[NU Sports] Cats Win!

[Dennis W. Brandt]

> I prefer to see the glass half-full whereas, in keeping with recent 
> patterns, you're more of a half-empty guy.  Your view may even be the more 
> realistic of the two, but a conference road win is a good win,

Half-empty guy?  That's relative of course.  If I am, I have good reasons. 
If I were still in my twenties (I can't say how many miles you have on your 
tread), I would be a half-fuller, too, because then I would not have 
witnessed a two-score litany of roundball futility.  Since I matriculated at 
Northwestern in 1964, they have never had a quality basketball team.  Never. 
Not once.  There were a precious few close calls but none that made it over 
the mountain.  Mostly, they have been the league doormat.  During that time 
they have had two or three measly trips to the NIT thanks to a pre-season 
defeating nobodys.  They have one post-season win in school history.  One! 
I have seen NU teams that showed promise only to watch the next season fade 
into oblivion as players walked out or graduated and no one of any caliber 
took their place.  We have had teams that could at times play well at home 
for 56 minutes only to frustrate us by collapsing and losing the game (a la 
the recent Wisconsin game).  Conversely, the number of times Northwestern 
has pulled out a last-second Big 10 victory during that time literally could 
be counted on the fingers of your hands with some digits left over.

There is no better example of  futility in the history of sports than the 
Northwestern University men's basketball team.  It is telling that while 
Bill Carmody has granted us the best long-term basketball play in school 
history, that still isn't good enough to reach the post-season.  I have seen 
nothing on the current team that would make me think we will be a force in 
the Big 10 next season.  Yes, we seem to have a nucleus of decent, young 
players, but a nucleus alone does not an atom make.  We need to add weight 
to that nucleus and get some of those funny little things swirling around 
it.  If thar be whales here this time, GLORY HALLELUAH IN THE YEAR OF 
JUBILEE!  But I'm still waiting for "next season" to become "this season."