News, Notes, and Polls

John Templon at Chicago College Basketball has finished his top 10 countdown of the city’s greatest college hoops players. The list includes two Wildcats in Evan Eschmeyer and Joseph Reiff. Are they the two best ever to play at NU? Well, they are certainly among the best. Others who are worthy of consideration include Billy McKinley, Kevin Rankin, Vedran Vukusic, Pat Baldwin, and Jitim Young. I also wonder where Kevin Coble will rank if he becomes the first player to lead his Wildcat team to the NCAA Tournament.

NU opened football practice yesterday. Though I consider this much more of a basketball blog, I can’t really ignore the start of what is many people’s favorite athletic season. I’ll have some football posts up in the next few weeks as we lead into the season opener against Towson.

Finally, The Purple Drank has run a couple tongue-in-check (and pretty funny) polls recently about NU’s basketball coaching situation. The first poll discovered that roughly 50% of NU fans think Bill Carmody could out coach a wet paper bag (why do I think some NU fan is going to create hirewetpaperbag.com in the near future?) and now that roughly 2/3rds of Wildcat fans think Pat Fitzgerald could out coach Carmody in basketball. Now I’m well aware of the debate about Carmody’s coaching skills. Personally, I think Carmody is a very good coach and he's about to prove Kevin O'Neill right about NU being a 10 year building (not rebuilding) project. But for those people who don't like Carmody, I'm wondering what do you perceive as Carmody’s biggest weakness? The new poll in the upper righthand corner gives you chance to offer your thoughts on Carmody both good and bad. I think getting a sense of such information might help focus this debate. You can also comment below.

Changing the Perception of NU Hoops

Football season is very much on the horizon with only 26 days till kickoff and basketball season is actually less than 100 days away. What potentially makes these upcoming seasons very special is both NU football and Men’s and Women’s Basketball have the potential to have big years. One fact which has been somewhat under publicized is that last year both NU’s football and Men’s Basketball team made the postseason in the same year for the first time. Though this fact might make some think of NU’s poor athletic history, I see this as a signal that NU’s major sports are moving forward. I bring this up because several articles about NU sports have been published recently. Skip Myslenski wrote an article for NUsports.com about the changing perception of NU football and an article (linked below) appeared on rivals.com about NU basketball. Obviously, NU’s football program probably has gone a longer way towards changing the perception of Northwestern sports. Certainly there is work yet to be done, and I think certain fans will never change their beliefs. Still, Northwestern’s 24-24 football record since 2003 is solidly in the middle of the Big Ten. Basketball wise, though, NU hasn’t been as successful, but NU did make strong progress from 2002-06 and last year. What Northwestern hasn’t done in hoops, though, is consistently make the postseason. Although I’m as disappointed as anyone at NU’s consistent Bowl losses, NU has made bowl games in 2003, 2005, and 2008. The ‘Cats also should have made bowls in 2004 and 2007. Those might not be Florida numbers, but they aren’t half bad compared to where NU has been in past and where half the Big Ten has been since 2003. If NU makes a bowl this year and wins I think it’ll really change on fans see Northwestern football.

The question, though, is what needs to happen for the perception of NU basketball to change. The easy answer is to make the NCAA Tournament, and that would help, but I think even more needs to happen. Many football fans still think NU had “one good year” that’s why the Wildcats need a bowl win. Therefore, I don’t think just making the NCAA Tournament once would be enough to change how people see NU hoops. A run to the NCAAs would be a great moment for NU sports. Depending how it happens, it might even be bigger than the Rose Bowl, but it wouldn’t swing people’s view of NU basketball as dramatically as we might hope.

The first thing that needs to happen for people to change how they see NU hoops is for the team to consistently make a tournament. It doesn’t have to always be the NCAAs, but finishing consistently above .500 and beating teams in the Big Ten will force other fans to take notice as the Wildcats beat their teams. NU having winning records over more than half of the Big Ten since 1995 is part of what has slowly changed football’s perception.

Another key fact that will help make the perception of NU basketball change is for NU to produce notable star players. I think guys like Fitz, Zak Kustok, Damian Anderson, and Jason Wright really helped non-NU fans take notice of NU football. When a guy wins big awards or puts up historic numbers fans can’t help but want to watch him play. When they see that guy is surrounded by some pretty talented teammates, they gain even more respect for the program that player is part of. I think NU basketball is moving in this direction with Kevin Coble. I also think there is great potential for even more of that with a potentially amazing recruiting class coming to NU in 2011.

A third key way for the perception of NU basketball to change is for NU hoops to be on ESPN or CBS more than once or twice a season. I love the Big Ten Network, but getting on ESPN and ABC was one of the biggest moments of change for NU football. The 1995 Penn State game wasn’t just critical because NU beat Penn State, it was critical because Keith Jackson and ABC sports showed up to broadcast it. ESPN/ABC is still the network which true sports fans watch and has the experts which the most fans respect. If you’re on ESPN and ESPN’s talking heads talk about you, you get the respect of most fans. I am optimistic that after last year’s season NU will appear on ESPN and CBS more this year.

There are probably fifty more things which I could list here, but I want to conclude with one more which I see as critical. That is for Northwestern itself to promote the team. Though many fans started to give NU football the respect it deserved under Gary Barnett and Randy Walker, it seems even more opposing fans are starting to admire NU thanks to Pat Fitzgerald’s ubiquitous presence in the media. I know some people will say media appearances aren’t Bill Carmody’s thing, but I disagree. Carmody actually is a pretty good interview. He’s funny, personable, and more honest than any other coach. He is also, despite what some say, a very good coach who is well respected by the basketball community. Given the chance Carmody could win over just as many fans as Fitz, but I don’t see him making as nearly as many appearances on radio and TV. If he doesn’t want to do so, well, then that’s tough. Somebody has to make him. Not only will it help promote the program, but it might also eliminate another of NU’s negative perceptions—empty seats.

Memorabilia: Farewell to McGaw, Welcome to Welsh-Ryan Arena

Today’s Northwestern memorabilia post focuses on items given to fans at the last game at the old McGaw Hall and the first at brand new Welsh-Ryan Arena in 1983. People often have very negative things to say about Welsh-Ryan Arena today, but I think it has a lot of good points. Still, I have to admit that I suspect there have not been a ton of changes to Welsh-Ryan since McGaw was remodeled in 1983 and some areas of the building show that pretty prominently. The concourse being the most obvious.

First off we have a hard hat which was given to fans at the last game hosted at McGaw Hall in 1982. With the building getting remodeled, the hard hat was a pretty cool giveaway. I can imagine fans, at least in the student section, might even have enjoyed wearing those the next season as well.
Next up we have key chair in the form of a ticket which was given to fans at the first game NU hosted in the remodeled Welsh-Ryan Arena. You can see in the close up at this point the arena was being called Welsh-Ryan Arena in McGaw Hall. Now, despite the fact the building is still McGaw Hall, that full name has been dropped. I also want to say I have no idea why NU chose Section 103 Row H Seat 11 as the seat for the key chair. I suspect some reason must have existed, perhaps it was the first seat installed.

News and Notes: Chicago College Baskeetball named 1931 hero Joseph Reiff the fourth best player in Chicago Basketball history. Here the link: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-college-basketball/2009/08/top-10-greatest-chicago-college-basketball-players---4.html

Link

Take a look at this Rivals story on NU: http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=972166

Also, stay tuned for some more classic NU gear from the closing of McGaw Hsll and opening of Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Visit This Link

John Templon at Chicago College Basketball is doing a countdown of the 10 best players in the history of Chicago college hoops. Today he listed #6, former NU star Evan Eschmeyer. I'm sorry to say that John would have had a photo of Eschmeyer with his story, but I was slow in checking my e-mail and the picture didn't get in his story.

Update: Thankfully, I was able to get John the schedule card I was sent by fellow blogger Jon Solomon and the story now has a picture of Esch. The next question is will John's list have any other Wildcats. We'll have to see.

Wildcat Roster: Center

I’ve covered a lot of topics in the last few weeks, but I haven’t done that many posts focused specifically on next basketball season. Today I want to take the time to talk about one spot on the Wildcat roster which I think is critically important. That position is the center spot. At the end of last season I reviewed each position group and gave out grades. The center spot received the lowest grade, but considering oldest player to play that spot was a sophomore, I think the low score was understandable. However, with a year of experience I expect many NU fans are looking for a lot of improvement from the center position. Specifically, I think fans are looking to see some notable improvement in Kyle Rowley and Luka Mirkovic. Rowley was the primary starter last year, but it was Mirkovic who really showed improvement and gave NU fans hope for the future. Mirkovic showed a nice ability to pass with 40 assists and to shoot by making 4-of-10 threes. Obviously, Mirkovic didn’t attempt many threes, but he also showed touch on some long twos like the one key basket against Michigan State which helped NU run out its lead. The fact is the Princeton Offense gets better with more versatile centers. If Luka becomes more willing to take threes and makes at least 35% it will help NU a ton. Especially since without Craig Moore to fire in threes from just past half court NU will need a more balanced shooting attack.

Kyle Rowley it seemed went a little different direction from Mirkovic. His progressed slowed during the season and despite starting most games, his minutes dropped in Big Ten play. One trait Rowley has which can’t be taken away is his size. At 7-0 feet he would have been NU’s only center option on some past teams. Now, he is joined by Mirkovic, Davide Curletti and Ivan Peljusic. Still, Rowley is the guy that could be a true difference maker with his size. He’ll likely never be a step back shooter, but he’s actually a decent passer and with his size he ought to get offensive rebounds. Stuffing the assist and offensive rebound columns would in my mind make up for not taking threes. Rowley did turn the ball over 38 times last year, but most of those were on travels. Given that Rowley hasn’t played a ton of organized basketball it is understandable that he at times suffered from indecision and shuffled his feet. That is why I believe Rowley’s summer experience with the Trinidad and Tobago National Team was some valuable. Yes, Rowley didn’t get as much time on the court as he might have wanted, but just being in an organized basketball practice setting was likely way more beneficial than if he’d just been playing pick up games. Maybe next summer NU can send Rowley to a big man camp to further his development.

For brief moments last year Davide Curletti and Ivan Peljusic also played some center for NU. Both are a little smaller than Rowley and Mirkovic and might fit better at power forward. However, they both had some nice moments. Peljusic used his athletic skill to take over the Florida State game when NU needed a spark. Curletti started the game against Ohio State and played very solid defense against OSU’s large front line. I believe both could be quality players in the right situation. It will likely depend on how much improvement we see from Rowley and Mirkovic if that situation dictates a lot of time as a backup center or some time at power forward.

Links: Rivals poster pschatz25 has linked a collection of old Wildcat newspaper and headlines and posters. Take a look: http://northwestern.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=58&tid=130531794&mid=130531794&sid=901&style=2

Craig Moore will keep playing basketball, he signed with Dutch Basketball Club DeFriesland Aris Leeuwarden: http://www.interperformances.com/basket/news_detail.php?id=327

Memorabilia: More Schedule Cards

Two events inspired this post in which I want to take a look at some more NU memorabilia. First, I picked up a new schedule card for NU’s 2009 football season. Second, reader Jon Solomon from princetonbasketball.com sent me a couple old NU schedule cards he found from the late 90s and 2001 (Thanks, Jon).

If you remember my last post on schedule cards I discussed what I believed made for a good schedule card and what did not. I think overall what you’ll see today are good examples of schedule cards—this year's football card included. However I do have on major issue with the 2009 football schedule card and I will be fascinated to see if others are share my feelings.

First off you see both men’s and women’s basketball schedule cards from the 98-99 season. For the men’s team, of course, this was a successful year with an NIT qualification. Aside from positive memories, what I like about these two schedule cards is they show actions shots. Both feature photos which I think would catch someone’s eye if the walked by these cards as they entered a restaurant.

Next up, we have football schedule cards. First from the 2001 season and then from this upcoming season. The 2001 card features a semi-action shot as Zak Kustok is looking to pass, but I’m not sure it’s as exciting as the shot of Evan Eschmeyer going to the hoop. Still, I really like the fact the 2001 football card featured a slogan, “Chicagoland’s Big 10 Show” while that campaign wasn’t super-successful, it was nice to see NU trying to brand itself in Chicago.

As you can see below, this year’s schedule card features the “Play Smart - Play with Integrity” slogan which has started to show up on NU football merchandise recently. I like that slogan as to me it represents the ideals of Northwestern athletics very well. This year’s schedule card also continues the trend which started in the last couple years of indentifying the player on the card. I think this is a great improvement over the past schedule cards which did not do this. Sure, if you were an NU fan in 2001 you knew Zak Kustok on sight, but it is possible some casual sports fans in Chicago might know a players name, but not be able to put a jersey number to that name. Indentifying the player helps those casual fans make more of a connection with NU. It’s even better when the picture shows the player making an eye-catching play. In that regard, the picture of Corey Wotton on this year’s card isn’t bad. It shows him stopping and ball carrier and gives the viewer a sense of Corey’s size and strength. However, I do have one major issue with the picture featured. Corey Wotton played in 13 football games last fall. Of those football games, Northwestern won 9 and I think Corey made big plays in all 9 of those wins. Therefore, I really have to ask why of all the pictures to use was one of the Indiana game selected (Does this bother anyone else?). Yes, I know it’s just a picture and really makes no difference, but loyal readers can probably tell I spend a lot of time thinking about past NU games. I really enjoy remembering the great wins, but I try to block out the really painful losses. Indiana was the most painful and disheartening loss of last season and personally I’d like to keep blocking that out. Wasn’t there a picture of Corey sacking the SIU QB in the rain that could have been used? The Big Ten Network sure enjoyed running clips of those sacks during Fitz’s press conference during media day.

Still, overall the new schedule card isn’t bad. The picture does, I’ll admit, catch your eye and I like how the new three-fold style allows for more information. I also like how the 2010 schedule is listed as well, though, it would help a lot if NU could find a 12th game so the schedule was actually complete. Hopefully we’ll know that soon, but before we worry about 2010, let’s hope that new schedule card helps get some people out to games in 2009.