Bye Bye Ben

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Just some questions about your claims.

Was Pardon considered a stretch 5? Was Young considered a stretch 5? Was Nicholson recruited prior to the ultimatum?

Outside of players with obvious NU ties, what “5 stars” pursue? Who was recruited prior to the ultimatum and was their impact on the last 3 teams? Who has been recruiting since and what has been their impact on the last 3 teams?

What are the possessions per game stats like year to year for Collins to back this up?

Was Pardon not an effective rim protector? Who do you think was a better post defender Nance or Young? One had the height to alter shots and neither had the mass.

If Lowery gets credit for recruiting gritty players, what recruiting classes has been a part of? Who were the key culture setters on the last 3 teams?

I do agree with Lowery was hired to emphasize defense.

How deep was the rotation during the 2016-2017 season? Only 8 players played more than 10 minutes a game.

I have stated it multiple times the shift happened well before the ultimatum. It just took time to bear fruit. The all-state year was the wake up call from my viewpoint. Success takes time.

Something about posting the first winning big ten season at a program in close to 50 years along with the only 3 NCAA tournaments screams greatness to me. One of those tournaments was before all these supposed changes. To me it was gradual improvement of a good-very good coach into a great one.

Do you really think I am going to go thru your questions and answer them?
If you want to counter my statements, counter my statements. Provide your own facts, if you have any.

My major complaints about Chris Collins were public on this message board.
Collins addressed those issues, almost one for one, after the Gragg ultimatum and the Lowery hire.
I have acknowledged that in the past.
And his teams started playing better.

During the dark days, I even suggested that - if NU felt compelled to fire Collins - they should think about hiring Bruce Weber on an interim basis. I had no idea that Chris Lowery was the man behind Weber's success. I just liked Weber's teams at Kansas State.

I've gotten a lot of things right about Collins and NU basketball, but the Weber/Lowery one is the accident I'm probably most proud of.
And lets face it, the Lowery hire likely saved Collins' job at Northwestern.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

Do you really think I am going to go thru your questions and answer them?
If you want to counter my statements, counter my statements. Provide your own facts, if you have any.

My major complaints about Chris Collins were public on this message board.
Collins addressed those issues, almost one for one, after the Gragg ultimatum and the Lowery hire.
I have acknowledged that in the past.
And his teams started playing better.

During the dark days, I even suggested that - if NU felt compelled to fire Collins - they should think about hiring Bruce Weber on an interim basis. I had no idea that Chris Lowery was the man behind Weber's success. I just liked Weber's teams at Kansas State.

I've gotten a lot of things right about Collins and NU basketball, but the Weber/Lowery one is the accident I'm probably most proud of.
And let’s face it, the Lowery hire likely saved Collins' job at Northwestern.

Fine without looking up stats….

Pardon and Young were not stretch 5’s so myth #1 busted.

The only 5 stars recruited that I can recall has family ties to NU. Obviously have to shake the tree on those. I may be wrong here, there may be others.

Martinelli and older were recruited pre ultimatum and Clayton/Barkley/Strauss and younger were recruited after. Banrhizer, Buie, Audige, Martinelli, Matt, and Ty were the culture setters.

Not looking the possessions thing up. I wouldn’t be shocked if tempo slowed. I also wouldn’t be shocked if it stayed similar to the years around the 1st tournament.

Pardon was a very effective rim protector. Nance was a better post defender than Young while neither was great at it Nance had the height and length to recover at times.

The rotation the first tournament year ran about 8-9 players deep.

You didn’t provide any facts to support any of the statements I questioned. The Lowry hire is not what saved Collins job. It is every decision leading up to the epic turnaround season that made it possible. It is a bunch of little things that added up. That is how success and progress happens.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Fine without looking up stats….

Pardon and Young were not stretch 5’s so myth #1 busted.

The only 5 stars recruited that I can recall has family ties to NU. Obviously have to shake the tree on those. I may be wrong here, there may be others.

Martinelli and older were recruited pre ultimatum and Clayton/Barkley/Strauss and younger were recruited after. Banrhizer, Buie, Audige, Martinelli, Matt, and Ty were the culture setters.

Not looking the possessions thing up. I wouldn’t be shocked if tempo slowed. I also wouldn’t be shocked if it stayed similar to the years around the 1st tournament.

Pardon was a very effective rim protector. Nance was a better post defender than Young while neither was great at it Nance had the height and length to recover at times.

The rotation the first tournament year ran about 8-9 players deep.

You didn’t provide any facts to support any of the statements I questioned. The Lowry hire is not what saved Collins job. It is every decision leading up to the epic turnaround season that made it possible. It is a bunch of little things that added up. That is how success and progress happens.

Is there anything more subjective than the Lowrey hire likely saved CCC’s job? Easy to argue something that can’t be proved. I do know that the heralded class of Kopp, RY, Pete weren’t defensive stalwarts. We played defense before Lowrey showed up too and that was documented in a previous post. It sounds good in theory because the improvement coincided with Lowrey showing up, but we also didn’t have the clear defensive liabilities that we previously had. Lowrey is a fine defensive Coach and he makes a difference, but it was a combination of Lowrey, the other Assistant Coaches, the Players, and equally important CCC saving CCC’s job.