[NU Sports] Basketball

Sun Nov 25 20:39:07 CST 2007

For one, NU's best basketball player, Coble (who also happens to be NU's
best "inside" player - which is a bit of a misnomer for the Princeton
offense - but he is the 'Cats' best player with some height) is out and will
be out indefinitely in order to help out at home with his mother, who is
dealing with a medical condition.  Despite being young himself, he also
provides some on the court leadership and experience for Northwestern, which
is lacking in that area.  I expect that NU's basketball results this season
may have looked much different if he was in - NU lost to a ranked Stanford
team in a game that was closer than the final score (NU was within 6 with
only minutes left in the game despite watching Stanford score at will on the
inside and outrebound them by leaps and bounds), they lost on a go ahead
shot with seconds remaining against Depaul, and, of course, the ugly Brown
loss where NU was within 1 with 30 seconds left in the game.

Secondly, what you see year in and year out is a result of the Princeton
offense and the types of players that come in to play under Carmody:
- The Princeton offense relies on the outside shooters, especially when
facing tough defenses (particularly those that play zone and make it
difficult to get those under the basket cuts).  Unfortunately even the best
shooters can't hit every 3 pointer or long distance 2, and although NU has
had some decent shooters there hasn't been any amazing perimeter shooter
come through that can consistently hit all of those outside shots.
- The system also lends itself to being outrebounded since the offensive
players are typically spread out all over the court, therefore severely
limiting the ability to grab offensive rebounds.
- NU hasn't been able to bring in any "big man" to play the middle, leading
to another reason for the 'Cats to lose the rebound battle - some of this
may be due to the system (since it utilizes more perimeter shooting and
mismatches in the middle than a traditional pass it in and let the big guy
work offense) - and some is due to guys that just haven't panned out
(transfers, injuries, and guys not playing up to potential).
- Northwestern hasn't been able to bring in any amazingly talented player
who can carry the team - not to knock any of the hard working and talented
guys on the court, some of whom did an amazing job with what they had to
work with (I'm thinking of guys like Jitim Young and Vedran Vukusic) - but
in basketball more than almost any other team sport one guy can make a huge
difference (see the first paragraph about NU's 3 losses this year and how
the loss of Coble has made a big difference).

The fact is that the Princeton offense is a known quantity - it can put NU
at a mediocre level and give it a few big upsets any given year, but it has
never been able to propel NU to the top of the league given the level of
talent NU has and the competition NU has to face every year.  I don't take
much credence in recruiting and the recruit rankings, but the fact is that
NU hasn't been able to pull in a big time talent in order to help carry the
team - and often has had to resort in going overseas to find players (not a
bad strategy if they pan out - but only one has made a significant impact:
Vukusic) or giving a scholarship to walk-ons.  Not to shoot down any current
or former players - I've seen them give it their all out there and pull off
some impressive victories and upsets - but I agree with the fact that the
talent level needs to increase in order for NU basketball to be successful.

Regarding the facilities: I don't think building a new arena would suddenly
solve NU's basketball woes, and I am completely against it - plus I don't
see money coming out of nowhere to fund this.  NU has been successful in its
academic fund raising (including the $1.5B+ building campaign a few years
back) but without success in basketball it will be tough to build a brand
new arena.  I do think that some improvements in the existing Welsh-Ryan
arena would be welcomed, but it is a more than serviceable facility.

Regarding the call to build a brand new football stadium - that is
completely ludicrous.  Ryan Field is in relatively good shape has obviously
had a lot of money funneled into improvements over the past few years.  Sure
there are some more improvements that could be made (I've called for a few
basic ones), but building a new stadium would be just plain dumb given the
cost for a new one and the fact that the current one is more than
sufficient.

I have full confidence in the current athletic leadership - starting with AD
Murphy.  The long term goal should be to be around .500 every year in both
basketball and football, and to make a run at a conference title every 4-5
years.  Short term - NU needs to get to the men's bball tourney (a tall
order this year), and football needs to get back to a bowl game (and with
next year's talent make some noise in the conference).  Northwestern will
never be a football/basketball factory, nor should it be.  It should embrace
what makes it unique and recruit players who can fit into the school
academically and be developed on the field during their collegiate career.
If an amazing talent comes along that can fit into the ideals of the school
then get them in.

What I never want to see is NU pushing academics or integrity under the rug
to get highly rated players in for football and/or basketball.  I want to
see NU athletics be successful year in and year out, but I know that NU will
never be a "semi-pro" type of school you see out of others in the Big Ten or
around the country - if you want to see that then go elsewhere.  What we'll
see is a competitive program that can break out every few years, but
generally will have to work to be successful.  I believe NU football has
continued to be competitive in the conference, with an obvious setback after
the loss of Walker; and the basketball team has regressed in the past couple
years after a quasi-successful run (obviously they still haven't made the
tourney, though).  I think football is heading in the right direction;
basketball (which I admittedly know less about) seems to be stuck in a rut,
but Carmody has been one of the most successful men's bball coaches in NU
history.

Anyways I hope that Murphy leads the way by making some well-thought-out
decisions that keep the long-term in mind, especially regarding staffing
positions.  I never want to see NU turn into a school that fires its head
coaches every 3 years and goes outside the bounds to get highly rated
recruits in.  Whatever happens, though, I'll remain a Wildcat fan - just as
I would expect everyone on this board to do.

Jonathan

On Nov 25, 2007 9:58 AM, <NEONRye at aol.com> wrote:

> OK, I wake up on a lazy Sunday morning, open my NY TIMES Sports Section
> and
> eventually look at the Scores.  And what do I see but the following
>  entry:
> Brown 73, Northwestern 61.  And then I check our web site  and confirm the
> game
> was at Welsh-Ryan, which I kind of was aware of  anyway.
>
> How in the heck can this happen?  Now, we can't even beat the teams  that
> Bill Carmody took care of when he coached at Princeton?  I hate to say
>  it, but I
> am now ready to join the chorus of "It's time for a change at the  top."
> This is just not acceptable, given our ability to recruit vs.  Brown's
> restrictions.  Our program is now an embarrassment.
>
> Paul Levinson
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Jonathan W. Hodges
1237 Emerson St Apt 2
Evanston, IL  60201-3577
(847) 736-2449
jonathanwhodges at gmail.com