9 Days off / 3 Games in 23 Days

[Hungry Jack]

I don’t think this is ideal for a team that is trying to figure things out on offense, but this does give Ty some recovery time. I think he’s getting closer to the guy we saw last year.

GA Tech (101 in kenpom), DePaul (97) and Northeastern (145) won’t be chopped liver, but I expect KJ and Gelo to get meaningful minutes in these games.

 

[EagerFan]

Coach presented it as a bit of a win - it seems in every interview so far he has mentioned that the entire team hasn't had much practice time together to sort things out so far this year.

 

[GatoLouco]

I am intending to go to the GA Tech game. Never saw the Cats win away from Evanston. Never saw them play in a neutral court either.

KenPom higher or lower GA Tech or DePaul give us bigger and faster bodies than the likes of Norteastern.

Like HJ said, maybe we’ll see KJ and/or Jello. Chances are we’ll be forced to play them some at some point.

 

[Deeringfish]

Coach presented it as a bit of a win - it seems in every interview so far he has mentioned that the entire team hasn't had much practice time together to sort things out so far this year.

Well, CCC's coaching style is always pretty optimistic and telling the team that this stretch is good for them is going to build confidence way better than telling them that the break is going to be rough so stay as sharp as you can.
Having said that, I think that it will be a good opportunity to look at the film and practice taking advantages of the missed opportunities. Berry may come out of his doldrums and Barny and Leach may be able to work on their chemistry.

 

[SmellyCat]

I saw the final score of the GT-UNC game and saw it was in Chapel Hill, but did anyone get a good look at it? Was Tech truly in the game? It seems that they’re not even close to a gimme if Tar Heels only won by three at home.

 

[Catreporter]

Gimme? Good grief, they are an ACC team.

 

[SmellyCat]

Exactly. I just meant they’re not bottom of the barrel ACC but actually a team that can hang with big boys.

 

[GatoLouco]

If you want to use some transitive property here, GA Tech:

1) Has one bad loss, against North Florida
2) Other losses are to more (or less) respectable opponents in GA, Cincinnati, OK and NC
3) They don't have "good wins"
4) Their wins are against West GA, TX Southern, Charleston So and Central AR

Gut feeling is that they are bottom 1/3 of the power conferences. But much better than Eastern IL.

 

[GatoLouco]

At the same time, NC:
1) Has no bad losses
2) Lost to KS, Auburn, MI State and AL. Most they can say is that it was close against MI State and KS
3) Only had one decent win, 2 pt margin against Dayton
4) Remaining wins are against Elon, American and HI

I guess the point is that, for now, NC, loaded with talent or not, is a bit of dissapointment.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Imagine if Martinelli had ended up at Elon. He would be like that tree that falls in the forest when no one is around.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

At the same time, NC:
1) Has no bad losses
2) Lost to KS, Auburn, MI State and AL. Most they can say is that it was close against MI State and KS
3) Only had one decent win, 2 pt margin against Dayton
4) Remaining wins are against Elon, American and HI

I guess the point is that, for now, NC, loaded with talent or not, is a bit of dissapointment.

My daughter is in grad school at UNC, so I’ve watched a little bit of them. Good athletes that are struggling to find roles. They get disjointed a lot on the court. GT played pretty good there and easily could have won in Chapel Hill. Also, she takes classes at Duke, but I can’t get up the nerve to watch them yet!

 

[EagerFan]

Imagine if Martinelli had ended up at Elon. He would be like that tree that falls in the forest when no one is around.

These what ifs sometimes interest me. I wonder if Nick would have developed into the player he is today at Elon. The fire and ability have to come from within and he definitely has those, but how much has he benefited from working with Boo, Brooks, and the rest of the cats, not to mention the coaching staff? I doubt Elon would have brought that to the table and Nick would be poorer for it.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Imagine if Martinelli had ended up at Elon. He would be like that tree that falls in the forest when no one is around.

On March 14, 2022 Derrick Gragg told Chris Collins "win or you're gone."
NU had suffered thru a 26-71 record against Big Ten opposition over the previous 5 seasons, so yeah, it was not good.
Ryan Young entered the transfer portal on March 24, 2022, shocking most of us.
High school senior Nick Martinelli's coach-to-be at Elon took an assistant position at Duke with new head coach John Scheyer.
He was Scheyer's first hire - on April 7, 2022.
Martinelli de-committed from Elon on April 21, as is allowed when the head coach departs.
Duke being Duke, they had no interest in Martinelli - not did any other Power 6 school (except one).
With 10 offers from tier 2 and tier 3 schools, Martinelli committed to Northwestern on April 24.
On April 25 Pete Nance declared for the NBA draft and entered the transfer portal.
On April 28, Tydus Verhoeven committed to Northwestern out of the portal.
On April 30, Ryan Young committed to Duke.

On paper, the team looked worse.

On July 27, 2022 Chris Collins hired Chris Lowery as his top assistant.

And then... magic.

 

[Deeringfish]

On March 14, 2022 Derrick Gragg told Chris Collins "win or you're gone."
NU had suffered thru a 26-71 record against Big Ten opposition over the previous 5 seasons, so yeah, it was not good.
Ryan Young entered the transfer portal on March 24, 2022, shocking most of us.
High school senior Nick Martinelli's coach-to-be at Elon took an assistant position at Duke with new head coach John Scheyer.
He was Scheyer's first hire - on April 7, 2022.
Martinelli de-committed from Elon on April 21, as is allowed when the head coach departs.
Duke being Duke, they had no interest in Martinelli - not did any other Power 6 school (except one).
With 10 offers from tier 2 and tier 3 schools, Martinelli committed to Northwestern on April 24.
On April 25 Pete Nance declared for the NBA draft and entered the transfer portal.
On April 28, Tydus Verhoeven committed to Northwestern out of the portal.
On April 30, Ryan Young committed to Duke.

On paper, the team looked worse.

On July 27, 2022 Chris Collins hired Chris Lowery as his top assistant.

And then... magic.

I doubt that is was "magic" as you say but Coach Lowery really seems to have made a difference. I hope NU is paying attention and giving Coach Lowery a very competitive "Top Assistants" salary.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

I doubt that is was "magic" as you say but Coach Lowery really seems to have made a difference. I hope NU is paying attention and giving Coach Lowery a very competitive "Top Assistants" salary.

Along those lines - I totally missed this - Shane Southwell, the new NU assistant who replaced Talor Battle - played for Bruce Weber and Lowery at Kansas State and returned as an assistant coach at that school for 3 seasons before Weber resigned in March 2022.

At 6'7" he may be working with our bigger guys, even though he played guard at K-State.

 

[NUera]

I don’t think this is ideal for a team that is trying to figure things out on offense…

It’s ideal for a team where Barnhizer and Martinelli will log 40+ minutes a night moving forward. Get some rest now boys - because you won’t get any for the remainder of the season.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

On March 14, 2022 Derrick Gragg told Chris Collins "win or you're gone."
NU had suffered thru a 26-71 record against Big Ten opposition over the previous 5 seasons, so yeah, it was not good.
Ryan Young entered the transfer portal on March 24, 2022, shocking most of us.
High school senior Nick Martinelli's coach-to-be at Elon took an assistant position at Duke with new head coach John Scheyer.
He was Scheyer's first hire - on April 7, 2022.
Martinelli de-committed from Elon on April 21, as is allowed when the head coach departs.
Duke being Duke, they had no interest in Martinelli - not did any other Power 6 school (except one).
With 10 offers from tier 2 and tier 3 schools, Martinelli committed to Northwestern on April 24.
On April 25 Pete Nance declared for the NBA draft and entered the transfer portal.
On April 28, Tydus Verhoeven committed to Northwestern out of the portal.
On April 30, Ryan Young committed to Duke.

On paper, the team looked worse.

On July 27, 2022 Chris Collins hired Chris Lowery as his top assistant.

And then... magic.

The main pieces were already on roster before the timeline started and working very hard for over half the offseason by the end of this timeline. Buie was improving each season. Barnhizer took a big jump. Audige got healthier. Matt took a HUGE leap defensively. A lot of pieces fit together at the right time including the timeline above. That’s the magic.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

The main pieces were already on roster before the timeline started and working very hard for over half the offseason by the end of this timeline. Buie was improving each season. Barnhizer took a big jump. Audige got healthier. Matt took a HUGE leap defensively. A lot of pieces fit together at the right time including the timeline above. That’s the magic.

A lot of pieces that didn’t fit the puzzle weren't here either.

This team may not make the tourney. It’s going to be close, but they are really fun to root for. Just like the last two years. They leave it all on the floor. The proceeding two years before this era ( Nance, Beran, Kopp, et al) were some of the most frustrating in recent memory because you thought there was so much more than they ever showed.

 

[GatoLouco]

Let's not forget, pieces or not, what a transformation of style that team was. Not particulary efficient on offense, but one hell of a team on defense. Double teamed close to every ball that went inside. Rotated extremely well. Players quotes saying something like "coaches keep telling us be in the right place and the ball will come to you". It was not a natural transition from the previous season with just the pieces that were there.

There were huge changes.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Let's not forget, pieces or not, what a transformation of style that team was. Not particulary efficient on offense, but one hell of a team on defense. Double teamed close to every ball that went inside. Rotated extremely well. Players quotes saying something like "coaches keep telling us be in the right place and the ball will come to you". It was not a natural transition from the previous season with just the pieces that were there.

There were huge changes.

I think they finally had players with both the desire and willingness to actually play defense.

 

[DaCat]

I think they finally had players with both the desire and willingness to actually play defense.

Like you said the Nance, Kopp etc. group had talent but lacked toughness and desire. That group wilted under pressure too often, frittering away large leads and always seemed to be on the losing end of tight games. The current group may be less talented overall but has toughness and the will to win close games.

 

[GatoLouco]

I think they finally had players with both the desire and willingness to actually play defense.

This statement is true.

But so is we played a different style the previous years, one that, IMO, did not fit the players we had. And we just kept insisting, stubborningly insisting on it. It was Nance at 5, it was subbing fast and furious, it was a lot more zone.

For me the big change is that we adapted the play to the players we had. Collins swallowed any pride and made adjustments. And I completely changed my views on his value as a coach.

Contrast that to Mike Woodson "I have not had the players to work in the system I use".

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

I think they finally had players with both the desire and willingness to actually play defense.

I agree - Audige was always ready to play defense.
Some people think Beran was a good defender. His length helped, but he was soft.
Nance was talented, soft and a bad teammate.
A frustrated freshman named Barnhizer was willing to kick anybody's ass on the court, but only played 58 minutes the prior year.
Nicholson played a total of 40 as a sophomore. My pleas went unanswered.
He and Barnhizer were so eager to play in games that they paid to join a team for a European tour over the summer.
Julian Roper and Ty Berry were the two remaining rotational pieces.
Collins publicly stated (later) that his recent teams in general had been too soft.
Importantly, Boo Buie hadn't yet bought in on the defensive side.
Casey Simmons. Very soft. But lots of stars.

Lowery ramped up the toughness, but the personnel had shifted in that direction, with the departure of Nance and to a lesser extent Simmons, probably Ryan Greer too... I thought Ryan Young was pretty tough, so I don't count him. His departure was a loss.

Lowery brought knowledge about how to play defense, how important it is to defend the paint, but also how to jump passing lanes - a more aggressive style of defense.
Interviews confirm parts this - Collins said he wanted to double the post but needed Lowery to teach the methods.

So we lost Nance, Young, Simmons, Greer and Elyjah Williams and replaced them with freshmen Hunger and Martinelli and the veteran Verhoeven. In reality though, the only new player added to the roster and rotation was Verhoeven. The 10 man rotation was cut to 8, with 2 of those 8 guys "not good enough" to play the prior year.

We struggled to score, but we won. And Chris Collins learned and improved significantly as a head coach.

It seems like magic.

 

[IGNORE2]

A lot of pieces that didn’t fit the puzzle weren't here either.

This team may not make the tourney. It’s going to be close, but they are really fun to root for. Just like the last two years. They leave it all on the floor. The proceeding two years before this era ( Nance, Beran, Kopp, et al) were some of the most frustrating in recent memory because you thought there was so much more than they ever showed.

This is the key to entertainment. These guys aren’t likely to win it all, not likely to win the big. But they are fun to watch and fun to root for. Doesn’t require you to strap it on and sweat a loyalty oath to coach and program - the last few years have been awesome and it continues with this squad.

If it ain’t fun, better be winning less nobody cares.

 

[SDakaGordie]

I agree - Audige was always ready to play defense.
Some people think Beran was a good defender. His length helped, but he was soft.
Nance was talented, soft and a bad teammate.
A frustrated freshman named Barnhizer was willing to kick anybody's ass on the court, but only played 58 minutes the prior year.
Nicholson played a total of 40 as a sophomore. My pleas went unanswered.
He and Barnhizer were so eager to play in games that they paid to join a team for a European tour over the summer.
Julian Roper and Ty Berry were the two remaining rotational pieces.
Collins publicly stated (later) that his recent teams in general had been too soft.
Importantly, Boo Buie hadn't yet bought in on the defensive side.
Casey Simmons. Very soft. But lots of stars.

Lowery ramped up the toughness, but the personnel had shifted in that direction, with the departure of Nance and to a lesser extent Simmons, probably Ryan Greer too... I thought Ryan Young was pretty tough, so I don't count him. His departure was a loss.

Lowery brought knowledge about how to play defense, how important it is to defend the paint, but also how to jump passing lanes - a more aggressive style of defense.
Interviews confirm parts this - Collins said he wanted to double the post but needed Lowery to teach the methods.

So we lost Nance, Young, Simmons, Greer and Elyjah Williams and replaced them with freshmen Hunger and Martinelli and the veteran Verhoeven. In reality though, the only new player added to the roster and rotation was Verhoeven. The 10 man rotation was cut to 8, with 2 of those 8 guys "not good enough" to play the prior year.

We struggled to score, but we won. And Chris Collins learned and improved significantly as a head coach.

It seems like magic.

When no one makes mention of our first trip to the NCAA tournament, the recent teams seem like magic. But it’s more logical to me that Collins had already shown he was a very good coach but knew he needed to make a change to make his defense get back to and then improve upon what it was in his first tourney run. Borovich was gone and Lowery was the right find.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

When no one makes mention of our first trip to the NCAA tournament, the recent teams seem like magic. But it’s more logical to me that Collins had already shown he was a very good coach but knew he needed to make a change to make his defense get back to and then improve upon what it was in his first tourney run. Borovich was gone and Lowery was the right find.

Honestly I had almost given up on Collins' capacity to make things work at Northwestern, thinking he had landed good players in his first recruiting class, when it was pretty easy to sell his vision, got lucky with Pardon in the 2nd class, then downhill. There were definitely some major disappointments along the way and there were plenty of things to criticize, in my opinion.

At some point Collins realized how he wanted to change things or maybe he looked at his roster and knew he didn't have the personnel to play the style he preferred - so as part of that he sought out Lowery. That decision may have saved his career. Without a much-improved defense, we weren't going to score enough points to win most of our Big Ten games that year.

Did Collins realize a bunch of things on his own? Did Lowery help the head coach see what the missteps were? Pretty hard to say. Probably some of both. But things have dramatically changed for the better since that tumultuous spring of 2022.

Its funny how Collins used to drive me crazy - and now he really doesn't. I'm even starting to trust him.

 

[GatoLouco]

This is the key to entertainment. These guys aren’t likely to win it all, not likely to win the big. But they are fun to watch and fun to root for. Doesn’t require you to strap it on and sweat a loyalty oath to coach and program - the last few years have been awesome and it continues with this squad.

If it ain’t fun, better be winning less nobody cares.

This is a good summary and pretty much reflects the agony or not of watching the team for me. 3 years ago it was painful to be a fan. Today, we could end up with the same result and it is not.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Honestly I had almost given up on Collins' capacity to make things work at Northwestern, thinking he had landed good players in his first recruiting class, when it was pretty easy to sell his vision, got lucky with Pardon in the 2nd class, then downhill. There were definitely some major disappointments along the way and there were plenty of things to criticize, in my opinion.

At some point Collins realized how he wanted to change things or maybe he looked at his roster and knew he didn't have the personnel to play the style he preferred - so as part of that he sought out Lowery. That decision may have saved his career. Without a much-improved defense, we weren't going to score enough points to win most of our Big Ten games that year.

Did Collins realize a bunch of things on his own? Did Lowery help the head coach see what the missteps were? Pretty hard to say. Probably some of both. But things have dramatically changed for the better since that tumultuous spring of 2022.

Its funny how Collins used to drive me crazy - and now he really doesn't. I'm even starting to trust him.

(as you well know) You do not have to be a superior athlete to be a great defender. It certainly helps, but scheme, smarts and effort can make an average athlete into a very good defender.

I feel the same way about Collins. I hope BMac is absorbing all of Lowery's defensive wizardry, as I think he stands to be the heir apparent for NU (he probably will need to coach somewhere else for a bit, as CCC should have 5+ years left, unless the administration goes fully stupid on him).

 

[SDakaGordie]

I have long held (with significant board opposition) that we were very close to being a solid BIG10 team and were actually improving over those down years after our first tourney. Virtually every one of our games was very competitive and close up to the end. (This was unlike many, many years of our NU history). What was frustrating to me was watching us lose close games. Nance and Kopp and Beran and early Boo just could not get it done in the clutch. More recently, with later Boo especially, we won a lot more of those. Did Lowery have something to do with our recently winning more close games? Likely some, as his defensive coaching prowess made us even more competitive than we would have otherwise been. But I do not believe he was the main reason we won more close games. And I don’t believe Collins is that much better of a close-game coach. The players win those games in virtually all cases. Boo, and the on-court implications of having him be such a difference-maker, won those games for us. We don’t have Boo now, but we have some experienced players that I think can be clutch for us. But it will be a dog fight for every game and we will be an underdog, just like it has been every year Collins has been our coach (to his credit). Go Cats!

 

[NJCat]

I agree - Audige was always ready to play defense.

.
Casey Simmons. Very soft. But lots of stars.

Speaking of Simmons, he is now starting for Yale, and went for 17 points, 13 boards and 3 blocks in 35 minutes for Yale in their win against Akron last night. That would look good off the bench for NU this year.