Northwestern’s roster features four seniors: Nick Fruendt, Davide Curletti, Luka Mirkovic and John Shurna. These four players are the winningest group in the history of Northwestern Men’s Basketball and will finish their careers having played in the post season every year and having never had a losing season. That’s remarkable in the history of Northwestern basketball and while Shurna is clearly the star in the group, the other three seniors deserve credit as well as each had huge games in their career.
Fruendt in the Big Ten Tournament last year vs Minnesota.
Curletti this year against Michigan State.
Luka with a double-double as a sophomore vs #6 Purdue.
There are players in the country who play all four years and don’t have those moments and when these seniors are honored on Wednesday night, I hope our fans can remember those moments and the many more positive moments this class had brought to NU hoops and cheer loudly.
I also hope more great moments arrive during the game.
In NU basketball history more often than not senior night has rolled around without a lot on the line. The notable NIT-clincher against Michigan in 1994 might have been the last time the ‘Cats seniors played their final home game with something to play for besides pride.
On Wednesday night everything is on the line for Northwestern. I’ll admit to being a doubter, but the NCAA Tournament is still out there for the taking. For Ohio State, the odds are against them, but a Big Ten Championship is out there for the taking. Is that enough motivation for these two teams? I’d think so.
If not? Well, there is always still pride. Northwestern hasn’t owned home court as well as they should have with four seniors. Ohio State hasn’t dominated the Big Ten they way they should have with a trio of stars in William Buford, Jared Sullinger, and Aaron Craft. Not to mention a supporting cast of Buckeyes with talent to spare. Can the ‘Cats make a final home statement that won’t be forgotten anytime soon? Can the Buckeyes make a statement that warns Michigan State they better be ready or the Big Ten Title they thought was theirs alone with slip from the their grasp? We’ll see starting at 7:30CT.
I’m looking for Ohio State to attempt to attack NU’s zone as they did earlier this year and for NU to move the game at a more consistent pace as opposed to some of the rushed shots they took in the first meeting between these teams. Nearly everything is on the line for both squads. With that in mind, I have to take the team that’s won everything before. I predict: Ohio State, 67 Northwester, 56
Showing posts with label Nick Fruendt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nick Fruendt. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Best Game of the Year
Tonight’s 83-64 win over Iowa was the best game Northwestern has played so far this year. If the ‘Cats had been a little better from the free throw line I might say it was as good as they were capable of playing. Regardless, I thought Northwestern ran their offense to perfection and played very strong defense getting their hands on passes in the 1-3-1 and making life equally difficult for Iowa to score when in man-to-man.
This win is NU’s third in a row and that winning streak correlates with the emergence of other scorers for the ‘Cats beside John Shurna and Drew Crawford. The most significant to me is freshman guard Dave Sobolewski. Sobo stepped up tonight with 23 points and 7 assists (against 3 turnovers) in 40 minutes of action. He also recorded four steals. It’s tough replacing what Juice Thompson did last year for NU when he played as well as any Wildcat I’ve seen in his final 10 or so games, but Sobolewski seems to be now where Juice was when Juice was a sophomore or junior. Juice led both those teams to the postseason and Sobolewski seems to be leading this team in the same direction and maybe even to a more prestigious spot in the postseason.
Another non-star who stepped up for NU was Reggie Hearn who followed up his 20 point game versus Illinois with 16 points tonight vs Iowa. Alex Marcotullio started slow, but pretty much ended the game himself when he went on an individual 9-0 run that put a stop to any Iowa hopes for a comeback.
As far as NU’s stars, Drew Crawford, like did vs Illinois, wasn’t as significant as some other guys in the scoring column (11 points tonight), but he makes an impact on defense and on the glass and tonight dished out four assists. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Drew have a huge game Sunday at Purdue as Drew tends to be a streaky player and the percentages say his outside shot will fall more Sunday after two games where he’s struggled from distance.
John Shurna was his solid self on offense with 17 points. He needs to make more of his free throws, but actually the play that impressed me most with Shurna was a rebound. He tapped the ball up to himself then controlled it in the midst of a couple Iowa players. The getting that 50/50 ball just seemed to show the intensity with which Shurna was playing and I’ve seen the same focus the last few games. If Shurna and his teammates keep that focus up they’ve got a real shot to pull off a couple upsets in the next week.
Finally, I have to give some credit to Nick Fruendt who saw some action tonight. He knows what’s going on and while he hasn’t scored in this game or the win over Michigan State, he saw significant action in both games and with Luka Mirkovic and JerShon Cobb still on the bench; Fruendt is an important player for Northwestern.
This win is NU’s third in a row and that winning streak correlates with the emergence of other scorers for the ‘Cats beside John Shurna and Drew Crawford. The most significant to me is freshman guard Dave Sobolewski. Sobo stepped up tonight with 23 points and 7 assists (against 3 turnovers) in 40 minutes of action. He also recorded four steals. It’s tough replacing what Juice Thompson did last year for NU when he played as well as any Wildcat I’ve seen in his final 10 or so games, but Sobolewski seems to be now where Juice was when Juice was a sophomore or junior. Juice led both those teams to the postseason and Sobolewski seems to be leading this team in the same direction and maybe even to a more prestigious spot in the postseason.
Another non-star who stepped up for NU was Reggie Hearn who followed up his 20 point game versus Illinois with 16 points tonight vs Iowa. Alex Marcotullio started slow, but pretty much ended the game himself when he went on an individual 9-0 run that put a stop to any Iowa hopes for a comeback.
As far as NU’s stars, Drew Crawford, like did vs Illinois, wasn’t as significant as some other guys in the scoring column (11 points tonight), but he makes an impact on defense and on the glass and tonight dished out four assists. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Drew have a huge game Sunday at Purdue as Drew tends to be a streaky player and the percentages say his outside shot will fall more Sunday after two games where he’s struggled from distance.
John Shurna was his solid self on offense with 17 points. He needs to make more of his free throws, but actually the play that impressed me most with Shurna was a rebound. He tapped the ball up to himself then controlled it in the midst of a couple Iowa players. The getting that 50/50 ball just seemed to show the intensity with which Shurna was playing and I’ve seen the same focus the last few games. If Shurna and his teammates keep that focus up they’ve got a real shot to pull off a couple upsets in the next week.
Finally, I have to give some credit to Nick Fruendt who saw some action tonight. He knows what’s going on and while he hasn’t scored in this game or the win over Michigan State, he saw significant action in both games and with Luka Mirkovic and JerShon Cobb still on the bench; Fruendt is an important player for Northwestern.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Can the ‘Cats Keep Wildcat Nation Smiling with a Win at Wisconsin?
As the Northwestern students rushed onto the court Saturday afternoon and Gus Johnson in his typical enthusiastic manner said, “Chicago’s…Big…Ten…Team!” (BTW, I’d have Johnson’s call on that in every NU promo from now until the Sun burns out). Wildcat Nation had to break out into a collective grin. The two losses the Wildcats suffered to Illinois and Michigan had left me (and I assume most of you) just sad. Not even upset. Just so sad. On Thursday after the Michigan loss I had people ask if I felt sick and I really think it was because I was just so depressed after seeing the Wildcats fail in what seemed like a defining game for this season that I simply didn’t look well. I know I’m way too invested in what happens with the ‘Cats and sincerely wish I had something else in my life with which to replace them as a priority, but I don’t and so I’m hoping that my depression from the Michigan loss can be totally replaced after a win Wednesday in Madison. Sure, the Michigan State win was great, but the losses to Illinois and Michigan right now are still haunting defeats. However, that can change. NU has a great chance to beat Wisconsin at the Kohl Center for the first time ever this week. In addition, Minnesota is an inconsistent team that I could see the Wildcats being able to play with when they travel up to the Twin Cities on Sunday.
For now though let’s keep focused on what’s going on in Madison. This is a talented Wisconsin team, but they’re underachieving right now. Especially on offense. Rumors are even circulating that star guard Jordan Taylor is playing hurt and that’s the reason for his only shooting 39% overall and only 31% from three point range. Whatever the case, Taylor has looked far more mortal this season than in the last two and his struggles have turned into team struggles as the Badgers have failed to score. When the Badgers have scored they’ve done so by supporting Taylor’s 13.8ppg with Jared Breggren (10.9ppg) inside and two recruits who chose Wisconsin over Northwestern Josh Gasser (48.9% 3PT) and Ben Brust (40.2% 3PT) from the outside. Gasser’s probably been the most consistent of the guards as Brust has had some big games such as seven threes versus UNLV and had some days where he seriously struggled. Honestly, though, I think NU can out shoot Wisconsin if it comes down to that. My bigger concern is on the offensive glass. Davide Curletti played the game his life on Saturday getting NU some second chance points and helping contain Michigan State’s front court from getting easy putbacks. However, I question the reality of getting the same game out of Curletti again. I think NU will need something good out of Luka Mirkovic and Davide as they battle the rebounding of Breggren, Ryan Evans, and the aptly named Mike Bruesewitz who pull down five-plus boards. Also, don’t discount Gasser as a rebounder. He’s very active around the glass. I have to say that although Josh Gasser obviously isn’t the dominate player that Andrew Luck is that as much as the Wildcats might lament losing out on Luck to Stanford in football, losing Gasser was just as bad for basketball. Based on who the ‘Cats had on the team these last two years and Gasser’s shooting and active play I truly think he might have been the missing piece to NU making the tournament. Of course, he’s a Badger there is nothing that can be done about it. I can tell you, though, I’m going to be really really pissed if he’s the difference in this game.
Looking at the game, NU used the 1-3-1 all game vs MSU, but Wisconsin is a different type of team. They’re a little better at taking care of the ball and have the potential to shoot better. However, if the Badgers continue to slump shooting then perhaps the 1-3-1 could be the key to a win. One thing we know for sure is that taking care of the ball will be key as this should be a low scoring game. I know Northwestern can win this game. However, with Bill Carmody’s 0-12 record in Madison and the way NU get hammered by Wisconsin last year I can’t really honestly predict an NU victory. Plus, Wisconsin is by far the most physical team in the Big Ten and NU seems to basically have six players right now with Alex Marcotullio likely out, JerShon Cobb at something like 70%, and Nick Fruendt as the primary sub at guard and Luka Mirkovic as the primary sub in the front court. That’s tough. I think this is a close game and I think NU can win, but they’ll need a lot of breaks which might not happen in Mad Town. I Predict: Wisconsin, 55 Northwestern, 50
For now though let’s keep focused on what’s going on in Madison. This is a talented Wisconsin team, but they’re underachieving right now. Especially on offense. Rumors are even circulating that star guard Jordan Taylor is playing hurt and that’s the reason for his only shooting 39% overall and only 31% from three point range. Whatever the case, Taylor has looked far more mortal this season than in the last two and his struggles have turned into team struggles as the Badgers have failed to score. When the Badgers have scored they’ve done so by supporting Taylor’s 13.8ppg with Jared Breggren (10.9ppg) inside and two recruits who chose Wisconsin over Northwestern Josh Gasser (48.9% 3PT) and Ben Brust (40.2% 3PT) from the outside. Gasser’s probably been the most consistent of the guards as Brust has had some big games such as seven threes versus UNLV and had some days where he seriously struggled. Honestly, though, I think NU can out shoot Wisconsin if it comes down to that. My bigger concern is on the offensive glass. Davide Curletti played the game his life on Saturday getting NU some second chance points and helping contain Michigan State’s front court from getting easy putbacks. However, I question the reality of getting the same game out of Curletti again. I think NU will need something good out of Luka Mirkovic and Davide as they battle the rebounding of Breggren, Ryan Evans, and the aptly named Mike Bruesewitz who pull down five-plus boards. Also, don’t discount Gasser as a rebounder. He’s very active around the glass. I have to say that although Josh Gasser obviously isn’t the dominate player that Andrew Luck is that as much as the Wildcats might lament losing out on Luck to Stanford in football, losing Gasser was just as bad for basketball. Based on who the ‘Cats had on the team these last two years and Gasser’s shooting and active play I truly think he might have been the missing piece to NU making the tournament. Of course, he’s a Badger there is nothing that can be done about it. I can tell you, though, I’m going to be really really pissed if he’s the difference in this game.
Looking at the game, NU used the 1-3-1 all game vs MSU, but Wisconsin is a different type of team. They’re a little better at taking care of the ball and have the potential to shoot better. However, if the Badgers continue to slump shooting then perhaps the 1-3-1 could be the key to a win. One thing we know for sure is that taking care of the ball will be key as this should be a low scoring game. I know Northwestern can win this game. However, with Bill Carmody’s 0-12 record in Madison and the way NU get hammered by Wisconsin last year I can’t really honestly predict an NU victory. Plus, Wisconsin is by far the most physical team in the Big Ten and NU seems to basically have six players right now with Alex Marcotullio likely out, JerShon Cobb at something like 70%, and Nick Fruendt as the primary sub at guard and Luka Mirkovic as the primary sub in the front court. That’s tough. I think this is a close game and I think NU can win, but they’ll need a lot of breaks which might not happen in Mad Town. I Predict: Wisconsin, 55 Northwestern, 50
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Rebound. Yes!
They finally did it. The Wildcats rebounded both in basketball terms and mentally to get their second quality win of the year. It’s easy to look at today’s game and then look back and really be frustrated by the losses NU suffered to Illinois and Michigan, but you can’t do that. You need to focus on today’s success and use that as a potential jumping off point for a sustained run of success.
The Wildcats still ran into some old problems such as their continued struggles at the free throw line and they seem to have issues at times recognizing that they are being doubled teamed and as a result miss getting the ball to open shooters. However, some of the other major issues the Wildcats have had such as turnover trouble and rebounding were taken care of today. The ‘Cats turned the ball over just seven times compared to MSU’s 14 and while Michigan State did outrebound NU by 12, the Spartans didn’t have many three or four shot possessions which just cut the heart out of NU’s effort to sustain momentum. I truly believe if NU plays as well on the glass as they did today and shoots free throws as well as they can that Northwestern will have a chance in virtually any game they play.
Part of Northwestern’s success on the glass today came as a result of finally getting production from the center spot. Davide Curletti ended the day with a team high six rebounds but it wasn’t just the number. It was that twice he turned offensive rebounds into points. It was that his hustle keep the ball alive and seemed to inspire NU’s other guys to hit the glass.
Thanks to Curletti getting 17 points and finally giving NU a center who was willing to take and make an outside shot, the game seemed to open up for NU’s other players to drive the lane. Dave Sobolewski found his way to the hoop several time as did John Shurna, Drew Crawford, and Reggie Hearn. While Shurna and Crawford were, as one would expect, the big scorers in the game, you can’t discount the performance from the other guys on NU’s team. Especially when you consider that Shurna, Crawford, Curletti, Hearn, and Sobolewski basically played the entire second half thanks to Luka Mirkovic’s ineffectiveness and JerShon Cobb and Alex Marcotullio’s injuries. Those issues also caused Nick Fruendt to get off the bench for seven minutes today and while he really didn’t go anything on offense or get a rebound, he wasn’t abused by superior athletes as so many people have feared he would end up being if he played.
I mentioned NU still struggled from the free throw line, but John Shurna did make 10-of-11 which was huge because he wasn’t hitting a ton from the field. This once again brings up the question why he wasn’t allowed to shoot the technical against Michigan, but I’ll try my best not to dwell on that fact. The guy who did shoot that technical was Drew Crawford and he had a nice day today as well (though only made 1-of-2 free throws) making some nice drives to the basket, mid-range shots, and hitting three threes. Dave Sobolewski took care of the ball with seven assists and only one turnover.
I’m not sure NU can go a real long winning streak without getting healthier, but it was good to see that even without Marcotullio to sub for him in the second half that Reggie Hearn kept making plays. He pulled down some key rebounds and made a couple nice baskets around the hoop which were in key in NU’s ability to hold the lead.
Overall this was a great and much needed win for the mental state of not only this team but the NU fans as well.
If the 'Cats can win at Wisconsin next week then I'll be willing to get back to talking tournament.
Oh yeah, and if the Big Ten is willing to let us wear those black jerseys at home I say we wear them every game until we lose. They've got to be okay on the road becasue they're a dark color and I guess based on the fact we wore them, that we're allowed to wear them at home too.
The Wildcats still ran into some old problems such as their continued struggles at the free throw line and they seem to have issues at times recognizing that they are being doubled teamed and as a result miss getting the ball to open shooters. However, some of the other major issues the Wildcats have had such as turnover trouble and rebounding were taken care of today. The ‘Cats turned the ball over just seven times compared to MSU’s 14 and while Michigan State did outrebound NU by 12, the Spartans didn’t have many three or four shot possessions which just cut the heart out of NU’s effort to sustain momentum. I truly believe if NU plays as well on the glass as they did today and shoots free throws as well as they can that Northwestern will have a chance in virtually any game they play.
Part of Northwestern’s success on the glass today came as a result of finally getting production from the center spot. Davide Curletti ended the day with a team high six rebounds but it wasn’t just the number. It was that twice he turned offensive rebounds into points. It was that his hustle keep the ball alive and seemed to inspire NU’s other guys to hit the glass.
Thanks to Curletti getting 17 points and finally giving NU a center who was willing to take and make an outside shot, the game seemed to open up for NU’s other players to drive the lane. Dave Sobolewski found his way to the hoop several time as did John Shurna, Drew Crawford, and Reggie Hearn. While Shurna and Crawford were, as one would expect, the big scorers in the game, you can’t discount the performance from the other guys on NU’s team. Especially when you consider that Shurna, Crawford, Curletti, Hearn, and Sobolewski basically played the entire second half thanks to Luka Mirkovic’s ineffectiveness and JerShon Cobb and Alex Marcotullio’s injuries. Those issues also caused Nick Fruendt to get off the bench for seven minutes today and while he really didn’t go anything on offense or get a rebound, he wasn’t abused by superior athletes as so many people have feared he would end up being if he played.
I mentioned NU still struggled from the free throw line, but John Shurna did make 10-of-11 which was huge because he wasn’t hitting a ton from the field. This once again brings up the question why he wasn’t allowed to shoot the technical against Michigan, but I’ll try my best not to dwell on that fact. The guy who did shoot that technical was Drew Crawford and he had a nice day today as well (though only made 1-of-2 free throws) making some nice drives to the basket, mid-range shots, and hitting three threes. Dave Sobolewski took care of the ball with seven assists and only one turnover.
I’m not sure NU can go a real long winning streak without getting healthier, but it was good to see that even without Marcotullio to sub for him in the second half that Reggie Hearn kept making plays. He pulled down some key rebounds and made a couple nice baskets around the hoop which were in key in NU’s ability to hold the lead.
Overall this was a great and much needed win for the mental state of not only this team but the NU fans as well.
If the 'Cats can win at Wisconsin next week then I'll be willing to get back to talking tournament.
Oh yeah, and if the Big Ten is willing to let us wear those black jerseys at home I say we wear them every game until we lose. They've got to be okay on the road becasue they're a dark color and I guess based on the fact we wore them, that we're allowed to wear them at home too.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Wildcats Follow Ideal Script vs Mississippi Valley State
This game couldn’t have gone better for Northwestern. Not only did the Wildcats post an easy victory, they managed to rest all the key players with former walk-on Reggie Hearn being the only starter to play more than 20 minutes and they still scored 92 points thanks to some production from the bench. Perhaps the only depressing result to this game is that John Shurna only scored 9 points which will lower his scoring average, but he hit three of four three pointers on the way to helping the ‘Cats make a total of 20 three point field goals.
Four of those 20 three point field goals came from Nick Fruendt who saw his first extended action of the year. Fruendt has the ability to make shots and actually led NU with 21 points tonight. Obviously the feeling in the Wildcat coaching staff is that his defense isn’t up to par for most games, but his ability to hit shots makes me wonder if he can still find a role before the end of the year.
Freshman point guard Tre Demps also saw a lot of action tonight and scored eight points. He also dished out four assists and when combined with Dave Sobolewski the Wildcats two freshman guards combined for 8 assists and 1 turnover. NU did a great job with handling the ball tonight. The starters combined with 14 assists and only four turnovers. Overall, I know that this wasn’t a great opponent, but I thought NU’s effort was solid.
The guy who always puts in great effort, Reggie Hearn, led NU with seven rebounds and continued to show a nice shooting touch with three of five three pointers. He finished with 15 points and played his usual solid defense.
I also think it’s important to note that Luka Mirkovic played his second consecutive solid game. He went 5-of-5 from the field dished out three assists. Hopefully his confidence is high going into Sunday. Another guy who should have good confidence going into Sunday is Drew Crawford. Crawford looked great shooting ball today making 4-of-5 three pointers and scoring 14 points. He also grabbed 5 rebounds and had two steals.
Bottom line, this game was the game it was supposed to be. Now, Northwestern gets ready to play #7 Baylor on Sunday. The Wildcats will go into that game unbeaten and with a chance to make a huge statement to both the Big Ten and the entire college basketball world.
Four of those 20 three point field goals came from Nick Fruendt who saw his first extended action of the year. Fruendt has the ability to make shots and actually led NU with 21 points tonight. Obviously the feeling in the Wildcat coaching staff is that his defense isn’t up to par for most games, but his ability to hit shots makes me wonder if he can still find a role before the end of the year.
Freshman point guard Tre Demps also saw a lot of action tonight and scored eight points. He also dished out four assists and when combined with Dave Sobolewski the Wildcats two freshman guards combined for 8 assists and 1 turnover. NU did a great job with handling the ball tonight. The starters combined with 14 assists and only four turnovers. Overall, I know that this wasn’t a great opponent, but I thought NU’s effort was solid.
The guy who always puts in great effort, Reggie Hearn, led NU with seven rebounds and continued to show a nice shooting touch with three of five three pointers. He finished with 15 points and played his usual solid defense.
I also think it’s important to note that Luka Mirkovic played his second consecutive solid game. He went 5-of-5 from the field dished out three assists. Hopefully his confidence is high going into Sunday. Another guy who should have good confidence going into Sunday is Drew Crawford. Crawford looked great shooting ball today making 4-of-5 three pointers and scoring 14 points. He also grabbed 5 rebounds and had two steals.
Bottom line, this game was the game it was supposed to be. Now, Northwestern gets ready to play #7 Baylor on Sunday. The Wildcats will go into that game unbeaten and with a chance to make a huge statement to both the Big Ten and the entire college basketball world.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Wildcats Look to Avoid Trap Versus Mississippi Valley State
Based on every objective measure (and probably most subjective ones) 6-0 Northwestern is much better than 1-6 Mississippi Valley State and will most likely win this game easily. However, I can’t help but be a little worried. I remember a 47-45 loss to Mississippi Valley State in 2003 that was one of the games that cost Northwestern an NIT bid that season and I know that every person involved with Northwestern basketball (whether they admit it or not) has Sunday’s massively important game versus Baylor in the back of their minds. Therefore, this is a trap game and one that Northwestern needs to stay focused in on or a disaster could occur.
As noted above, Mississippi Valley State isn’t great record wise, but they have played some good teams. They’ve faced Notre Dame, DePaul, North Carolina, and South Carolina already this season. While only the South Carolina game was really close (a 61-57 S.C. win) only the North Carolina game saw Mississippi Valley State get totally blown off the court. What does that mean? To me it means that Northwestern has to be ready for some of the better players in the Mississippi Valley State lineup and has to maintain their defensive intensity in this contest.
Defense to me is the key. Mississippi Valley State hasn’t played much of it this season as they allow on average more than 82 points per game and let their opponents make 40% of their three point shots. That’s really bad defense and with NU’s multiple talents on offense the Wildcats should be excited to play this game because it could be one where everybody gets into the scorebook.
On offense, Mississippi Valley State is average. They scored 90 points in their lone win (but that was an OT game) and for the year score about 65 points per game. Their best player is Terrence Joyner who averages about 11 points per game and joins Brent Arrington as solid three point shooters. Still, if Northwestern maintains the defensive intensity they have in their previous games then it is realistic to believe that the ‘Cats should win this game fairly easily.
Given the magnitude of Sunday’s contest, it would be ideal if NU got some rest for the frontline players and gave Nick Fruendt and Tre Demps a little action off the bench. Will that happen? I’m exactly sure. I’m hoping so, but I also know that Bill Carmody knows this game is one which he needs to put extra emphasis on to make sure his players don’t lose focus and start to look too far forward. With Mississippi Valley State’s defensive issues, I don’t think that’ll be a problem. I predict: Northwestern, 88 Mississippi Valley State, 63
As noted above, Mississippi Valley State isn’t great record wise, but they have played some good teams. They’ve faced Notre Dame, DePaul, North Carolina, and South Carolina already this season. While only the South Carolina game was really close (a 61-57 S.C. win) only the North Carolina game saw Mississippi Valley State get totally blown off the court. What does that mean? To me it means that Northwestern has to be ready for some of the better players in the Mississippi Valley State lineup and has to maintain their defensive intensity in this contest.
Defense to me is the key. Mississippi Valley State hasn’t played much of it this season as they allow on average more than 82 points per game and let their opponents make 40% of their three point shots. That’s really bad defense and with NU’s multiple talents on offense the Wildcats should be excited to play this game because it could be one where everybody gets into the scorebook.
On offense, Mississippi Valley State is average. They scored 90 points in their lone win (but that was an OT game) and for the year score about 65 points per game. Their best player is Terrence Joyner who averages about 11 points per game and joins Brent Arrington as solid three point shooters. Still, if Northwestern maintains the defensive intensity they have in their previous games then it is realistic to believe that the ‘Cats should win this game fairly easily.
Given the magnitude of Sunday’s contest, it would be ideal if NU got some rest for the frontline players and gave Nick Fruendt and Tre Demps a little action off the bench. Will that happen? I’m exactly sure. I’m hoping so, but I also know that Bill Carmody knows this game is one which he needs to put extra emphasis on to make sure his players don’t lose focus and start to look too far forward. With Mississippi Valley State’s defensive issues, I don’t think that’ll be a problem. I predict: Northwestern, 88 Mississippi Valley State, 63
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Northwestern Ready to Host Stony Brook in Post-Thanksgiving Game
If you’re looking to take a break from post-Thanksgiving shopping tomorrow you might want to stop by Welsh-Ryan Arena at noon to see Northwestern take on Stony Brook. Now, you first reaction might be to assume that this game wouldn’t be all that entertaining, but the fact is Stony Brook is a respectable team that could give Northwestern a challenge. Of course, Northwestern should win the game, but the Sea Wolves played close with Indiana for a half and are projected as an NCAA Tournament team. Therefore, a win over Stony Brook would give NU wins over three potential NCAA teams in their first five games. Hopefully, that fact makes the ‘Cats focus as this could be a trap game with the ACC/Big Ten Challenge against Georgia Tech coming up on Tuesday.
Stony Brook is one of the most balanced offensive teams I’ve ever seen. They manage to score more than 70 points per game, but don’t have a single player who averages double figures. Instead, they have seven players, including Chicago’s Al Rapier, who average more than 6.5 points per game. Looking at those numbers it becomes hard to decide who to focus the defense on. Hopefully, NU can play man-to-man and work on that defense.
Stony Brook has some good shooters in Anthony Jackson, Bryan Dougher, and Ron Bracey. I’d think that given that fact the 1-3-1 won’t be a defense NU plays much in this contest. The only possible reason to consider the 1-3-1 might be because Stony Brook isn’t the greatest ball-handling team ever. Guard/Forward Tommy Brenton has a 16-to-6 assist to turnover ratio, but most of the rest of the Sea Wolves are turnover prone.
I’m hopeful that this game will present Northwestern the chance to use some of the bench a bit more. If Nick Fruendt and Tre Demps are going to play any sort of a role for this team they need to get some action on the court before the Big Ten starts. This could be a chance to do so. Also, given that Tuesday will be another road trip and the ‘Cats still aren’t 100% healthy I’d like to see if some of the ‘Cats who aren’t feeling their best don’t have to play 30+ minutes. That might limit the scoring a bit, but I’ve still got a fairly easy Wildcat win. I predict: Northwestern, 77 Stony Brook, 54
Stony Brook is one of the most balanced offensive teams I’ve ever seen. They manage to score more than 70 points per game, but don’t have a single player who averages double figures. Instead, they have seven players, including Chicago’s Al Rapier, who average more than 6.5 points per game. Looking at those numbers it becomes hard to decide who to focus the defense on. Hopefully, NU can play man-to-man and work on that defense.
Stony Brook has some good shooters in Anthony Jackson, Bryan Dougher, and Ron Bracey. I’d think that given that fact the 1-3-1 won’t be a defense NU plays much in this contest. The only possible reason to consider the 1-3-1 might be because Stony Brook isn’t the greatest ball-handling team ever. Guard/Forward Tommy Brenton has a 16-to-6 assist to turnover ratio, but most of the rest of the Sea Wolves are turnover prone.
I’m hopeful that this game will present Northwestern the chance to use some of the bench a bit more. If Nick Fruendt and Tre Demps are going to play any sort of a role for this team they need to get some action on the court before the Big Ten starts. This could be a chance to do so. Also, given that Tuesday will be another road trip and the ‘Cats still aren’t 100% healthy I’d like to see if some of the ‘Cats who aren’t feeling their best don’t have to play 30+ minutes. That might limit the scoring a bit, but I’ve still got a fairly easy Wildcat win. I predict: Northwestern, 77 Stony Brook, 54
Monday, November 7, 2011
Wildcats Learn Something about Depth in Exhibition Win
My theme all off-season was on the importance of NU developing depth to compete in the rugged Big Ten. Tonight’s 99-47 exhibition win over Robert Morris probably doesn’t reveal a lot about Northwestern, but it does show the ‘Cats might have some quality depth on their bench which certainly didn’t exist the last several seasons.
Thanks to ankle injuries to Drew Crawford and Alex Marcotullio and JerShon Cobb still slowed from his hip-injury, NU went pretty young and inexperienced in the starting lineup. Tre Demps and Dave Sobolewksi got the call at the guards and Reggie Hearn saw his first serious action as a starter at small forward. All three looked very good. I know it was action against an NAIA school, but Robert Morris is a very good NAIA school. An NAIA school that was good enough to beat a solid NU team a few years back. I liked how all three hung in with the level of athleticism that RMU but on the court and seemed to play with control for the most part. Demps may have fired up a few ill-advised shots, but I think he’s a good enough player that some of those are going to go in from time to time. Plus, Demps, who I thought was more of the pure-scorer of the two freshmen guards, showed a nice three point shot making 3-of-4. He also dished out 3 assists to only 1 turnover. Sobolewski, who I thought was the more of the pure-shooter, didn’t disappoint as a shooter as he made both his three point shots and looked solid from the free-throw line sinking 7-of-9 charity strip shots. He also had 2 assists to 0 turnovers. Hearn got in on the action from three making 1-of-2 and in passing handing out 4 assists to 1 turnover. I also just felt like he showed great understanding of the offense. He seemed to find himself in position to make or pass to teammates for easy shots. I don’t know if we’ll see much Reggie Hearn in regular season games, but I think he’s clearly a valuable player to have on the team.
Nick Fruendt came off the bench in NU’s guard/small forward rotation and led the ‘Cats in scoring with 17 points. Fruendt is a good shooter and he showed it by going 4-for-4 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line. With that type of offensive ability you’d expect to see Fruendt finally become a consistent contributor, but I think it’ll be his defensive progress which we’ll have to keep an eye on to see if he can crack double-digit minutes when the Big Ten season starts.
The NU front court starters were mainstays John Shurna and Luka Mirkovic. Shurna looked solid in his 19 minutes and finished with 12 points. Luka only played 17 minutes, but he grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 5 assists (a huge asset in a Princeton-style center) and hit a three. He’s a decent three point shooter and I think the center position needs to make at least 3 threes a game against NU’s tougher opponents for the ‘Cats to have the best chance to pull out W’s in those contests.
Off the bench in the front court I was really pleased with Davide Curletti who scored 16 points, notched 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. His only real failing was only hitting 3-of-6 free throws. I really like Davide’s shot and I think he shot make a much higher percentage. I’ve also got to give a big thumbs up to freshman Mike Turner who I think is a legit Big Ten athlete. He might need some work on his basketball skills, but I liked how he hit the glass (8 rebounds) and just his overall hustle approach. Will he play much this season? Maybe not. Still, he’s got a future that I see as pretty bright. Walk-on James Montgomery III seemed similar as well as he blocked 2 shots, scored 2 points, and had 2 assists. He looks quick as well and might take a Hearn like route to being a contributor someday.
Overall, every Wildcat who played looked as if they could play. Even with competition that wasn’t Big Ten caliber that’s saying something when compared with past NU teams. The ‘Cats start regular season play on Sunday. The big question is how healthy are Cobb, Marcotullio, and Crawford, but seeing the talent on the court with those guys out, I’m confident that ‘Cats have enough depth they’ll be able to compete in the Big Ten this season once their roster returns to full strength. As it stands, they should be able to compete with Texas-Pan American on Sunday as they are, but we’d like to see the full crew ready for LSU in a week and a half.
Thanks to ankle injuries to Drew Crawford and Alex Marcotullio and JerShon Cobb still slowed from his hip-injury, NU went pretty young and inexperienced in the starting lineup. Tre Demps and Dave Sobolewksi got the call at the guards and Reggie Hearn saw his first serious action as a starter at small forward. All three looked very good. I know it was action against an NAIA school, but Robert Morris is a very good NAIA school. An NAIA school that was good enough to beat a solid NU team a few years back. I liked how all three hung in with the level of athleticism that RMU but on the court and seemed to play with control for the most part. Demps may have fired up a few ill-advised shots, but I think he’s a good enough player that some of those are going to go in from time to time. Plus, Demps, who I thought was more of the pure-scorer of the two freshmen guards, showed a nice three point shot making 3-of-4. He also dished out 3 assists to only 1 turnover. Sobolewski, who I thought was the more of the pure-shooter, didn’t disappoint as a shooter as he made both his three point shots and looked solid from the free-throw line sinking 7-of-9 charity strip shots. He also had 2 assists to 0 turnovers. Hearn got in on the action from three making 1-of-2 and in passing handing out 4 assists to 1 turnover. I also just felt like he showed great understanding of the offense. He seemed to find himself in position to make or pass to teammates for easy shots. I don’t know if we’ll see much Reggie Hearn in regular season games, but I think he’s clearly a valuable player to have on the team.
Nick Fruendt came off the bench in NU’s guard/small forward rotation and led the ‘Cats in scoring with 17 points. Fruendt is a good shooter and he showed it by going 4-for-4 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line. With that type of offensive ability you’d expect to see Fruendt finally become a consistent contributor, but I think it’ll be his defensive progress which we’ll have to keep an eye on to see if he can crack double-digit minutes when the Big Ten season starts.
The NU front court starters were mainstays John Shurna and Luka Mirkovic. Shurna looked solid in his 19 minutes and finished with 12 points. Luka only played 17 minutes, but he grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 5 assists (a huge asset in a Princeton-style center) and hit a three. He’s a decent three point shooter and I think the center position needs to make at least 3 threes a game against NU’s tougher opponents for the ‘Cats to have the best chance to pull out W’s in those contests.
Off the bench in the front court I was really pleased with Davide Curletti who scored 16 points, notched 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. His only real failing was only hitting 3-of-6 free throws. I really like Davide’s shot and I think he shot make a much higher percentage. I’ve also got to give a big thumbs up to freshman Mike Turner who I think is a legit Big Ten athlete. He might need some work on his basketball skills, but I liked how he hit the glass (8 rebounds) and just his overall hustle approach. Will he play much this season? Maybe not. Still, he’s got a future that I see as pretty bright. Walk-on James Montgomery III seemed similar as well as he blocked 2 shots, scored 2 points, and had 2 assists. He looks quick as well and might take a Hearn like route to being a contributor someday.
Overall, every Wildcat who played looked as if they could play. Even with competition that wasn’t Big Ten caliber that’s saying something when compared with past NU teams. The ‘Cats start regular season play on Sunday. The big question is how healthy are Cobb, Marcotullio, and Crawford, but seeing the talent on the court with those guys out, I’m confident that ‘Cats have enough depth they’ll be able to compete in the Big Ten this season once their roster returns to full strength. As it stands, they should be able to compete with Texas-Pan American on Sunday as they are, but we’d like to see the full crew ready for LSU in a week and a half.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
What Will Take for This to be THE Year??????
Until Northwestern makes the NCAA Tournament fans will always come into the season wondering if this is going be the year the ‘Cats finally break into the NCAA Tournament field. Just two weeks from the opening tip of the season versus Texas-Pan American, I can’t help but wonder what it’ll take for this to be the year the ‘Cats make that breakthrough. They’ve been close each of the last three years. Three years ago a couple late season losses to Illinois and Ohio State doomed them, two years ago an inability to beat the bottom of the Big Ten doomed them, and last year a weak non-conference schedule combined with the inability to beat a “marquee” opponent ruined the ‘Cats shot at being named on Selection Sunday. On paper the teams of the last three years might be stronger than this year’s squad, but I find myself hoping that this version of the Wildcats led by a group of seniors who have seen the mistakes of the past three seasons will finally breakthrough. Let’s take a look at what they need to do.
1) Take advantage of non-conference opportunities. – Last year the Wildcats didn’t get many chances in the non-conference schedule to get big wins and they lost in one of their best chances when they played at St. John’s. This year NU gets a decent field at the Charleston Classic and huge home tilt vs Baylor. If NU can win the Charleston Classic and beat Baylor they’ll have several RPI boosting wins that were missing in previous years. Road contests at Georgia Tech and Creighton also potentially offer a greater challenge than games of the past two years.
2) Get consistent production for the center position. – Looking at history the best Princeton Offense teams have always had centers who stuffed the stat sheet consistently. Over the past three years Luka Mirkovic and Davide Curletti have had some big games in some of NU’s biggest wins (see Luka’s double-double in an upset of #6 Purdue) but they haven’t been consistent. If these two demonstrate a level of consistency I expect this could be THE year. They’ll get a good challenge early in 7-0 260-pound LSU center Justin Hamilton (an Iowa St. transfer) who will be eligible to play when NU takes on the Tigers.
3) Get production from unlikely sources. – When teams have breakout years they usually have a player nobody has expectations for who steps up. For NU that might be Nick Fruendt who is a senior that has shown flashes of ability, but who never consistently got into Bill Carmody’s rotation. Also, Carmody mentioned walk-on Reggie Hearn as somebody who might crack the rotation when interviewed at Big Ten media day.
4) Start fast in the conference season. – The last couple years NU hasn’t started great in conference play. Yes, the schedule has been tough, but that’s not an excuse that NCAA Tournament teams make. To make the Big Dance NU needs at least a .500 conference record and they won’t get it if they again start the Big Ten 0-4. The good news is that while the opener at Ohio State is going to be very tough, home games vs Penn State and Illinois offer NU the chance to get at least two Big Ten wins in the first week and a half of conference play.
5) Play defense – Northwestern has been inconsistent on defense over the past few seasons. They’ve had their moments, but haven’t really played that well. A strong defensive finish to last season gives me hope, so we’ll see how it goes in a couple weeks.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Close Again, but Still Nothing
I don’t really know what to say right now. Another good effort, but the bottom line is Northwestern just can’t reach the summit when it comes to postseason sports in both men’s basketball and football. I know people will talk about how this was a great effort, and it was, but it means nothing and I can’t pretend like it does. The loss is a loss. No such thing as a good loss exists which means the NIT selection committee is just going to see Northwestern as an 18-13 team with really no good wins. That means the odds are NU is going to play a road game in the NIT now, and because they stink outside of Evanston they’ll likely lose it. So while a 67-61 loss to the #1 team in the country (especially playing short handed) is a nice accomplishment, it’s not an accomplishment that’s really worth anything other than another number of the record’s right hand side. It’s like the Outback Bowl two years ago, everybody was so proud of that game, but the bottom line is it was a loss. I don’t care how great the game was; we’ve mastered losing close games. Let’s work on winning them.
What went well today? John Shurna was great. He scored 23 points and really came back from a major sub-par effort against Minnesota. I wish he would have tried score in the post late in regulation instead of passing to ice cold Drew Crawford and I think he forced a few shots in OT, but overall I’d say Shurna was NU’s best player today. Crawford did alright as well, but the fact his jump shot has totally deserted him makes him a less effective player. He did do a decent job of taking the ball to the hoop, but his preference for finger rolls and fade-a-aways made him miss a number of looks I thought he could/should have finished. In the end, those might have been the difference in the game. He did hit all his free throws and actually NU’s free throw shooting today was fantastic. If NU had won in regulation it would have been the reason. I thought NU also did play decent defense, but the fact is Jared Sullinger is just a monster compared to anybody NU has. No matter how well Luka Mirkovic, Davide Curletti, or John Shurna played him, the odds were they were going to foul him at some point. In overtime, the refs seemed to become more willing to call those fouls and that hurt the ‘Cats as well.
Juice Thompson wasn’t as good today as yesterday, but OSU’s Aaron Craft is a great defender and he made Thompson have to really work for shots that yesterday he could have got with ease. NU also didn’t really get the same bench contribution today as yesterday, but I think we all knew that Ohio State was a tough game for Nick Fruendt. Maybe having JerShon Cobb and Mike Capocci might have pushed NU over the top in this one, but that’s worthless speculation.
In the end, NU played well, but the better team won and the game’s best player made the biggest difference. It was simply a surprise that most of that difference came at the free throw line and not in the post where NU actually did okay on Sullinger. If Northwestern ever wants to truly compete with good teams, they will have to improve their post players. Like I said, Mirkovic and Curletti did okay, but Sullinger still got way more rebounds and scored way more points. Also, Mirkovic almost cost NU a chance to win even earlier in OT with a silly technical foul because he couldn’t control his emotions. Thankfully, the OSU player missed both shots the so the foul didn’t really matter in terms of points, but it did send Mirkovic to the bench which might have made a difference since then the smaller Shurna had to guard Sullinger.
The bottom line is this is another terribly disappointing loss for Northwestern basketball. It’s the kind of loss that makes you wonder if making the tournament will ever be possible. NU actually caught a few breaks today such as an Alex Marcotullio three counting when it shouldn’t have and OSU shooting sub-par, but is wasn’t enough. Seemingly, nothing ever is.
What went well today? John Shurna was great. He scored 23 points and really came back from a major sub-par effort against Minnesota. I wish he would have tried score in the post late in regulation instead of passing to ice cold Drew Crawford and I think he forced a few shots in OT, but overall I’d say Shurna was NU’s best player today. Crawford did alright as well, but the fact his jump shot has totally deserted him makes him a less effective player. He did do a decent job of taking the ball to the hoop, but his preference for finger rolls and fade-a-aways made him miss a number of looks I thought he could/should have finished. In the end, those might have been the difference in the game. He did hit all his free throws and actually NU’s free throw shooting today was fantastic. If NU had won in regulation it would have been the reason. I thought NU also did play decent defense, but the fact is Jared Sullinger is just a monster compared to anybody NU has. No matter how well Luka Mirkovic, Davide Curletti, or John Shurna played him, the odds were they were going to foul him at some point. In overtime, the refs seemed to become more willing to call those fouls and that hurt the ‘Cats as well.
Juice Thompson wasn’t as good today as yesterday, but OSU’s Aaron Craft is a great defender and he made Thompson have to really work for shots that yesterday he could have got with ease. NU also didn’t really get the same bench contribution today as yesterday, but I think we all knew that Ohio State was a tough game for Nick Fruendt. Maybe having JerShon Cobb and Mike Capocci might have pushed NU over the top in this one, but that’s worthless speculation.
In the end, NU played well, but the better team won and the game’s best player made the biggest difference. It was simply a surprise that most of that difference came at the free throw line and not in the post where NU actually did okay on Sullinger. If Northwestern ever wants to truly compete with good teams, they will have to improve their post players. Like I said, Mirkovic and Curletti did okay, but Sullinger still got way more rebounds and scored way more points. Also, Mirkovic almost cost NU a chance to win even earlier in OT with a silly technical foul because he couldn’t control his emotions. Thankfully, the OSU player missed both shots the so the foul didn’t really matter in terms of points, but it did send Mirkovic to the bench which might have made a difference since then the smaller Shurna had to guard Sullinger.
The bottom line is this is another terribly disappointing loss for Northwestern basketball. It’s the kind of loss that makes you wonder if making the tournament will ever be possible. NU actually caught a few breaks today such as an Alex Marcotullio three counting when it shouldn’t have and OSU shooting sub-par, but is wasn’t enough. Seemingly, nothing ever is.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Juice =’s Record Setter and Second Chance at OSU
Juice Thompson has accomplished a lot in his Northwestern career. Even before this season started his name was all over the NU record book during this year he’s simply added to it. Thanks to his 35 points today in round 1 of the Big Ten Tournament, Juice is now in the Big Ten record book as those 35 points bested the mark of 33 points set by Purdue’s Brian Cardinal in 1999 for the Big Ten Tournament’s single game scoring record. Juice and the ‘Cats now get to face #1 Ohio State tomorrow at 11 AM Central time for a shot at their first ever trip to the Big Ten semi-finals. Though winning that game is unlikely, one has to remember that in a similar game last year it took a 40-footer from OSU star Evan Turner to top Michigan. Also, given how well NU played OSU this season, I don’t think a win is impossible.
Certainly, an effort like Juice gave today would help as would some support from his teammates.
In today’s game Northwestern as team for the second game in a row played very good defense. Minnesota shot just 37.5% overall and just 33% from three. Also, NU did a very good job making it tough for Minnesota to get open looks for three. The ‘Cat defenders were in the face of Blake Hoffarber and the other Gopher guards for a good portion of the afternoon. Really, when Minnesota made open threes they were off of offensive rebounds. That’s something NU will need to prevent versus Ohio State, but Minnesota didn’t get many, so there is some model of how to do it. NU got outrebounded 40 to 30 by Minnesota, but with only five turnovers the ‘Cats were able to maximize each possession. Since NU will likely burn 30-plus seconds off the shot clock during each possession tomorrow, that ball control will remain critical.
Obviously, with 35 points, today was the Juice Thompson show, but you have to give some credit to Alex Marcotullio, Nick Fruendt, and Drew Crawford who helped Juice out on a day with John Shurna was held to just 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting. Marcotullio scored 13 points and made 5-of-8 shots overall and 2-of-5 from three. He once again played solid defense and tied Drew Crawford for the second highest Wildcat total with 6 rebounds. I think Marcotullio’s increased comfort in driving the ball has actually helped his shooting as teams are starting to notice he’ll finish at the rim and might have to give him a little space on the outside. Nick Fruendt played heavier minutes today than he had all year because of the injuries to Mike Capocci and JerShon Cobb. In those minutes he dropped in 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting and didn’t look tentative at all on the court. That’s huge for a guy who had only played in 16 games coming into today. Odds are Cobb and Capocci won’t be back tomorrow, so Nick is going to get a shot to really test his comfort and confidence when he lines up across from Buckeye swingman William Buford.
I also have to give credit to Drew Crawford who was second on the team with 15 points and did what I’ve been asking for a while and took the ball to basket. As a result, he scored 6 of his points from the free throw line and several of those came at key times. As was stated on the ESPN2 broadcast, Crawford looks good when he shoots threes. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised that if NU does upset Ohio State the reason is Crawford gets hot and knocks in eight or nine threes, but when the shots aren’t falling from deep for Drew, he can still make a difference with his athletic skill if he attacks the basket.
Inside, NU didn’t get a ton of points or rebounds from Luka Mirkovic or Davide Curletti, but both battled enough to keep the rebounding gap respectable. John Shurna helped out with 7 boards and I never truly thought Minnesota’s athlete advantage took over. While I’d of course like to see more points from the Wildcat front court, containing the opposing athletes is just as important tomorrow.
The other thing that is important tomorrow is more consistency from NU behind the arc. Sure, the ‘Cats made nine threes, but that was on 31 tries. That’s 29% three point shooting. That won’t get it done against Ohio State. If NU is going to beat OSU they need to have a hot shooting night (or midday). If you look at NU’s 58-57 loss to Ohio State earlier this year, while NU did play well in almost every phase of the game, they didn’t shoot the ball well that day either. Ohio State is a great basketball team and the odds of NU beating them aren’t good, but as I’ve said before, Northwestern is a team I’ve seen get white-hot from behind the arc, but I haven’t seen that in a while. If they are to advance in the Big Ten Tournament, that white-hot shooting NU team needs to reappear. That means John Shurna and Drew Crawford need to do much much more than make one total three and Juice needs to pretty much repeat his efforts as do Marcotullio and Fruendt. All that happening will be tough, but at least with NU now moving to 18-12, I think they’re surly in the NIT and have a case for a home date. Of course, that case and the dream of making the Big tournament would improve with a victory tomorrow.
Certainly, an effort like Juice gave today would help as would some support from his teammates.
In today’s game Northwestern as team for the second game in a row played very good defense. Minnesota shot just 37.5% overall and just 33% from three. Also, NU did a very good job making it tough for Minnesota to get open looks for three. The ‘Cat defenders were in the face of Blake Hoffarber and the other Gopher guards for a good portion of the afternoon. Really, when Minnesota made open threes they were off of offensive rebounds. That’s something NU will need to prevent versus Ohio State, but Minnesota didn’t get many, so there is some model of how to do it. NU got outrebounded 40 to 30 by Minnesota, but with only five turnovers the ‘Cats were able to maximize each possession. Since NU will likely burn 30-plus seconds off the shot clock during each possession tomorrow, that ball control will remain critical.
Obviously, with 35 points, today was the Juice Thompson show, but you have to give some credit to Alex Marcotullio, Nick Fruendt, and Drew Crawford who helped Juice out on a day with John Shurna was held to just 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting. Marcotullio scored 13 points and made 5-of-8 shots overall and 2-of-5 from three. He once again played solid defense and tied Drew Crawford for the second highest Wildcat total with 6 rebounds. I think Marcotullio’s increased comfort in driving the ball has actually helped his shooting as teams are starting to notice he’ll finish at the rim and might have to give him a little space on the outside. Nick Fruendt played heavier minutes today than he had all year because of the injuries to Mike Capocci and JerShon Cobb. In those minutes he dropped in 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting and didn’t look tentative at all on the court. That’s huge for a guy who had only played in 16 games coming into today. Odds are Cobb and Capocci won’t be back tomorrow, so Nick is going to get a shot to really test his comfort and confidence when he lines up across from Buckeye swingman William Buford.
I also have to give credit to Drew Crawford who was second on the team with 15 points and did what I’ve been asking for a while and took the ball to basket. As a result, he scored 6 of his points from the free throw line and several of those came at key times. As was stated on the ESPN2 broadcast, Crawford looks good when he shoots threes. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised that if NU does upset Ohio State the reason is Crawford gets hot and knocks in eight or nine threes, but when the shots aren’t falling from deep for Drew, he can still make a difference with his athletic skill if he attacks the basket.
Inside, NU didn’t get a ton of points or rebounds from Luka Mirkovic or Davide Curletti, but both battled enough to keep the rebounding gap respectable. John Shurna helped out with 7 boards and I never truly thought Minnesota’s athlete advantage took over. While I’d of course like to see more points from the Wildcat front court, containing the opposing athletes is just as important tomorrow.
The other thing that is important tomorrow is more consistency from NU behind the arc. Sure, the ‘Cats made nine threes, but that was on 31 tries. That’s 29% three point shooting. That won’t get it done against Ohio State. If NU is going to beat OSU they need to have a hot shooting night (or midday). If you look at NU’s 58-57 loss to Ohio State earlier this year, while NU did play well in almost every phase of the game, they didn’t shoot the ball well that day either. Ohio State is a great basketball team and the odds of NU beating them aren’t good, but as I’ve said before, Northwestern is a team I’ve seen get white-hot from behind the arc, but I haven’t seen that in a while. If they are to advance in the Big Ten Tournament, that white-hot shooting NU team needs to reappear. That means John Shurna and Drew Crawford need to do much much more than make one total three and Juice needs to pretty much repeat his efforts as do Marcotullio and Fruendt. All that happening will be tough, but at least with NU now moving to 18-12, I think they’re surly in the NIT and have a case for a home date. Of course, that case and the dream of making the Big tournament would improve with a victory tomorrow.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
NU goes 4-0 and 1-0
The Wildcats ended a solid Italy trip with a 77-55 win today. That also ended a solid weekend for NU sports which featured a 1-0 start to the football season. I'll make a quick football rant and then get into the basketball. Okay, so Dan Persa is awesome, I knew he would be because he just sounded like the type of kid who you win with. He brings everything you want to the table and more. However, he got no support from his runningbacks and pretty much was the NU offense. If Northwestern had a halfway decent running back I think Persa would put up numbers which would make him a legit All-Big QB if not a dark horse for the Heisman. As it is, I think he'll be good and NU will go a decent bowl, but some games will be lost because NU can't run the ball. Other websites and other people have ideas why NU's non-Persa running game is so poor and they're all interesting to read, but the bottom line I think is it is a combo of players and plays called. Walk-on Jacob Schmidt is NU's starter at tailback. That's not good. I'm not trying to disrespect Schmidt and I know he'd smoke me in the 40-yard dash, but when it comes to playing runningback in the Big Ten, I just don't think he hits the hole quick enough. Really, only Persa looks like he can get to a hole. Simmons and Fields might be quicker than Schmidt, but they didn't seem to attack openings like Persa or past NU backs like Autry (x2), Wright, Herron, Sutton, Anderson, or even Omar Conteh.
Now, on to basketball. NU won the last two games on their tour. The 3rd win was 112-105 in OT. With full video of the game it is tough to say much, but Juice Thompson posted 38 points, John Shurna had 26 points, and Drew Crawford had 22. NU has a pretty good top three in those guys. At the center position Luka Mirkovic and Davide Curletti combined for 10 points and 11 rebounds. I still think they'll need to do more for NU to do better than last year in Big Ten, but that's decent enough to win some games. Nick Fruendt also made a big shot, his only one, but maybe he might find a roll. Also, Mike Capocci got the start in the spot that has also gone to Alex Marcotullio and JerShon Cobb.
Today both Thompson and Shurna had off games, yet NU won. That's a very strong sign this might be a pretty good team. Drew Crawford netted 21 points, but the big story was JerShon Cobb with 16 points. I think Cobb will make a lot of big plays for NU and it was nice to see him near the top of the stat sheet. Mirkovic and Curletti didn't do much on offense, but Mirkovic got 10 rebounds and Ivan Peljusic had seven. Alex Marcotullio also had a big day with 17 points and 5 rebounds. He seems to know how to find the ball.
NU will go back home and wait for the start of the regular season.
Now, on to basketball. NU won the last two games on their tour. The 3rd win was 112-105 in OT. With full video of the game it is tough to say much, but Juice Thompson posted 38 points, John Shurna had 26 points, and Drew Crawford had 22. NU has a pretty good top three in those guys. At the center position Luka Mirkovic and Davide Curletti combined for 10 points and 11 rebounds. I still think they'll need to do more for NU to do better than last year in Big Ten, but that's decent enough to win some games. Nick Fruendt also made a big shot, his only one, but maybe he might find a roll. Also, Mike Capocci got the start in the spot that has also gone to Alex Marcotullio and JerShon Cobb.
Today both Thompson and Shurna had off games, yet NU won. That's a very strong sign this might be a pretty good team. Drew Crawford netted 21 points, but the big story was JerShon Cobb with 16 points. I think Cobb will make a lot of big plays for NU and it was nice to see him near the top of the stat sheet. Mirkovic and Curletti didn't do much on offense, but Mirkovic got 10 rebounds and Ivan Peljusic had seven. Alex Marcotullio also had a big day with 17 points and 5 rebounds. He seems to know how to find the ball.
NU will go back home and wait for the start of the regular season.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Game Week for Football and Basketball
It’s game week for both NU football and basketball. This usually doesn’t happen until November and then football usually totally dominates the news as the basketball game is often versus a lower tier non-conference team. Now, I still expect the prep for Northwestern’s football season opener at Vanderbilt to get more attention than NU’s basketball tour through Italy, but I think NU fans will learn about from the ‘Cats Italian journey.
According the reports on nusports.com, the ‘Cats have arrived in Italy and have enjoyed some sight-seeing and great food, but according to Reggie Hearn’s blog, they still realize they are there to play basketball. While the quality of the Italian competition still remains to be determined, I think NU will get a lot out of the trip. At least as a fan I know I’ll have some questions answered. I want to see what starting lineup Coach Carmody uses and I want to see how JerShon Cobb plays against a level of opponent superior to what he faced in high school. I also want to see how Carmody manages his rotation. Is he looking to be a potentially deep team or will Mike Capocci, Ivan Peljusic, and Nick Fruendt have minor roles once again? This trip will give us answers a couple months earlier than we otherwise would have had them. If you’re an NU fan you should step away from the football hype at least long enough to find out.
For the record, I am excited about football. I’ve seen a wide range of predictions for the ‘Cats this season. Some have NU in the Big Ten’s top three and others have them in the bottom three. I personally expect a pretty good team. I believe Dan Persa is the type of player a team wins with as their leader and when you look at NU’s offense you see NFL talent in Al Netter and Drake Dunsmore. NU’s defense might seem more suspect, but I think Corbin Bryant might prove as good or better than NU’s past defensive line stars and I’m excited to see if Jared Carpenter lives up to his hype. If he does NU’s defensive front will have the needed support in the backfield and Mike Hankwitz should be able to breakout his wide array of various schemes.
Openers…
Basketball – Monday 1:30 PM CT
Football – Saturday 6:30 PM CT
According the reports on nusports.com, the ‘Cats have arrived in Italy and have enjoyed some sight-seeing and great food, but according to Reggie Hearn’s blog, they still realize they are there to play basketball. While the quality of the Italian competition still remains to be determined, I think NU will get a lot out of the trip. At least as a fan I know I’ll have some questions answered. I want to see what starting lineup Coach Carmody uses and I want to see how JerShon Cobb plays against a level of opponent superior to what he faced in high school. I also want to see how Carmody manages his rotation. Is he looking to be a potentially deep team or will Mike Capocci, Ivan Peljusic, and Nick Fruendt have minor roles once again? This trip will give us answers a couple months earlier than we otherwise would have had them. If you’re an NU fan you should step away from the football hype at least long enough to find out.
For the record, I am excited about football. I’ve seen a wide range of predictions for the ‘Cats this season. Some have NU in the Big Ten’s top three and others have them in the bottom three. I personally expect a pretty good team. I believe Dan Persa is the type of player a team wins with as their leader and when you look at NU’s offense you see NFL talent in Al Netter and Drake Dunsmore. NU’s defense might seem more suspect, but I think Corbin Bryant might prove as good or better than NU’s past defensive line stars and I’m excited to see if Jared Carpenter lives up to his hype. If he does NU’s defensive front will have the needed support in the backfield and Mike Hankwitz should be able to breakout his wide array of various schemes.
Openers…
Basketball – Monday 1:30 PM CT
Football – Saturday 6:30 PM CT
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Position Evaluation Group: Guards
This is the first of 4 report cards on NU's 2009-2010 team...
Position Evaluation Group: Guards
Players Included: Michael Thompson, Jeremy Nash, Alex Marcotullio, Nick Fruendt
Grade: B+
This group includes the player I would probably give the highest individual grade to, Michael “Juice” Thompson. However, I can’t overall go into the A-range for NU’s guards because this group never found a solid backup for Thompson and Jeremy Nash’s offensive game disappeared down the stretch of the season.
Thompson was consistently solid during the season and I shutter to imagine this team without him. He averaged 14.2 ppg, converted 41.1% of his three (88-of-214) and made a team best 82.9% of his free throws (92-of-111). Thompson also had a very impressive 139-to-59 assist to turnover ratio. Aside from the numbers, anybody who watched the Wildcats this season could no doubt tell Thompson was the team’s emotional leader. It seemed that whenever Northwestern needed a clutch shot, Thompson ended up taking that shot. Part of the reason was because Thompson remains one of the few NU players who can create a shot on his own. Always able to attack in the paint, Thompson got even better this year with converting his floater in the lane. He also has the ability to get smoking hot from distance as he did in NU’s Big Ten Tournament win over Indiana.
As for the other NU guards, nobody comes close to Thompson in terms of offensive production. Early in the year both Jeremy Nash and Alex Marcotullio displayed good three point range, but both failed to maintain the same consistency Thompson showed. Nash’s three point percentage plummeted to 29.1% or 39-of-134. Marcotullio converted a respectable 41-of-111 three point tries, but early in the year he looked like the type of player who can consistently hit 50% of his tries from deep. He might still become that with an offseason to prepare for the physical stress of the college game. Both Nash and Marcotulliuo proved better than average free throw shooters even when they slumped from distance. Nash finished second on the team at 81.4% and Marcotullio recording a 70.8% mark at the line.
While their offensive slumps reduce this group’s score somewhat, Nash and Marcotullio maintain high B-range scores as they were NU’s two best defenders. Nash led the team with 58 steals and was named to the Big Ten’s All-Defensive Team. Marcotullio subbed for Nash at the top of the 1-3-1 when Jeremy went to the bench and got 31 steals of his own. Nash also blocked 22 shots and averaged 3.8 rebounds per game, which is good for a 6-4 guard.
The only other Wildcat guard who saw when games weren’t already decided was Nick Fruendt. In the only extended time he got all year he played well vs Illinois and badly at Minnesota. With Jeff Ryan coming back from injury and a possible recruit at the guard spot, Fruendt will have to work hard this offseason to crack the lineup next year.
Position Evaluation Group: Guards
Players Included: Michael Thompson, Jeremy Nash, Alex Marcotullio, Nick Fruendt
Grade: B+
This group includes the player I would probably give the highest individual grade to, Michael “Juice” Thompson. However, I can’t overall go into the A-range for NU’s guards because this group never found a solid backup for Thompson and Jeremy Nash’s offensive game disappeared down the stretch of the season.
Thompson was consistently solid during the season and I shutter to imagine this team without him. He averaged 14.2 ppg, converted 41.1% of his three (88-of-214) and made a team best 82.9% of his free throws (92-of-111). Thompson also had a very impressive 139-to-59 assist to turnover ratio. Aside from the numbers, anybody who watched the Wildcats this season could no doubt tell Thompson was the team’s emotional leader. It seemed that whenever Northwestern needed a clutch shot, Thompson ended up taking that shot. Part of the reason was because Thompson remains one of the few NU players who can create a shot on his own. Always able to attack in the paint, Thompson got even better this year with converting his floater in the lane. He also has the ability to get smoking hot from distance as he did in NU’s Big Ten Tournament win over Indiana.
As for the other NU guards, nobody comes close to Thompson in terms of offensive production. Early in the year both Jeremy Nash and Alex Marcotullio displayed good three point range, but both failed to maintain the same consistency Thompson showed. Nash’s three point percentage plummeted to 29.1% or 39-of-134. Marcotullio converted a respectable 41-of-111 three point tries, but early in the year he looked like the type of player who can consistently hit 50% of his tries from deep. He might still become that with an offseason to prepare for the physical stress of the college game. Both Nash and Marcotulliuo proved better than average free throw shooters even when they slumped from distance. Nash finished second on the team at 81.4% and Marcotullio recording a 70.8% mark at the line.
While their offensive slumps reduce this group’s score somewhat, Nash and Marcotullio maintain high B-range scores as they were NU’s two best defenders. Nash led the team with 58 steals and was named to the Big Ten’s All-Defensive Team. Marcotullio subbed for Nash at the top of the 1-3-1 when Jeremy went to the bench and got 31 steals of his own. Nash also blocked 22 shots and averaged 3.8 rebounds per game, which is good for a 6-4 guard.
The only other Wildcat guard who saw when games weren’t already decided was Nick Fruendt. In the only extended time he got all year he played well vs Illinois and badly at Minnesota. With Jeff Ryan coming back from injury and a possible recruit at the guard spot, Fruendt will have to work hard this offseason to crack the lineup next year.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Penn State’s Streak Over NU Continues With Dominating 79-60 Win
Disgusting, pathetic, embarrassing. I could go for several pages with descriptive adjectives for Northwestern’s play today, but we really don’t have that much time. To put it simply, Northwestern played their worst game on the season today and it might have been the worst game the Northwestern basketball program played since NU’s loss to Penn State in the 2006 Big Ten Tournament. I don’t know how Northwestern can beat teams like Illinois and Purdue and look like the JV playing the varsity when they play Penn State, but it happens every time. Now, I’ll admit I expected Penn State to win today, but I didn’t expect them to totally dominate the game like they did.
In the myriad of badness which occurred today, I guess Northwestern’s worst performance was on the defensive end of the court. Northwestern tried 1-3-1, matchup, and man-to-man (which was possibly the worst effort at this ever), but Penn State beat all of them. It was impressively bad just how awful Northwestern’s defensive effort was today. NU didn’t fight through screens, didn’t deny passing lanes, and didn’t hustle on switches. Drew Crawford has been rumored to be hurt, and all I can think is he better be. (Update: Crawford is in fact hurt and may not start vs Chicago State) If he’s not hurt, his effort today on defense might have been the worst defensive effort from a Division 1 player all year. He was unbelievably lazy and passive in fighting through screens and getting out on shooters. The play which best explained Crawford’s lack of defense was Chris Babb’s first three of the second half. NU had cut the lead to 11. When PSU came back on offense, Crawford was screened and barely tried to fight through it. As a result Babb got a wide open three and the lead went back to 14. Further evidence of Crawford’s poor defense is how often he has to foul. He got upset when he was called for a foul after an apparent block, but if he’d actually denied the passing lane he wouldn’t have had to try and block the shot. The ball wouldn’t have got to his man.
Of course, Crawford wasn’t the only Wildcat not to play defense. In fact, many of NU’s top players such as Jeremy Nash and Michael Thompson failed to make much effort on defense either. They let Penn State make easy passes from their guards to their big men all day. The defensive effort (if you call it that) NU put forth in the first half was the worst effort by a Big Ten team in conference game all year. The Wildcats allowed a Penn State team which scores 65ppg to score 49 points. Obviously, NU’s guards deserve blame for letting Penn State make easy passes inside, but NU’s big men didn’t do much in terms of fighting for inside position. It seemed that whenever Penn State caught the ball down low they were in great position to score.
What really upsets me about this contest, though, is NU once again looked like they didn’t care. It was like the first half of the Wisconsin game and all but the last 10 minutes of the Minnesota game. I don’t know what goes on in NU’s locker room, but it is amazing to me how often this team gives no effort. What was really embarrassing was it looked like Northwestern quit in the second half. That reflects poorly on Bill Carmody, though, to his credit I think he recognized this and that’s why Ivan Peljusic and Nick Fruendt saw so much time.
The other thing that reflects poorly on Carmody, or his assists, is this team has no idea how to play man-to-man defense. If a team has decoded NU’s zones, which Penn State, Northwestern can’t stop a team when playing man-to-man. Today they fell for every pump fake and routinely got beat to the hoop, even by players who seemed less athletic. This is probably more of an offseason topic, but I’m now convinced Bill Carmody needs to replace either Mitch Henderson or Ivan Vujic with an assistant coach who is an expert in man-to-man defense. Northwestern has improved a lot the last two years, but I think they need to learn to play man-to-man if they want to become a better than .500 team in Big Ten play. The reason for this isn’t just teams decoding the zones, it’s the fact NU plays with zero intensity about 75% of the time. I think if the team was forced to play man-to-man some more natural intensity would develop.
Finally, let me say that NU got 21 points from Thompson, but I would have liked to see both him and John Shurna (who scored just 9) not settle for so many threes. NU is better when they attack inside, but did not do so today. Hopefully, they will do so when they play Chicago State on Wednesday.
Before I go, I want to add that Chris Babb is the latest in a long line of players that would be All-Americans if they just got to play Northwestern.
In the myriad of badness which occurred today, I guess Northwestern’s worst performance was on the defensive end of the court. Northwestern tried 1-3-1, matchup, and man-to-man (which was possibly the worst effort at this ever), but Penn State beat all of them. It was impressively bad just how awful Northwestern’s defensive effort was today. NU didn’t fight through screens, didn’t deny passing lanes, and didn’t hustle on switches. Drew Crawford has been rumored to be hurt, and all I can think is he better be. (Update: Crawford is in fact hurt and may not start vs Chicago State) If he’s not hurt, his effort today on defense might have been the worst defensive effort from a Division 1 player all year. He was unbelievably lazy and passive in fighting through screens and getting out on shooters. The play which best explained Crawford’s lack of defense was Chris Babb’s first three of the second half. NU had cut the lead to 11. When PSU came back on offense, Crawford was screened and barely tried to fight through it. As a result Babb got a wide open three and the lead went back to 14. Further evidence of Crawford’s poor defense is how often he has to foul. He got upset when he was called for a foul after an apparent block, but if he’d actually denied the passing lane he wouldn’t have had to try and block the shot. The ball wouldn’t have got to his man.
Of course, Crawford wasn’t the only Wildcat not to play defense. In fact, many of NU’s top players such as Jeremy Nash and Michael Thompson failed to make much effort on defense either. They let Penn State make easy passes from their guards to their big men all day. The defensive effort (if you call it that) NU put forth in the first half was the worst effort by a Big Ten team in conference game all year. The Wildcats allowed a Penn State team which scores 65ppg to score 49 points. Obviously, NU’s guards deserve blame for letting Penn State make easy passes inside, but NU’s big men didn’t do much in terms of fighting for inside position. It seemed that whenever Penn State caught the ball down low they were in great position to score.
What really upsets me about this contest, though, is NU once again looked like they didn’t care. It was like the first half of the Wisconsin game and all but the last 10 minutes of the Minnesota game. I don’t know what goes on in NU’s locker room, but it is amazing to me how often this team gives no effort. What was really embarrassing was it looked like Northwestern quit in the second half. That reflects poorly on Bill Carmody, though, to his credit I think he recognized this and that’s why Ivan Peljusic and Nick Fruendt saw so much time.
The other thing that reflects poorly on Carmody, or his assists, is this team has no idea how to play man-to-man defense. If a team has decoded NU’s zones, which Penn State, Northwestern can’t stop a team when playing man-to-man. Today they fell for every pump fake and routinely got beat to the hoop, even by players who seemed less athletic. This is probably more of an offseason topic, but I’m now convinced Bill Carmody needs to replace either Mitch Henderson or Ivan Vujic with an assistant coach who is an expert in man-to-man defense. Northwestern has improved a lot the last two years, but I think they need to learn to play man-to-man if they want to become a better than .500 team in Big Ten play. The reason for this isn’t just teams decoding the zones, it’s the fact NU plays with zero intensity about 75% of the time. I think if the team was forced to play man-to-man some more natural intensity would develop.
Finally, let me say that NU got 21 points from Thompson, but I would have liked to see both him and John Shurna (who scored just 9) not settle for so many threes. NU is better when they attack inside, but did not do so today. Hopefully, they will do so when they play Chicago State on Wednesday.
Before I go, I want to add that Chris Babb is the latest in a long line of players that would be All-Americans if they just got to play Northwestern.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Taking a Look at Northwestern’s Limited Bench Production
Nick Fruendt has been both praised and criticized for his play off the NU bench (nusports.com photo)
One major obstacle to Northwestern’s success down the stretch of the season might be the limited production they get from the bench. Early in the season it looked like Northwestern might have a very deep roster, but as it stands now NU’s offense basically comes from the five starters. In NU’s recent games virtually all the meaningful production has come from starters. Against Michigan, a Kyle Rowley layup was the only basket made by a non-starter before garbage time.
Some people have criticized NU’s coaching for not using much of the bench. Personally, I don’t think the problem is that Bill Carmody only uses 7 or 8 players, that is what most teams use, the problem is players 6, 7, and 8 have posted very limited production, especially on offense. This makes their playing time seem even more minute than it actually is. Perhaps this shouldn’t be a big surprise because nobody on NU’s bench has much history of offensive production. In fact, Alex Marcotullio’s early season success from behind the arc probably makes him NU’s best potential scorer off the bench.
The bottom line fact is that little doubt exists that NU will need some bench production before the end of the season. The Wildcats have eight very tough Big Ten games (plus a game against Chicago State) remaining before the end of the season. Those games will take a toll if the starters all have to play 35 plus minutes because nobody on the bench can score. Even scarier, a team which is over dependent on starter minutes has very little chance to win the Big Ten Tournament, especially if they have to play on Thursday. I don’t think Northwestern (or any team in the Big Ten) could pull off four straight wins with starters producing 95% of the points and playing 90% of the team’s minutes. Some will say NU won back to back games in the Chicago Invitation Challenge, but that somewhat proves my point. In those back to back wins, it was Alex Marcotullio and Davide Curletti who made the big shots which clinched the victories for NU.
To be clear, I’m not saying NU needs somebody on the bench to start scoring double figures, but it would be nice to see a couple guys start getting 4-6 points and 2-3 rebounds a game.. Can this happen? Well, I think NU has a couple candidates.
The bench player who has been the best contributor of late has been Kyle Rowley. The seven footer had 2 points and 2 rebounds against Michigan. He has recently shown himself to be a greatly improved rebounder as well. The next step is for him to consistently make post moves, especially against smaller players. He went 1-of-2 from the field against Michigan, but both were from point blank range. Given Rowley’s size and the fact he never takes a shot from more than about a foot from the hoop he needs to be the type of player who converts 65% of his shots or more. This is the type of player that Ohio State’s Dallas Lauderdale has become, and Lauderdale is actually several inches smaller than Rowley.
NU’s other bench player to see a lot of minutes regularly is Alex Marcotullio. I know Marcotullio hasn’t done much since scoring 16 points on January 2nd against Michigan State. However, he has more than proven he can score. I think what might help Marcotullio is getting him more involved on defense. He has the ability to play very intense defense at the top of the 1-3-1 and perhaps that’ll give him something other than offense to focus on. He played well on defense against Michigan. If NU wants to switch from man-to-man or the matchup to the 1-3-1 against Indiana, I’d like to see Nash get a rest for a couple minutes at that point and see if Marcotullio can turn defense into offense.
After Rowley and Marcotullio, no Wildcat has really seen consistent bench play. Mike Capocci had a decent game against Michigan State. Nick Fruendt played well against Illinois, but collapsed under Minnesota’s pressure defense. Davide Curletti has seen very little time since a practice injury, and is now clearly the 3rd or 4th center. Of those players, they guy I’d like to see get better would be Fruendt. Not only was he recruited as an offensive threat, but it would be great if NU could somehow find a way to consistently get Michael “Juice” Thompson a rest for just two or three minutes additional minutes, especially when coming down the final stretch of the season and in the Big Ten Tournament when games come fast and furious. Is Fruendt ready for the job? The Minnesota game would say no. But if I’m Bill Carmody I’m watching closely at practice. Any young player can panic at times. If Fruendt can get some confidence he might make a late season impact off the bench. Jeremy Nash did a similar thing as a sophomore and became a consistent contributor as a junior.
What does everybody else think? Can NU win without bench production? Who needs to step up in these critical 9 games?
One major obstacle to Northwestern’s success down the stretch of the season might be the limited production they get from the bench. Early in the season it looked like Northwestern might have a very deep roster, but as it stands now NU’s offense basically comes from the five starters. In NU’s recent games virtually all the meaningful production has come from starters. Against Michigan, a Kyle Rowley layup was the only basket made by a non-starter before garbage time.
Some people have criticized NU’s coaching for not using much of the bench. Personally, I don’t think the problem is that Bill Carmody only uses 7 or 8 players, that is what most teams use, the problem is players 6, 7, and 8 have posted very limited production, especially on offense. This makes their playing time seem even more minute than it actually is. Perhaps this shouldn’t be a big surprise because nobody on NU’s bench has much history of offensive production. In fact, Alex Marcotullio’s early season success from behind the arc probably makes him NU’s best potential scorer off the bench.
The bottom line fact is that little doubt exists that NU will need some bench production before the end of the season. The Wildcats have eight very tough Big Ten games (plus a game against Chicago State) remaining before the end of the season. Those games will take a toll if the starters all have to play 35 plus minutes because nobody on the bench can score. Even scarier, a team which is over dependent on starter minutes has very little chance to win the Big Ten Tournament, especially if they have to play on Thursday. I don’t think Northwestern (or any team in the Big Ten) could pull off four straight wins with starters producing 95% of the points and playing 90% of the team’s minutes. Some will say NU won back to back games in the Chicago Invitation Challenge, but that somewhat proves my point. In those back to back wins, it was Alex Marcotullio and Davide Curletti who made the big shots which clinched the victories for NU.
To be clear, I’m not saying NU needs somebody on the bench to start scoring double figures, but it would be nice to see a couple guys start getting 4-6 points and 2-3 rebounds a game.. Can this happen? Well, I think NU has a couple candidates.
The bench player who has been the best contributor of late has been Kyle Rowley. The seven footer had 2 points and 2 rebounds against Michigan. He has recently shown himself to be a greatly improved rebounder as well. The next step is for him to consistently make post moves, especially against smaller players. He went 1-of-2 from the field against Michigan, but both were from point blank range. Given Rowley’s size and the fact he never takes a shot from more than about a foot from the hoop he needs to be the type of player who converts 65% of his shots or more. This is the type of player that Ohio State’s Dallas Lauderdale has become, and Lauderdale is actually several inches smaller than Rowley.
NU’s other bench player to see a lot of minutes regularly is Alex Marcotullio. I know Marcotullio hasn’t done much since scoring 16 points on January 2nd against Michigan State. However, he has more than proven he can score. I think what might help Marcotullio is getting him more involved on defense. He has the ability to play very intense defense at the top of the 1-3-1 and perhaps that’ll give him something other than offense to focus on. He played well on defense against Michigan. If NU wants to switch from man-to-man or the matchup to the 1-3-1 against Indiana, I’d like to see Nash get a rest for a couple minutes at that point and see if Marcotullio can turn defense into offense.
After Rowley and Marcotullio, no Wildcat has really seen consistent bench play. Mike Capocci had a decent game against Michigan State. Nick Fruendt played well against Illinois, but collapsed under Minnesota’s pressure defense. Davide Curletti has seen very little time since a practice injury, and is now clearly the 3rd or 4th center. Of those players, they guy I’d like to see get better would be Fruendt. Not only was he recruited as an offensive threat, but it would be great if NU could somehow find a way to consistently get Michael “Juice” Thompson a rest for just two or three minutes additional minutes, especially when coming down the final stretch of the season and in the Big Ten Tournament when games come fast and furious. Is Fruendt ready for the job? The Minnesota game would say no. But if I’m Bill Carmody I’m watching closely at practice. Any young player can panic at times. If Fruendt can get some confidence he might make a late season impact off the bench. Jeremy Nash did a similar thing as a sophomore and became a consistent contributor as a junior.
What does everybody else think? Can NU win without bench production? Who needs to step up in these critical 9 games?
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Crawford Rallies Wildcats From Down 17 to Top Michigan 68-62
In front of a large Michigan crowd, but also his father, NBA official Danny Crawford, Northwestern freshman guard Drew Crawford scored 25 points and proved the key force in getting the Wildcats a much needed 68-62 victory over Michigan in Ann Arbor. If Northwestern wants to make the NCAA Tournament they probably need at least three Big Ten road wins and after the loss to Illinois this was a much needed W.
The Wildcats fell down 31-14 with a little over four and a half minutes to go in the first half and things looked like they were in danger of getting ugly. However, Drew Crawford went of a personal 11-0 run to bring the Wildcats back into the game before half. In the second half, Crawford added 13 more points including the dunk of the year (even better than his own dunk against Illinois) on a put-back of a Jeremy Nash missed layup to help the ‘Cats pull out a hard fought victory. In sum total, Crawford added 8 rebounds and a steal to his 25 points. Of those 25 points, 12 came from three point range and an impressive 7 came from the free throw line. His free throws included four huge free throws which to first give NU a 63-62 lead and another two to extend that advantage. The only criticism would be he did have five turnovers. Those TOs are somewhat excusable, however, because this was really the first time in Drew’s college career he was being looked to as a go-to guy in a conference contest. I think NU will now look to Crawford even more. I am confident he’ll be able to deliver solid double figure efforts, especially if his teammates continue to get him open looks.
Part of the reason Crawford managed to get looks was a surprisingly big game from Luka Mirkovic who scored 13 points and had 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Mirkovic used his height advantage on DeShawn Dims to get some easy looks at the basket and he converted the majority of them. If Mirkovic can continue this type of performance it will be a huge lift for Northwestern as pressure will come off on NU’s primary three point shooters.
Aside from Crawford and Mirkovic, the Wildcats also got solid games from both Michael “Juice” Thompson and John Shurna. Through both were nearly invisible in the first half, they both finished in double figures. Thompson scored 15 points and Shurna netted 11. The fact NU staged its comeback, and even built at 10 point lead, when both these guys were scoring shows something critical. If both Thompson and Shurna both have big games, and they can do so against Big Ten teams, Northwestern is nearly impossible to beat. This is akin to Kevin Coble and Craig Moore last season. Often times teams stop one or the other, but when they both score the Wildcats can get any shot they want. The good news is with Crawford emerging, and possibly Mirkovic as well, Thompson and Shurna should be able to get better shots because defenses can’t just focus on them.
Speaking of defense, I have to say I was really worried when I saw NU play 1-3-1 in the first half and Michigan started drilling threes. At first, I couldn’t believe Bill Carmody didn’t switch out it in the second half, but the Wildcats made their coach look smart by increasing the intensity in the 1-3-1 in half number two. Jeremy Nash got a couple steals and tipped a ton more passes and it actually seemed like if NU had played with that same intensity early in the game they would have won by 15. Regardless, the ‘Cats did get the win, but they probably will not be able to play such a lackluster first half and still win in their next two games against Wisconsin and Purdue.
A couple other areas NU will need to improve before welcoming two top-20 teams to Welsh-Ryan include bench production and free throw shooting. Northwestern scored zero (0) bench points today. Now, I’ll admit the starters played a lot of minutes, but both Kyle Rowley and Alex Marcotullio had chances to score. I’ll get to Rowley in a second because it relates to point two. On Marcotullio, I fear he has hit a freshman wall. Crawford might avoid such a problem because he looks like he can physically stand up to the rigor and intensity of the Big Ten basketball games and practice every day. On the other hand, Marcotullio isn’t physically at the same point as Crawford. Marcotullio still looks like a high school player. Now, he’s had very good year, but right now I think he is probably a little beat up and exhausted. Hopefully, he’ll break through that wall soon.
On point number two, other than Drew Crawford going 7-for-8, Northwestern struggled from the free throw line. Kyle Rowley missed two free throws, Jeremy Nash made only 2-of-4 (and is in a major slump after being automatic early) and Juice made just 1-of-2. If NU wants to upset Wisconsin and/or Purdue they must take advantage of free throw attempts.
Finally, I want to give some props to two people. First, to Nick Fruendt who played just one minute, but broke into the scorebook with a key steal. Also, to Loretta8 from Sippin’ On Purple who wrote the only preview I read which predicted a Northwestern win.
The Wildcats are at home Wednesday against Wisconsin. I haven’t officially heard if it is a sell-out, but I suspect it will be by tip off, so let’s get as much purple in there as possible because I know there will be red.
The Wildcats fell down 31-14 with a little over four and a half minutes to go in the first half and things looked like they were in danger of getting ugly. However, Drew Crawford went of a personal 11-0 run to bring the Wildcats back into the game before half. In the second half, Crawford added 13 more points including the dunk of the year (even better than his own dunk against Illinois) on a put-back of a Jeremy Nash missed layup to help the ‘Cats pull out a hard fought victory. In sum total, Crawford added 8 rebounds and a steal to his 25 points. Of those 25 points, 12 came from three point range and an impressive 7 came from the free throw line. His free throws included four huge free throws which to first give NU a 63-62 lead and another two to extend that advantage. The only criticism would be he did have five turnovers. Those TOs are somewhat excusable, however, because this was really the first time in Drew’s college career he was being looked to as a go-to guy in a conference contest. I think NU will now look to Crawford even more. I am confident he’ll be able to deliver solid double figure efforts, especially if his teammates continue to get him open looks.
Part of the reason Crawford managed to get looks was a surprisingly big game from Luka Mirkovic who scored 13 points and had 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Mirkovic used his height advantage on DeShawn Dims to get some easy looks at the basket and he converted the majority of them. If Mirkovic can continue this type of performance it will be a huge lift for Northwestern as pressure will come off on NU’s primary three point shooters.
Aside from Crawford and Mirkovic, the Wildcats also got solid games from both Michael “Juice” Thompson and John Shurna. Through both were nearly invisible in the first half, they both finished in double figures. Thompson scored 15 points and Shurna netted 11. The fact NU staged its comeback, and even built at 10 point lead, when both these guys were scoring shows something critical. If both Thompson and Shurna both have big games, and they can do so against Big Ten teams, Northwestern is nearly impossible to beat. This is akin to Kevin Coble and Craig Moore last season. Often times teams stop one or the other, but when they both score the Wildcats can get any shot they want. The good news is with Crawford emerging, and possibly Mirkovic as well, Thompson and Shurna should be able to get better shots because defenses can’t just focus on them.
Speaking of defense, I have to say I was really worried when I saw NU play 1-3-1 in the first half and Michigan started drilling threes. At first, I couldn’t believe Bill Carmody didn’t switch out it in the second half, but the Wildcats made their coach look smart by increasing the intensity in the 1-3-1 in half number two. Jeremy Nash got a couple steals and tipped a ton more passes and it actually seemed like if NU had played with that same intensity early in the game they would have won by 15. Regardless, the ‘Cats did get the win, but they probably will not be able to play such a lackluster first half and still win in their next two games against Wisconsin and Purdue.
A couple other areas NU will need to improve before welcoming two top-20 teams to Welsh-Ryan include bench production and free throw shooting. Northwestern scored zero (0) bench points today. Now, I’ll admit the starters played a lot of minutes, but both Kyle Rowley and Alex Marcotullio had chances to score. I’ll get to Rowley in a second because it relates to point two. On Marcotullio, I fear he has hit a freshman wall. Crawford might avoid such a problem because he looks like he can physically stand up to the rigor and intensity of the Big Ten basketball games and practice every day. On the other hand, Marcotullio isn’t physically at the same point as Crawford. Marcotullio still looks like a high school player. Now, he’s had very good year, but right now I think he is probably a little beat up and exhausted. Hopefully, he’ll break through that wall soon.
On point number two, other than Drew Crawford going 7-for-8, Northwestern struggled from the free throw line. Kyle Rowley missed two free throws, Jeremy Nash made only 2-of-4 (and is in a major slump after being automatic early) and Juice made just 1-of-2. If NU wants to upset Wisconsin and/or Purdue they must take advantage of free throw attempts.
Finally, I want to give some props to two people. First, to Nick Fruendt who played just one minute, but broke into the scorebook with a key steal. Also, to Loretta8 from Sippin’ On Purple who wrote the only preview I read which predicted a Northwestern win.
The Wildcats are at home Wednesday against Wisconsin. I haven’t officially heard if it is a sell-out, but I suspect it will be by tip off, so let’s get as much purple in there as possible because I know there will be red.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Injuries to Ryan and Coble Force May Force Major Changes in NU’s Rotation
Bill Carmody and the entire Northwestern basketball program must feel as though they are paying off karma at a vastly accelerated rate. Not only have the Wildcats lost their best player (Kevin Coble) for the entire 09-10 season, now they have lost a key reserve (Ryan) that might have helped sub for Kevin Coble.
The most significant fact about Jeff Ryan’s injury is that NU has basically no point guard depth behind Juice Thompson. The only player left who has played the point in game besides Juice is Jeremy Nash and he likely can’t be spared from the forward spot he is now playing thanks to Coble’s injury. That means that Juice is going to play nearly 40 minutes every night. This is entirely possible, but it will take a toll after a while. In addition, Juice has been known to get into foul trouble. If that happens NU really only has two choices at point guard and neither has any significant experience. The most likely choice will be freshman guard Alex Marcotullio who played point guard for his high school team, but really is probably better suited to play shooting guard in college. The other option is sophomore Nick Fruendt who is another player more suited to the shooting guard spot. I suppose Marcotullio’s fellow freshman Drew Crawford could play the point, but Carmody already has him starting at shooting guard/small forward and he has probably only practiced in those spots.
The other issue with Ryan’s injury is that he could also sub for Jeremy Nash in the front court and keep NU’s 1-3-1 defense working. Who else can do this? Well, Crawford is athletic enough, but seems seriously foul prone. The best choice is likely Mike Capocci who will bring great athletic skill, but certainly isn’t as smooth as Ryan when it comes to reacting on defense.
Coach Carmody is now going to have to put trust in some young players. Here’s how I see NU’s roster after the NIU game and the Ryan injury:
Starters
PG – Thompson
SG/SF – Crawford
SF/SG – Nash
PF – Shurna
C – Mirkovic
In Rotation Bench -- Based on NIU Game
F – Peljusic
C – Rowley
F – Capocci
F/C – Curletti (may play or not based on matchups)
You’ll notice that in those 9 players NU has only one true ball handling guard. Therefore, the NU rotation has to be extended now to include the following:
In Rotation Bench -- with Injury to Ryan:
PG/SG – Marcotullio
PG/SG – Fruendt
Depending on how competent Marcotullio and Fruendt actually are in handling the ball against pressure it is even possible walk-on guard Reggie Hearn who is actually a true point guard might see some minutes. This is clearly not how Coach Carmody and NU envisioned the year starting, but NU has to move on as almost the whole season is still to come.
The most significant fact about Jeff Ryan’s injury is that NU has basically no point guard depth behind Juice Thompson. The only player left who has played the point in game besides Juice is Jeremy Nash and he likely can’t be spared from the forward spot he is now playing thanks to Coble’s injury. That means that Juice is going to play nearly 40 minutes every night. This is entirely possible, but it will take a toll after a while. In addition, Juice has been known to get into foul trouble. If that happens NU really only has two choices at point guard and neither has any significant experience. The most likely choice will be freshman guard Alex Marcotullio who played point guard for his high school team, but really is probably better suited to play shooting guard in college. The other option is sophomore Nick Fruendt who is another player more suited to the shooting guard spot. I suppose Marcotullio’s fellow freshman Drew Crawford could play the point, but Carmody already has him starting at shooting guard/small forward and he has probably only practiced in those spots.
The other issue with Ryan’s injury is that he could also sub for Jeremy Nash in the front court and keep NU’s 1-3-1 defense working. Who else can do this? Well, Crawford is athletic enough, but seems seriously foul prone. The best choice is likely Mike Capocci who will bring great athletic skill, but certainly isn’t as smooth as Ryan when it comes to reacting on defense.
Coach Carmody is now going to have to put trust in some young players. Here’s how I see NU’s roster after the NIU game and the Ryan injury:
Starters
PG – Thompson
SG/SF – Crawford
SF/SG – Nash
PF – Shurna
C – Mirkovic
In Rotation Bench -- Based on NIU Game
F – Peljusic
C – Rowley
F – Capocci
F/C – Curletti (may play or not based on matchups)
You’ll notice that in those 9 players NU has only one true ball handling guard. Therefore, the NU rotation has to be extended now to include the following:
In Rotation Bench -- with Injury to Ryan:
PG/SG – Marcotullio
PG/SG – Fruendt
Depending on how competent Marcotullio and Fruendt actually are in handling the ball against pressure it is even possible walk-on guard Reggie Hearn who is actually a true point guard might see some minutes. This is clearly not how Coach Carmody and NU envisioned the year starting, but NU has to move on as almost the whole season is still to come.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Who Starts In Coble’s Place?
Chicago College Basketball made a list of options for Coach Carmody which I pretty much agree with, but I want to directly address the starting lineup. When Coble left the team to support his mother’s battle with cancer during his sophomore year, Carmody plugged Jeff Ryan into the starting forward spot. That is an option this season, but not my favorite one. I think NU needs to go with Jeremy Nash, Davide Curletti, or Ivan Peljusic in Coble’s starting spot. Who Carmody chooses to play will be based on what type of team he wants to be without his star.
If Carmody decides he wants to play defense and go back to really taking the air out of the ball he ought to start Nash or Curletti. Nash is NU’s best defensive player and can move to the two-guard spot while Drew Crawford slides to small forward. If Carmody wants to stick with defense, but wants more size he can use Curletti who is NU’s best low post defender. Curletti also is a good rebounder and might be able to make a few shots.
If NU wants to take a chance at recreating some of Coble’s offense Carmody should go with Peljusic. Peljusic is at times turnover prone, but he is a fantastic athlete and has shown the ability to explode offensively on occasion. Also, his energy and enthusiasm might be just what the NU team needs having lost their leading scorer.
Two other players who might have to surprise NU fans and the Big Ten Conference in this situation are guards Alex Marcotullio and Nick Fruendt. Neither is going to start, but the Princeton Offense gets open shots. The problem for NU has been in past years that nobody made the open shots the offense got. This year was supposed to be the year that happened, but realistically a sub for Coble isn’t going to shoot anywhere near Kevin’s percentage. Therefore, NU needs guys who can come in and knock down shots. The best two options are Fruendt and Marcotullio.
If Carmody decides he wants to play defense and go back to really taking the air out of the ball he ought to start Nash or Curletti. Nash is NU’s best defensive player and can move to the two-guard spot while Drew Crawford slides to small forward. If Carmody wants to stick with defense, but wants more size he can use Curletti who is NU’s best low post defender. Curletti also is a good rebounder and might be able to make a few shots.
If NU wants to take a chance at recreating some of Coble’s offense Carmody should go with Peljusic. Peljusic is at times turnover prone, but he is a fantastic athlete and has shown the ability to explode offensively on occasion. Also, his energy and enthusiasm might be just what the NU team needs having lost their leading scorer.
Two other players who might have to surprise NU fans and the Big Ten Conference in this situation are guards Alex Marcotullio and Nick Fruendt. Neither is going to start, but the Princeton Offense gets open shots. The problem for NU has been in past years that nobody made the open shots the offense got. This year was supposed to be the year that happened, but realistically a sub for Coble isn’t going to shoot anywhere near Kevin’s percentage. Therefore, NU needs guys who can come in and knock down shots. The best two options are Fruendt and Marcotullio.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Another Key to Big Ten Success
Important Note: The Wildcats game against Penn State tomorrow is on ESPN2 not ESPN. ESPN has changed their schedule from the one printed originally in the NU media guide in order to show a bowl game triple-header.
Not too long ago, I wrote about how Jeff Ryan’s play would be a key to Northwestern’s success during the Big Ten season. Today, I want to comment on another element which I believe would seriously help the Wildcats in Big Ten play. This thought came from watching a ton of football over the last few days and having the importance of special teams reiterated to me for about the thousandth time. As I watched those football games, I thought about what might be the basketball equivalent of a special team. The answer, I concluded, was a three-point specialist who comes off the bench. Right now, Northwestern doesn’t feature such a player. NU actually starts their top four three-point shooters. This is by no means bad, however, it does limit the Wildcats ability have a so called “instant offense” or “microwave” guy who can come off the bench and heat up a stagnate offense in a hurry.
As I thought about this issue, I asked myself: Does Northwestern have such a player? The answer I believe is they have two great candidates, but neither has stepped into this role yet. The two players who I believe could fit this role are freshmen Luka Mirkovic and Nick Fruendt. Mirkovic came into the season regarded as one of the best offensive talents of the freshmen class, but it seems he’s still feeling his way through many of his minutes. If Luka can get over his tentative play, he can make a major difference in NU’s offense. His high school coach, Delray Brooks, said he believed Luka was one of the best big man shooters he’d seen. Bill Carmody also talked up Luka’s shooting skills in the preseason. The Wildcat coach said he believed Luka could knock down outside shots in the Princeton Offense. Luka did hit some two-point jumpers at Stanford, but being able to step up from the center position and hit threes would give the Wildcat offense an incredible dimension the team doesn’t currently feature.
Nick Fruendt’s situation is a little different than Luka’s. While Luka has managed to get on the court regularly, Fruendt has only played at the end of NU’s blowout wins. Still, I believe Fruendt could be the Wildcat’s “instant offense” guy. He was regarded as one of the top shooters and overall scorers in the state of Illinois coming out of high school. He was first team all-state according to multiple evaluation services and was prolific scorer for four seasons at Batavia High School. The rumors early on this season were Fruendt’s limited minutes were the result of his struggling to pick up NU’s offense. This might be true, but it’s also possible Bill Carmody simply doesn’t want to take Craig Moore off the court. I, and I think pretty much every NU fan, can understand this. Moore is the unquestioned leader of the Wildcat team, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for Fruendt. If Nick can show the coaches something in practice, I believe that he might be this year’s version of Ivan Peljusic. Peljusic, remember, couldn’t get on to the court early last season, but once he cracked the lineup was near impossible to get off. I hope this is the case with Nick, because their will be days when Moore, Coble, Thompson, and Shurna will struggle. When they do, I would love to see NU be able to call on their “special team” of Nick Fruendt and/or Luka Mirkovic to make a high scoring-game changing impact.
Not too long ago, I wrote about how Jeff Ryan’s play would be a key to Northwestern’s success during the Big Ten season. Today, I want to comment on another element which I believe would seriously help the Wildcats in Big Ten play. This thought came from watching a ton of football over the last few days and having the importance of special teams reiterated to me for about the thousandth time. As I watched those football games, I thought about what might be the basketball equivalent of a special team. The answer, I concluded, was a three-point specialist who comes off the bench. Right now, Northwestern doesn’t feature such a player. NU actually starts their top four three-point shooters. This is by no means bad, however, it does limit the Wildcats ability have a so called “instant offense” or “microwave” guy who can come off the bench and heat up a stagnate offense in a hurry.
As I thought about this issue, I asked myself: Does Northwestern have such a player? The answer I believe is they have two great candidates, but neither has stepped into this role yet. The two players who I believe could fit this role are freshmen Luka Mirkovic and Nick Fruendt. Mirkovic came into the season regarded as one of the best offensive talents of the freshmen class, but it seems he’s still feeling his way through many of his minutes. If Luka can get over his tentative play, he can make a major difference in NU’s offense. His high school coach, Delray Brooks, said he believed Luka was one of the best big man shooters he’d seen. Bill Carmody also talked up Luka’s shooting skills in the preseason. The Wildcat coach said he believed Luka could knock down outside shots in the Princeton Offense. Luka did hit some two-point jumpers at Stanford, but being able to step up from the center position and hit threes would give the Wildcat offense an incredible dimension the team doesn’t currently feature.
Nick Fruendt’s situation is a little different than Luka’s. While Luka has managed to get on the court regularly, Fruendt has only played at the end of NU’s blowout wins. Still, I believe Fruendt could be the Wildcat’s “instant offense” guy. He was regarded as one of the top shooters and overall scorers in the state of Illinois coming out of high school. He was first team all-state according to multiple evaluation services and was prolific scorer for four seasons at Batavia High School. The rumors early on this season were Fruendt’s limited minutes were the result of his struggling to pick up NU’s offense. This might be true, but it’s also possible Bill Carmody simply doesn’t want to take Craig Moore off the court. I, and I think pretty much every NU fan, can understand this. Moore is the unquestioned leader of the Wildcat team, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for Fruendt. If Nick can show the coaches something in practice, I believe that he might be this year’s version of Ivan Peljusic. Peljusic, remember, couldn’t get on to the court early last season, but once he cracked the lineup was near impossible to get off. I hope this is the case with Nick, because their will be days when Moore, Coble, Thompson, and Shurna will struggle. When they do, I would love to see NU be able to call on their “special team” of Nick Fruendt and/or Luka Mirkovic to make a high scoring-game changing impact.
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