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clarificationcat said:

That was great analysis. I hope he continues to get broadcasting opportunities. He was the only person talking up the team and Barnhizer 2 years ago.

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I'll assume you mean the only media person.

macarthur31 said:

Osh, if I recall correctly, Bryant McIntosh was leading his recruitment. Pair that with Boo Buie, and you got two strong examples of underrecruited confident point guards that have thrived in Collins' program. Hoping West will continue that trend.

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Yes sir.

Guard U is not a bad reputation to be developing .... especially for the underrecruited, which there are more and more of. Besides, it certainly seems we'll only be in the Portal game to fill in gaps, not attract the Top 40-50. At least not yet.

So to have a reputation of developing guys and getting them to the next level ... is a really cool thing.

Not to mention our 1.5 million new fans of course.

macarthur31 said:

Osh, if I recall correctly, Bryant McIntosh was leading his recruitment. Pair that with Boo Buie, and you got two strong examples of underrecruited confident point guards that have thrived in Collins' program. Hoping West will continue that trend.

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Northwestern: "I like how it is an academic school. Bryant McIntosh has been recruiting me. He is really cool. He has been talking to me a lot. We relate because we are both small white guards who have played at a high level."

We should play a SEC team every year. Eliminate the win minimum for bowl selection.

Thanks for the link. I can't believe that Tre is now the crotchety old man with the "accountability is so rare in today's culture" take.

macarthur31 said:

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Came across this on twitter (from a re-share from Brian James' account). My quick takes on his takes:

• Affirming to hear the type of culture that has been built, and continues to be built.
• He confirms that Leach will be a great add, and he likes the incoming frosh.
• I learned that Ciaravino's nickname is "Jello." That's cool.

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That was great analysis. I hope he continues to get broadcasting opportunities. He was the only person talking up the team and Barnhizer 2 years ago.

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WestCoastWildcat said:

Which SEC teams would be a good match for NU that our fans would enjoy and draw our fans to the matchups with particular SEC opponents?

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Bama.
Georgia.
Texas.
Oklahoma.

Ryan Field would be bursting at the seams for those games.

cats_man_too said:

https://n.rivals.com/team_rankings/2025/all-teams/basketball --> Except this site, apparently?

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Apparently Rivals doesn't rate 2 of the 4 commits.......

techtim72 said:

Why not do it anytime the opponent's formation fits on your side of the field and a team is willing to give up five seconds, five yards for a whole lot better pass defense? Isn't that basically a pass prevent defense that allows the 5-10 yard out? Losing track now on when the clock stops so that might be a downside of being willing to incur the penalty if the clock restarts on setting the ball.

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I would imagine the counter move is to immediately spike the ball. Burn 2 seconds. Keep spiking it.

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As I mentioned about 24 hours ago - if Ohio State is on the wrong end of a rule, the rule is going to change quickly...
I'm going to give myself an A++++++ for that one.

Mid-season urgent rule change!

https://www.on3.com/news/ncaa-pushi...-oregon-ducks-dan-lanning-used-intentionally/

GatoLouco said:

You have to insert Barnhizer as a point forward into the equation. I think we will end up seeing some to a lot of that.

First indications are that Windham shows no fear. That is excellent. Mullins has more than the physical skills to be a force, but could be the guy we keep salivating for and never materializes. Ciaravino looks promising and a very well rounded player. Hunger should be more mature. But, in the end, I have no clue what this all means in terms of bench play.

The league is quite balanced. I think there's as good a chance we fight for a tournament spot as there is we end up 12-14.

I know I can't wait for the season to start.

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Yep - I'm thinking Barnhizer at point-forward as well - but will he be at the 3 or 4?

If you keep Brooks at the 4, he'll have the edge on offense, but could get worn down covering rugged 4s. However, if you start Martinelli, then perhaps you mix it up on defense and let Nick absorb some punishment. I still don't think Luke is at the 4, but I think he's got the agility to play there in short stints. If Barkley could emerge as a contributor (8-10 min a game), that would be a boon.

olshin said:

Being completely serious, just go on TikTok and search Jake West commitment ... and you'll see that Northwestern basketball got millions of hits in various content pieces. Just last night.

There's a fantastic 5 minute clip from Fox 29 news showing Jake with his parents too.

It's impossible to quantify what that means to the program. Or that his reasoning for attending is how we develop guards and improve their game for the next level, and the great coaches etc.

Of course, there will come a time in 12 months where the ability matters too ........ but what the last 2 years have meant to the program from Boo to Brooks to someone like a Jake West ...... it's incredible.

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Osh, if I recall correctly, Bryant McIntosh was leading his recruitment. Pair that with Boo Buie, and you got two strong examples of underrecruited confident point guards that have thrived in Collins' program. Hoping West will continue that trend.

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PZAZ said:

I predict Barkley is the positive surprise of the year. We have depth which is great.

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Honestly, I'm counting on Windham being a pretty good player this year.
Ciavarino and Mullins are definitely going to be competing for minutes and (ideally) Mullins will have improved enough to keep the talented freshman just behind him.

Martinelli has to start. I can't imagine him not starting - he's too good. He wore down last season as his workload expanded to 35 minutes+. Hopefully this season he's playing the 4 most of the time, making crafty scoring moves around the basket and slipping the ball to Big Matt for massive dunks when the opponent's big guy comes over to stop him.

I'm looking forward to Nicholson, Martinelli and Barnhizer in the frontcourt and anticipate Hunger stepping up.
Points in the Paint!

I'm sure it will surprise people, but the quartet of Nicholson, Martinelli, Barnhizer and Berry only played 56 minutes together last season.

I'm only concerned about Leach - that he won't be quick enough for the Big Ten...

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AdamOnFirst said:

Class rankings are stupid and this one is volume and timing driven and should be taken with a grain of salt... but we have a top 10 recruiting class on all sites right now. This is a legit group!

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https://n.rivals.com/team_rankings/2025/all-teams/basketball --> Except this site, apparently?

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