even make their first Final Four. It seems unlikely, but NU did defeat current Final Four participant Michigan State in the Spartans own building. That has to be a signal the program is getting closer to closing the book on one of the NCAA’s most frustrating streaks.

Friday Flashback: Big Game Time

Sunday's game with Ohio State is setting up as the biggest game this season (maybe ever) for NU basketball. Of course, we wouldn't be looking at the Ohio State game as such an important contest if it weren't for Wednesday's win over Purdue or the wins over Michigan State and Florida State earlier in the year. The poll conducted this last week had the Michigan State game as NU's biggest win of the season with a total of 61 of 64 votes. That's 95%. Now, though, I wonder if the same poll was run today would the Purdue game have won? If NU beats Ohio State on Sunday is that the team's biggest win? These are the type of questions which I enjoy taking the time to ponder. In all my years watching Northwestern basketball I find it hard to think of another season which featured more than one or two big wins. This year there seem to be an endless supply and I suspect more big wins might be on the horizon. Also, this year has featured some wins over teams Northwestern traditionally has not played well against. The victory over Ohio State at home was a great example of this. If Northwestern can win at Ohio State on Sunday and record a sweep of the Buckeyes, that victory will erase yet another long losing streak.

As I think back over my Northwestern fan experience, I have trouble recalling any string of victories which would match a win Sunday followed by a Big Ten Tournament round 1 win. Combined with the victory at Purdue, such a streak would give Northwestern 19 wins and place them, I believe, in serious bubble contention. If NU could somehow get 20 wins, I believe, the Wildcats will make the NCAA Tournament.

Northwestern has posted some nice strings of wins in the past. The 2003-2004 team had a very nice run of three straight victories over #11 Wisconsin, at Purdue, and on ESPN2 vs Penn State. In the Penn State game the Wildcats went on a 30-2 run. Sadly, 2003-2004 was also the last time Northwestern really dominated Penn State. The ‘Cats also posted a Big Tournament record in steals against the Lions that year.

Getting back to NU winning streaks, the 2001-2002 team would have posted an impressive four game winning steak with wins over Wisconsin and Michigan State included. However, a loss on the road got in the way. Where on the road? You guessed it, Columbus, Ohio. That loss was a disappointing one for NU. It might have factored heavily into NU not making the NIT that year. NU was down one point late when Vedran Vukusic tried to take the ball to the hoop and got called for a charge. He probably should have passed to a red-hot Winston Blake who had posted a career high in points, but even with the foul on Vedran NU still got a chance to win. After Ohio State made only one of two free throws the score was 58-57. After passing the ball around the perimeter, the Wildcats got two shots. Unfortunately, Tavaras Hardy and Jitim Young both missed. Sadly, that has been the type of game which has plagued Northwestern at Ohio State for 32 years. Hopefully, Sunday will be different. If it is, it might very well displace the wins at Michigan State and Purdue as the biggest of the year for the ‘Cats—at least until the first game in the Big Ten Tournament.

Friday Flashback: Class of 2009

Craig Moore has hit big shots for Northwestern since his freshman year (AP Photo).

When a senior class prepares to play its final games you always start to wonder what people will remember as their legacy. As Craig Moore, Sterling Williams, Marlon Day, and Pat Houlihan wrap up their careers at Northwestern it seems their legacy will be the collection of long term losing streaks they busted apart this season. Their win over Michigan State was the first in East Lansing since 1984 and the first ever at the Breslin Center. The win over Ohio State was the first anywhere since 1998. The win over Indiana was the first in Bloomington since 1968 and the first ever at Assembly Hall. A postseason appearance, which can essentially be clinched with a win over Iowa Saturday, will be the first since 1999. In addition, if Northwestern can beat Ohio State next week it will be their first win in Columbus since 1977 and their first in Value City Arena ever.

Looking back at this class over the last four years, obviously Craig Moore is the guy who has played the biggest role on the court, but the contributions of his classmates can’t be discounted either. Great respect has to go to Pat Houlihan who as a four year walkon has no doubt worked hard in practice everyday and contributed to the success of Northwestern’s program behind the scenes. The same can be said of Marlon Day who joined the Wildcats last season after transferring to Northwestern from Purdue. Thanks to his football background Day no doubt brought a much needed physical to NU’s practices. Guys like Houlihan and Day often fly under the radar for must fans and observers because they rarely ever appear on the floor. Nevertheless, they are key factors in the success of a team because they make their teammates better every day.

This season Sterling Williams’s contributions have been more similar to Houlihan and Day’s than what he did his first three seasons. After starting 64 games and playing on average 21.3 minutes per game in his first three years, Sterling Williams has not started a single contest this season and has player sparingly. In the win over Indiana, Williams played only the final minute of the contest. Despite this reduction in his role, Williams always seems to be a leader on the sidelines and is ready whenever Head Coach Bill Carmody calls on him. We also cannot forget Sterling has had some very solid games in his years at NU. What was probably Sterling’s best game occurred during his redshirt freshman season. When Northwestern went into Williams Arena and upset Minnesota Williams led the ‘Cats with 15 points and 6 assists. A year later, he came off the bench in a game against top ranked Ohio State and hit a career high 3 three pointers during a contest in which an undermanned NU squad battled the Buckeyes into the game’s final minutes. Perhaps even more important than Sterling’s contributions on the court are his contributions off. He had a 4.0 GPA at Northwestern and graduated last spring with a degree in Political Science. With that 4.0 GPA, Sterling has been Academic All-Big Ten for three straight years. I have no doubt Sterling’s graduate school performance will allow him to add a fourth straight year of Academic All-Big Ten honors at the end of this season. Another key point about Sterling’s career at Northwestern is the fact he was the first Chicago Public League recruit to enter NU in almost two decades. Getting Williams in an NU uniform seemed to reconnect the Wildcats with one of the best high school hoops leagues in the nation. He paved the way for Michael Thompson and I suspect we will see several more CPL guys at NU in the near future.

Finally, we come to Craig Moore. Moore will leave Northwestern with a number of records (three pointers made and attempted), but I suspect he will be most proud of what his team has accomplished this year. If Northwestern can get into the postseason and make a run, it will be a tribute to the effort and tenacity with which Moore plays. When he plays well, Northwestern plays well. Although I have great hopes for NU’s future guards Drew Crawford and Alex Marcotullio, it will be tough to replace Moore. In games against Indiana and Wisconsin, Moore hit huge free throws down the stretch. In the streak busting wins at MSU and Indiana, Moore hit huge shots. In the win over Ohio State, Moore had one of the best shooting games of the season. He also scored 31 points at Brown this season which ties him with teammate Kevin Coble for the most by a Wildcat this season. Looking back at Moore’s career, he was the only Wildcat to start every Big Ten game during his freshman season. During that year, Moore made the Big Ten All-Freshmen team and posted a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio. He also hit one of his career’s most clutch shots when he knocked down a three with 0.9 seconds left to send NU to overtime at Purdue. Moore’s sophomore year was rough, but he did help NU get a win in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge when he knocked down 7 threes against Miami. Moore bettered that school record mark of 7 threes with 8 as a junior when NU upset Michigan in Ann Arbor. He set the record again this year with 9 in that Brown game. This season I believe Moore’s best moment was a key three in the win at Michigan State. Although he’d struggled in the game, Moore didn’t hesitate to take a deep three when Michigan State momentarily gained the lead in the second half. That three put NU back on top and seemed to show Michigan State this NU wasn’t like any other they’d faced. Moore also is the front runner in my mind for shot of the year thanks to his circus layup against Ohio State which had Thad Matta turning redder than his team’s uniforms. Although Saturday is the last scheduled game for Craig Moore at Welsh-Ryan Arena, his classmates and he might be back at Welsh-Ryan in the postseason. This group certainly deserves the honor of such an opportunity.

Friday Flashback: Mr. Buzzer-Beater

T.J. Parker hit four game winners in three years at Northwestern (photo: Daily Northwestern)

On the heels of John Shurna’s clutch three point basket to beat Ohio State, this edition of Friday Flashback will focus on NU player who hit more buzzer beaters than anyone—T.J. Parker. Though Parker’s exit from Evanston a year early to go pro (in France) didn’t thrill many NU fans, he did mange to bring NU fans across the country to their feet regularly by hitting four game winners in just three years.

Parker’s first game winner occurred against Bowling Green during his freshman season. Over Parker’s freshman and sophomore seasons the Wildcats played Bowling Green in a home and home series and won both times. The game at Welsh-Ryan was first and it was tied 60-60 with fifteen seconds left when Bowling Green’s Ron Lewis was called for a walk. With the score tied, I personally was advocating for the ‘Cats to work the clock down near zero before attempting a shot in order to at least preserve the tie. I think most of the people in the surprisingly full Welsh-Ryan Arena (4,719 for Bowling Green is a big crowd at NU) agreed with me. However, Parker took another approach. The Wildcats inbounded the ball right to Parker who shot up the court with his blazing speed and made an easy layup with seven second left. Moments later, Lewis missed an attempt to tie for the Falcons, and Welsh-Ryan erupted in cheers. I distinctly remember being very impressed with how much it seemed freshman Parker wanted the ball with the game on line.

Just over a year later, Parker got another chance to show his stuff in the clutch. This time, though, I wasn’t in Evanston to see it. When Northwestern hosted Arizona State on December 17, 2003, I was in Las Vegas. Thankfully, due to Mirage Hotel and Casino’s sports book I was able to see the Wildcats and Sun Devils do battle via a Fox Sports West broadcast. Watching the broadcast on a small TV in the back of the sports book with a friend of mine, I was initially pretty excited. The Wildcats stormed to a 34-27 halftime lead and extended that advantage to 13 early in the second half. It was one of those games for Vedran Vukusic where the Croatian native looked like he couldn’t miss. In the end, he connected on 5 three pointers and scored 26 total points, but it was Parker who made the big shot with the game on the line. With score tied 61-61 Arizona State had the ball. At that point, I had more or less conceded the Wildcats weren’t going to win; the best they could hope for was overtime. As the Sun Devils came out of their huddle, I pulled the little 10 inch TV closer to me, as if it would somehow make a difference in the outcome. When ASU inbounded the ball, Jitim Young made one of his typical hustle plays creating a tie-up and forcing a jump ball which went to Northwestern. At that point, both teams traded timeouts in battle of strategy which seemed similar to a game of chess grandmasters. Once the second timeout ended, NU ran what seemed a deceptively simple play. With ASU focused on Vedran, NU got the ball to Parker and again let him use his fantastic speed. With just over 4 seconds left, Parker couldn’t get the ball all the way to the hoop, but he got closer enough. Just inside the free throw line, Parker rose up and took a jumper which swished into the net for a 63-61 Wildcat win. My friend and I celebrated like we’d just see the NCAA championship and won thousands of dollars. In fact, he’d made just a $15 bet on NU, but it wasn’t the money that matted. It was Northwestern moving to 5-3 by beating a highly regarded team thanks to another set of T.J. Parker heroics.

Parker’s third game winner occurred in the first game of his junior (but final) season at Northwestern. In Alaska at the Top of the World Classic, Northwestern was in the midst of an uninspired game against Portland State. I was listening to the broadcast from my apartment in Evanston while prepping for my role in the WNUR broadcast of the Northwestern vs Illinois football game in the next day. As I listened to the game, I found myself rather unimpressed with the announcers hired by the Top of the World classic. It seemed though they hadn’t done any study of Northwestern at all. As it turned out, since NU didn’t send a broadcast team, Portland State’s broadcast team was supposed to do the game, but they had travel problems. Instead, the announcers from one of the other teams in the tournament were put on the broadcast, which probably explains why they seemed certain Davor Duvancic was NU’s top player. Despite their uncertainty, though, they knew who Parker was thanks to his brother Tony, for all three years he was at NU, announcers loved to point out how T.J. Parker’s brother played in the NBA. As it turned out, with the scored tied 53-53 Parker made the Top of the World Classic broadcast team look good. With 3.6 seconds left, Parker got his hands on the ball and as was the custom when NU needed a clutch shot, he didn’t give it up. Despite being thirty feet from the hoop, Parker swished the ball through the net for a Wildcat victory.

A couple months later, Northwestern found themselves in a similar situation away from home and with the game on the line. Again they turned to Parker. In Minneapolis, Minnesota on the road against a Minnesota Golden Gophers team who still had a shot at the NCAA tournament, T.J. Parker made his final game winner for NU. Much to my disappointment, the game wasn’t on TV at all. With the game not on TV, I didn’t really think twice about heading out to a meeting of one of the various groups as I was part of on campus. While at the meeting, a few folks followed the game on their cell phones, but with Minnesota steadily building a lead, I wasn’t very optimistic about NU’s chances. By the time I got back to my apartment, Minnesota lead NU 50-40 with about 4:00 minutes. I stopped in to say hello to one of my roommates and heard over his radio that Minnesota had been whistled for a technical foul. After the technical, Minnesota starting turning the ball over and I figured I better stick around and listen to the finish. At first, it seemed that while Minnesota’s tech had let NU back and the game, there still wasn’t a lot of hope for an NU comeback. As soon as NU cut the lead to four, Minnesota’s Dan Coleman drew a foul. Thankfully, he only made one free throw keeping NU within five. After his miss, Vedran Vukusic hit a three to bring NU within two. Then, Northwestern committed another foul. At that point I was about ready to throw the radio out the window, but the fact it wasn’t mine and the fact Minnesota again only made 1 of 2 shots keep the radio safe. With 44 seconds left, NU got the ball and went to Vince Scott at the top of the key for what Dave Eanet called a “cold-blooded three” it was by far the biggest shot Scott hit in his career at NU. So, once down 10, NU was now tied, but Minnesota had the ball. Similar to my actions a year before when NU played ASU, I leaned in closer to the radio as if I thought it would help. Maybe it did. Minnesota missed a shot and Northwestern got the ball back. Clearly knowing his junior guard’s flair for the dramatic, Bill Carmody drew up a play for T.J. Parker. Again, Parker came through in the clutch. With just under a second left, he fired a jumper which hit the bottom of the net. For a moment, though, neither my roommate, nor I was certain the shot went in. Excited at the prospect of NU pulling the upset, Dave Eanet’s color man Bob Hildebrand let out a shout of excitement which overwhelmed Eanet’s call. Given the sound of Hildebrand’s excitement, though, I was pretty sure Parker’s shot went in. A moment later, Eanet confirmed the made shot, and when Minnesota did nothing with the last 0.9 seconds of the game, T.J. Parker was Northwestern’s buzzer-beating hero for the final time.

Friday Flashback: The Michael Jenkins Shot

Michael Jenkins and the student section celebrate his big shot. (Photo: nusports.com)

With Northwestern due to play Iowa tomorrow, there is really only one possible topic for today’s edition of Friday Flashback. On January 26, 2005, Northwestern and Iowa met for what is my favorite ever game as a Northwestern fan. Though I hold great hope that this year’s team will provide me tournament action which will usurp Michael Jenkins’s clutch three as my favorite NU basketball fan moment, the heroics of Jenkins and Vedran Vukusic will always be my favorite NU student fan moment.

As I think back on the game, I remember my friends and I arriving in the student section slightly late, about the under 16:00 timeout, thanks to having just played an intramural game. I also remember being extremely ticked about losing our game and getting ever angrier as I entered the arena and saw the ‘Cats down early. Thanks to our late arrival, we ended up in the corner of the student section closet to the Iowa bench. Through I generally preferred a more central location, this turned out to be a great seat. As the first half of the game progressed, the game got closer and the student section started taunting Iowa grade Pierre Pierce. Usually, it seems the taunts from the NU student section roll right off the back of the Big Ten’s stars, but Pierce seemed rattled. Late in the first half he started committing turnovers. Seeing the success of our efforts, we continued taunt Pierce the rest of the game, and he continued to turn the ball over. He ended up 10 TO’s total. Combined with his 15 points, I suppose he could say he got a double-double, but it probably wasn’t the type he envisioned.

Despite our efforts, however, as the game went into the second half, it seemed Pierce and the Hawkeyes would get out of Welsh-Ryan with a victory. With only 3:27 seconds left, Iowa held a 12 point lead. At that point, Coach Carmody had the Wildcats start fouling the Hawkeyes. Coaches always have players start fouling late, but it rarely works. This time it did. Pierce and his backcourt teammate Jeff Horner proceeded to clunk free throw after free throw, and Vedran Vukusic started to take over for the Wildcats. Vedran scored 13 points to in the final two minute of regulation to tie the score. Most notably, with a sore shoulder which almost kept him out of the game, he drilled three straight free throws to send the game to overtime. Since we were close to the Iowa bench, we could see Iowa coach Steve Alford talking to his players during timeouts. At one point, a student behind me started shouting, “I read his lips, he said Vedran, he said Vedran.” Indeed, Alford tried to get his players to stop Vukusic, but they couldn’t.

In overtime, the Hawkeyes still couldn’t stop Vukusic. He brought the Wildcats to within a point at 73-72 when he made a basket and got fouled with just under twenty seconds left. NU then fouled Iowa, after the Hawks made a single free throw, the score was 74-72. Then, disaster seemed to strike for NU. The ‘Cats attempt to tie the game, a backdoor pass from T.J. Parker to Vedran, went out of bounds. Thankfully, Parker made up for his poor pass when he stole the ball from Pierce on the inbounds. It was Pierce’s final turnover, number ten, and the crowd let him have it as he walked towards the Iowa bench.

As the Hawkeyes gathered around their bench, it was again clear to the lip reader behind me that coach Alford wanted his players to keep close watch on Vukusic. It made sense. NU would want the player with 32 points to get his hands on the ball in an effort to tie or win the game. Thinking along the lines of Alford, I watched Vedran closely as the two teams came back on the court. As Tim Doyle stood with the ball under the basket, Vedran and Davor Duvancic ran a classic X-cross under the hoop. Iowa stuck with both tall Wildcats. Thankfully, Iowa was as focused on Vedran as I was and didn’t see little Michael Jenkins standing all alone in the corner. Doyle did, though. He threw a typically sharp pass to Jenkins. Once he had the ball, Jenkins let fly a three pointer. I remember as the ball went up and bounced high of the rim having time to think, “Damn, that was a great comeback, too bad we lost.” Thankfully, the ball didn’t hear my thoughts. It bounced high off the rim a second time and fell through the net. Final score: Northwestern, 75 Iowa, 74.

In a split second after the ball fell through the basket, I was on the court. It was the most amazing spontaneous outpouring of joy and excitement I have ever been a part of. I can’t say I really remember running to mid court, but I remember once I got there jumping up and down, high fiving everybody, and watching a group of my fellow students lift Michael Jenkins into the air in attempt to carry him off the court. It was an amazing shared experience. It’s the reason college basketball is so much fun, and the reason that as a student you should never miss a game. I know my roommates who didn’t see Michael Jenkins’s shot in person celebrated in our living room almost as much as those of us at the game, I saw the evidence when I got back Still, I don’t think they experienced that same shared experience of excitement as those of us at the game (Plus, they can't play "Where's Waldo" and find themselves in the photo at the top of the page). Anyone who was in the student section that night knows what I’m talking about. It’s hard to describe, but all I can say is I’ve been to a lot of sporting events and I’ve felt anything quite like it before or since. I’ve talked to family members who were NU students during the 1994 upset of Michigan and they describe that game in a similar way. I guess part of it is the magic of sharing a victory with your classmates. So, I say to all current students, make sure you show up the rest of the year, because you never know when that Welsh-Ryan Arena magic is going to strike.

Friday Flashback: Comparing the Big Wins

Was beating MSU the basketball equivalent of beating Notre Dame? (AP Photo)

Dave Eanet called Northwestern’s win over Michigan State the basketball equivalent of the September 2, 1995 football upset over Notre Dame. For today’s edition of Friday Flashback I want to compare the two.



September 2, 1995

Opponent: Notre Dame Fighting Irish


Opponent Rank: #9

Vegas Line: Irish by 28

NU Star: Darnell Autry 35 carried 160 yards

NU Supporting Star: Steve Schnur 166 yards 2 TDs

Play of the Game: Schnur to D’Wayne Bates 26-yard TD

Why it Matters: The win started NU’s remarkable run to the Rose Bowl.

January 21, 2009

Opponent: Michigan State Spartans

Opponent Rank: #7

Vegas Line: Spartans by 13

NU Star: Kevin Coble 31 points

NU Supporting Star: Michael "Juice" Thompson 20 points

Play of the Game: Kevin Coble banks a fade away shot high of the glass to give NU a 62-55 lead

Why it Matters: First win in East Lansing in 25 years. First win on the road vs a top ten team since 1953.

So which win is bigger? At this point I don’t think any question exists that beating Notre Dame to start NU’s Rose Bowl season is the bigger win. At least so far. However, if this year’s hoops squad makes a run to the NCAA tournament the win over Michigan State could turn into the bigger win. I honestly believe when Northwestern makes the NCAA tournament for the first time it will be as big or even a bigger story than the Rose Bowl. After all, the NCAA tournament is almost a national holiday for the United States. Seemingly everybody tunes in to the games and participates in office pools. While bowl games are big, they don’t garner the same attention as the NCAA tournament. Perhaps that’s because so many bowls don’t seem to have as much significance as every NCAA game. If Northwestern were to make the NCAA Tournament and advance, Bill Carmody and his players could become national darlings in the mold of Stephen Curry and Bryce Drew. Will it happen? A lot of work remains to be done, but it is possible. Northwestern is ranked in the high 30s in the RPI and will probably end up with a top ten strength of schedule. When you combine these two factors, it gives Northwestern a good chance to make the tournament as a 7-10 seed if they can win around 19 or 20 games and advance at least a couple rounds in the Big Ten tournament. Saturday’s game against Michigan is a key game as is next Saturday’s at home against Wisconsin.

Friday Flashback: December 21, 2006: An In Person Account

Welsh-Ryan Ramblings is proud to present this report from reader PRbeachCats who was in attendance as the Wildcats beat Utah on December 21, 2006.

The Best Day for the PO
By: PRbeachCats

As a ’00 alum and attorney practicing law in Puerto Rico, I had the pleasure of being in the stands for the Cats’ demolition of Utah on December 21, 2006. Three things really stand out about that game. First, the Cats made the Utes look really bad. Normally, when a team is on fire offensively it seems like the scorers cannot miss despite the best efforts or strategy employed by the defense, making even the most ridiculous of shots. However, with the PO, when it is run to perfection, it actually makes the defense look inept, unable to stop a man cutting to the hoop or a simple layup. That is the thing with the PO; when run right it makes your opponent look fundamentally inept and helpless on defense. The second thing that stood out about the game was that my dad actually agreed to come along and watch the game with me. My dad has never been much of a sports fan and does not understand the merits of rooting for the underdog when they lose more often than not. Ever the pragmatic person, he would rather root for the Yankees, Patriots, Tiger, Federer, USC or whoever has the advantage to win. This has made it a daunting task for me to convince him to be a Cats fan. However, on that day he was actually very impressed with the brand of basketball played by the Cats. I think that day was the turning point on his path to becoming a Cats fan. The third thing that stands out is that the parents of Mr. and Mrs. Coble and Vince Scott’s mom were in attendance and cheering every minute. I chatted them up for a little bit and was very impressed with their dedication to the program (traveling all the way to PR to watch their sons play). They seemed like great people and cheered for all the players, not just their own. The Cats team seemed like a great family and one that I was proud to cheer for.

Friday Flashback: The Best Day for NU's Princeton Offense

A lot of questions have been raised about the Princeton Offense at Northwestern of late. As much as I believe in the system, I have to say that some of these questions are legitimate. Right now, NU seems lost on offense. This is not, however, the fault of the offensive system. All basketball fans have to admit that when run right, the Princeton Offense is a thing of beauty. Currently, the ‘Cats aren’t running the PO anywhere near perfect, but on December 21, 2006, Northwestern ran the Princeton Offense so close to perfection that I have no doubt former Princeton mentor Pete Carril and Georgetown coach John Thompson III would have been jealous of the Wildcat's flawless execution had they seen the game. I suspect many would have been impressed with Northwestern’s play had they seen the game. Unfortunately, Northwestern’s 77-44 triumph over Utah occurred in San Juan, Puerto Rico in front of a crowd so small the box score didn’t even report the attendance. I really wish I could have seen the show the ‘Cats put on. They shot 69% for the game overall and 73% from three point range. Kevin Coble and Vince Scott combined to go 8-for-8 from three which opened up the inside for 18 points by Tim Doyle. The Princeton Offense likely has never been run better at NU. If anyone out there was one of the few hundred people who witnessed the game please feel free to send an e-mail to welshryanramblings@gmail.com if you would like to share what I imagine are far more detailed recollections than I have. Personally, I doubt the box score or recap does the day justice. They can, however, bring back pleasant memories of a great day for NU hoops and provide hope for the future.

Friday Flashback: The Worst Week for NU Fans?

As it relates to a hot topic in Wildcat fan circles, I present this week's Friday Flashback a few hours early...

After suffering through the loss at the Alamo Bowl on Monday night, many NU fans tuned into ESPN2 on Wednesday hoping to ease the pain with a long sought after basketball win over Penn State. For the first 35 minutes of that contest it looked like Coach Bill Carmody’s Wildcats would come through and ease Wildcat Nation’s pain. Unfortunately, Talor Battle intervened and NU fandom suffered another devastating loss. I saw one post on Wildcatreport.com which mentioned that some of the frustration over the basketball loss might be residual anger over watching the end of the Alamo Bowl. Although I think people try to separate the two teams, I believe there might be some truth to this theory. At the very least, I believe the basketball loss was amplified because like the Alamo Bowl game, Northwestern’s team had the chance to win, but failed to accomplish the feat. I certainly felt a similar sense of disappointment after both losses. Feeling this disappointment led me to wonder whether this was the worst week in NU fan history. Now, NU fans have suffered a lot of losses over the years, but when both football and basketball were sitting at the bottom of the Big Ten fans were, sadly, somewhat desensitized to losses. I believe what makes this week so painful is the magnitude of the losses, however, I have two other candidates for worse weeks.

Candidate 1: January 1, 1996 – January 6, 1996

I don’t need to remind a lot of Wildcat fans about the significance of January 1, 1996, but in case you’re a newcomer to Wildcat Nation that happens to be the date of Northwestern’s last Rose Bowl appearance. In that game the Wildcats took a 32-31 lead in the 4th quarter, however, a blown coverage on Keyshawn Johnson put the USC Trojans ahead to stay. The Trojans ended up winning 41-32 ending NU’s dream season on a sour note. Much like this year, following that loss many Wildcat fans trekked back to Evanston to watch basketball and ease some pain. The Wildcats faced Ivy League opponent Brown on January 2, 1996 and after suffering through the devastation of the Rose Bowl hustling back to Welsh-Ryan from the airport to see the ‘Cats destroy a lesser opponent seemed like a great cure for Wildcat Nation. Unfortunately, Brown beat the ‘Cats 60-56 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. On the heal of the Rose Bowl loss, you can imagine how bad NU fans felt about losing to Brown. Then, to make matters worse, the ‘Cat hoopsters got destroyed by Michigan 83-51 in their Big Ten opener a few days later. The only saving grave of this awful week is thanks to NCAA violations, Michigan had to forfeit their win. Still, losing the Rose Bowl then getting beat by Brown makes for a rough stretch of Wildcat fandom.

Candidate 2: November 17, 2007

This date from just last year might qualify as the single worst day of Wildcat fandom if not the worst week. In the period of less than an hour, Northwestern’s football team got blown off the field by Illinois, thus eliminating any serious bowl talk, and the basketball team lost by one to DePaul. I remember well the excitement before the day started—the hope of a Bowl and a great hoops season. I also remember the total devastation when it was over—no bowl and a loss to an intracity rival. As my family and I drove back from the awful 48-28 loss to Illinois, I called a friend asked him to place his phone up against his computer speaker so I could hear the internet-only broadcast of the basketball game and report the result to everyone else. Reporting the final missed shot by Sterling Williams was one of the more depressing things I’ve done. It brought out a host of negative reactions from my family, but at least we kept the car on the road. However, I do think the waiter at the restaurant we stopped at on the road was very confused as to why these three people seemed so angry.


Is either of these two weeks worse than this week? Honestly, I don’t know. I think the single day blow of last season was pretty bad, but losing the hope we held this year for a great bowl win and a fine start to the Big Ten hoops season certainly didn’t make for a happy start to the year for NU fans. I’ll leave it to you all to decide for yourselves. Also, feel free to share your opinions and other memories.

Friday Flashback: March 5, 1999

Some people are suggesting that winning on Saturday at Stanford will be a defining win for the Northwestern basketball program. I disagree, Stanford, while 6-0, is not exactly a powerhouse. However, I will say that one must for Coach Carmody and the ‘Cats if they do want this to be THE year for NU hoops is to get a signature win. In today’s edition of Friday Flashback I want to revisit the closest NU has ever come to pulling off such a victory.

First, we need understand what actually constitutes a signature win. It’s the win which announces a team’s presence to the nation. It informs all their upcoming opponents that they better be ready to play or they’ll be adding a number on the left said of their win-loss column. Most important, though, it is a win over an opponent who is ranked at or near the top of national polls. Recent examples include Ron Zook’s 2007 Illinois football team beating top ranked Ohio State on the way to the Rose Bowl and the 2007-2008 Davidson’s men’s basketball team beating Georgetown in the NCAA tournament. A little closer to home, Gary Barnett’s 1995 football team asserted their presence on the national scene when they recorded a signature win 19-13 over Michigan in front of 100,000 people at Michigan Stadium. Northwestern basketball has yet to achieve such a signature win. Over the years I can think of several close losses which might have turned into such a win, but without a doubt the loss to #2 Michigan State on March 5, 1999 was the closest. Let's recap how close the 'Cats came to shocking the world.

In all my years watching sports I may have never seen a better effort from an underdog than what the ‘Cats gave that day. I remember the camera fixing on the Wisconsin fans as they rose to their feet to cheer Evan Eschmeyer as he gave the Wildcats what would be their final lead of the day with about three minutes left in the game.

In the final three minutes of that epic game, Michigan State managed to scrape together five points. That was enough to secure the victory, but NU didn’t make it easy. Down two with the clocking winding down fron ten seconds towards triple zero, Northwestern guard David Newman got the ball after an MSU basket and rushed it towards the hoop. Once in the lane, Newman lofted a soft floater which looked on target until Michigan State’s Antonio Smith batted it away. Michigan State’s fans breathed a sigh of relief until they saw the batted ball roll into the hands of Northwestern freshman forward Steve Leopre. After one quick dribble, Lepore leaned in over a defender and fired an off balance three point shot. He came inches from changing Northwestern basketball forever.

If the Wildcats had beaten the Spartans they would have advanced to play Wisconsin in the semi-finals of the Big Ten Tournament. Had they beat the Badgers, which they certainly could have, they would have played the last place Illinois Fighting Illini who had made remarkable run to the final in the conference title game. It would have been almost a perfect confluence of events for the ‘Cats to make their first NCAA tournament. Not only would the road there have been relatively easy, but the team would have been playing with a ton of extra confidence after knocking off the number two team in the nation live on ESPN. Beating Michigan State in full view of a national TV audience could have totally changed the national perception of Northwestern basketball. Not only might the ‘Cats future opponents in the Big Ten Tournament have found themselves suddenly more worried about NU, but the national press which such an upset would have generated might have changed how college basketball fans and potential recruits viewed Northwestern basketball. Unfortunately, thanks to the rim on the east end of the United Center NU’s dream of a signature win remained unrealized.

When the ball left his hand, Steve Lepore’s shot for the win looked as if it was right on, but it ended up slightly short and hit the front of the rim. When the ball hit the rim, it bounced high into to the air and it looked for a moment as if the ball might still manage to fall into the basket. Unfortunately, on the way down the ball stuck the rim a second time before falling to the United Center floor. Despite the best efforts of Eschmeyer and Lepore, the ‘Cats finished the day inches from their signature win.

Although it was sad to watch the ‘Cats play so well and come up short, one thing which eased this fan's pain was, despite the ‘Cats failing to achieve their signature win, the respect which the rest of the college basketball world showed for NU’s effort. The broadcasters on ESPN effusively praised Eschmeyer’s fantastic play. In his postgame press conference Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo said NU deserved to win and admitted the Wildcats outplayed and outhustled his mighty Spartans. The most memorable praise for the ‘Cats, though, came from the crowd of Wisconsin fans who rose to their feet and saluted the ‘Cats effort with a standing ovation after the final buzzer sounded. It was fantastic moment. It reminded me of the end of Rocky in which Rocky Balboa remains the people’s champ despite failing to win his title bout. The ‘Cats might not have possessed Rocky’s staying power, but at least for a while in March of 1999 they held the respect of every college basketball fan in the country. It wasn’t a signature win, but for at least a little while it seemed like a start. Sadly, that start was abruptly halted a little over a year later when a slew of fine freshman recruited off the ‘Cats NIT season in 98-99 transferred after suffering the wrath of then Head Coach Kevin O’Neil for a year.

Friday Flashback

Finding those YouTube clips of Geno Carlisle yesterday got me thinking about the best players I've seen at NU. My all time favorite Wildcat player is Jitim Young, but if you want to rank players based purely on talent I think Geno Carlisle and Evan Eschmeyer top the list of the Wildcat stars I’ve seen. As a recurring feature during this season’s quiet times I'd like to offer up a little Wildcat history and offer some memories of some of the best players and games I've seen as a Wildcat fan. Hopefully they'll offer up some memories for long time fans and offer a little Wildcat history knowledge for newer fans. Today I'll focus on Geno Carlisle.

A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Head Coach Ricky Byrdsong recruited Carlisle to Northwestern on the heels of the Wildcats 1994 NIT appearance. During his freshman year Carlisle averaged 11.7 points per game and became a fan favorite while leading NU in scoring a team-high 11 times. During his sophomore year, Geno burned out lights in the Welsh-Ryan Arena scoreboard. Earning first team All-Big Ten honors, Carlisle averaged 19.7 points per game. He scored in double figures twenty-five times, a total which included thirteen games of twenty or more points. As great as Carlisle’s numbers were, the fact is Northwestern has had other players score as much or more than him. What sets Geno apart in my opinion is the number of ways he could score.

If you look at Northwestern’s record book the first thing that jumps out about Carlisle is his three point shooting. He nailed 103 threes in just over two seasons with the ‘Cats. He was not, however, the type of guard who treats the three point line as a barrier which cannot be crossed. When Carlisle got his hands on the ball there was as much chance he’d try to drive hard to the hoop for two as shoot a jumper for three. When did drive the lane, Carlisle excelled at getting fouls called. This skill benefitted him immensely as he converted more than eighty percent of his foul shots. Perhaps the best example of Carlisle’s tremendous ability to draw fouls occurred during his freshman year in a game at Wisconsin. During that contest, Carlisle went to the free throw line a season-high sixteen times. Even better, he made fifteen.

In his years with the ‘Cats, Carlisle always seemed to play well against the Badgers. The most memorable of those games occurred in Madison during February of 1996. On that night, Carlisle treated a national television audience to a scoring display which hasn’t been exceeded by any Wildcat since. Using a combination of sharp three point shooting and his uncanny ability to draw fouls, Carlisle led the previously winless in the league Wildcats to an upset over the Badgers. He finished the game with 39 points. In retrospect, that game probably clinched Carlisle his spot on the All-Big Ten team.

Unfortunately, before the start of the 1996-97 season Coach Byrdsong suspended Carlisle for three games citing violation of team rules. Then on November 26, 1996 Carlisle declared his intention to transfer out of Northwestern. On the way out he told the school newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, “I wanted to come here to try to turn the program around. But now I'm realistic. I just don't think that we have what it takes to compete in the Big Ten.”

The saddest part of what Carlisle said, other than it being seriously insulting to his teammates and coaches, was that he wasn’t entirely accurate. The Wildcats did end Carlisle’s sophomore season with a record of 2-16 in the Big Ten. The two wins were both over Wisconsin, and were both a direct result of Carlisle’s outstanding play. However, future All-American Evan Eschmeyer started alongside Carlisle twenty-five times that year. The problem was Eschmeyer hadn’t played in a basketball game since breaking his foot two years earlier. As the year closed, the six foot eleven inch center showed flashes of the brilliance he’d display regularly during his junior and senior years, but it wasn’t enough for the ‘Cats to add to their win total before the 95-96 season ended. If Carlisle had stuck around to play alongside Eschmeyer in 97-98 and 98-99 the Wildcats might very well have made their first NCAA tournament. Instead, we're all still waiting to hear Greg Gumbel announce the Wildcats position as #9 seed on Selection Sunday. Maybe it’ll happen this year. Hey, it never hurts to have a positive outlook on things.