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Once again I'm going to let the e-mail box dictate where this post goes. In this case though it will be less answering specific letter and more dealing with larger issues which fans seem to want addressed.

Issue 1: We still don’t have any recruits who have verbal for 2010 or 2011.

Personally, I wouldn’t worry that much about the 2011 guys yet. We’ve got offers out to 9 top-150 players and they all seem to be seriously considering NU. With guys like that, though, they’re getting offers from all over. If they’re smart, and since they’re considering NU they are, they’ll take their time to try and find the right fit. In the end I’m certain the class of 2011 will bring Northwestern very solid basketball talent.

2010 is somewhat more of a concern, but forward Griffin McKenzie visited NU last week and has listed the Wildcats in his final four schools. He seems like a good fit for NU and I believe a decent chance exists for the ‘Cats to land the 6-9 Ohioan.

Issue 2: Did you see the article which ranked NU the fifth best coaching job in the state?

Yeah I saw the article. However, the article refers to an anonymous poll of 22 coaches from around Illinois or who used to coach in Illinois. I don’t think that it was exactly a scientific survey. I also think the outside perception of NU is that it isn’t a great job because you don’t win. However, if you investigated and found out about the large salary and fairly strong fan support most people would change their point of view.

Issue 3: Kyle Rowley

I haven’t yet found out anymore about Kyle Rowley’s injury than was in the NU press release. I hope to find out more soon. Though NU is deep at center, Kyle’s sheer size is important to the NU program.

Mail and Other Thoughts

I want to take the time today to answer some e-mails from readers and offer my thoughts on a few subjects. First, the poll conducted about Bill Carmody’s flaws as a coach has finished with 53% of the fans voting that people should stop complaining about Carmody. On the other hand, a poll over at The Purple Drank had 60% of NU’s fans supporting the idea that Pat Fitzgerald would be a better basketball coach than Carmody. What does this apparent disagreement in poll results mean? Probably that different people voted in each poll. What else does it mean? That the debate about Carmody’s skills as a coach will continue in NU circles until the Wildcats arrive at the NCAA Tournament or Carmody arrives in the unemployment line. I think the odds are this year will result in one of the two.

Now let us turn to some mail.

Dan J. writes, “What’s the deal with this 2011 recruiting class I keep hearing about. Is NU going to land any of those guys or is this just all talk?”

Well, first off I think that a total of 9 top-150 players are considering NU is remarkable. Even more remarkable is that two 5-star recruits are doing do. This speaks well to both Carmody and Hardy and the other coaches on NU’s staff. They are obviously working hard to get NU’s name out to amongst the top players in the nation. Can NU actually land these guys? I think the fact that both 5-star guys, Shannon Scott and Dai-Jon Parker play for the same AAU team could really help. That team, The Southern Kings, had several players visit NU after one of their assistant coaches took some classes at Kellogg and recommended his guys visit Evanston.

CentralCat writers, “I’ve noticed some different topics lately. What are you going to write about between now and basketball season?”

Honestly, I’ve asked myself the same question several times. I have to say that I won’t ignore football news. Yes, this is a basketball blog first, but it is also an NU blog and if the Wildcats are bowl-bound in football I’ll certainly have some thoughts to share about that. I think most loyal readers have noted my various football related posts over the summer.

TL114 writes, “You posted a bunch about Greg Paulus becoming Syracuse’s QB earlier this year. Now that he’s been named the started, what do you think will happen?”

Great question. How good can a guy be who hasn’t played a real football game in four years? I suppose that depends on just how much talent he has. Greg was a top-rated high school QB. That talent didn’t go away, but it also hasn’t be practiced in years. I for one think that you can’t be at the top of your game if you don’t practice the skills you need to get there. Therefore, I think Paulus will get better as the year goes along. Playing NU in game three I still think he’ll be rusty, but if Coach Marrone sticks with him, I think his natural talent will merge with game experience and he’ll have a nice year, at least in terms of numbers if not wins.

The Shirt

No response yet from Northwestern in regards to my efforts to get the athletic department to recognize the Wildcats 1931 NCAA Basketball National Championship, but I’m not giving up. Based on an earlier discussion, I visited a website called http://www.bluecotton.com/ where you can custom design T-shirts. While there, I produced a 1931 National Champions shirt. Looking at the result, I have to admit I'm not be the greatest T-shirt designer, though, I don’t think I’m awful either. Nevertheless, I’d love for the folks at Let’s Tailgate to take a crack at a version. They'd would no doubt make a better product. Whatever the case, I’ll wear the shirt to NU’s first home football game on September 5th and you never know whose attention it might catch.

News and Notes: NU recuirting target Josh Gasser just picked up an offer from Maryland. This shows Gasser’s talent level, which is good. It is gives NU more competition for his services, which might be bad. In related news, blog Carmody Court offers up thoughts on NU’s need for a point guard.