Fun Overreactions to One Game

[TheC]

Ok, that was fun last night. The day started with a thread on here asking whether we should be worried about Lehigh who was one game from making the NCAA tournament last year and had some guys returning. Those worries were put to rest right quick!

1) Nick is the man. He just looked like a man among boys out there. We've all gotten used to his goofy push shots and incredible footwork in the paint. Now I just feel super confident every time he has the ball. And so does he apparently! That three point stroke looks 100X smoother than last year. If that is for real..... (Homer Simpson salivating noises here). He also has the quickest footwork that legitimately isn't traveling. I watched him take off with the ball at the top of the key and thought for sure he'd be called for traveling because he cut so fast, but when you watch the replay, he was absolutely not traveling. He just has great footwork.

2) Leach can play. He has such a nice mix of athleticism and size for a guard. His three pointer may be streaky. But what really did it for me was in the second half when he drove the ball toward the elbows and knocked down two mid-range jump shots off the dribble. Those shots were silky smooth. That could be fun to watch this year if that's for real.

3) Not one, but two fearless freshman. One key thing about our recent top contributors is that they came in as freshman and looked like they belonged. They didn't have to be stars as freshman and they certainly didn't have to be perfect. But you could tell they weren't overwhelmed or afraid. Boo played that way as a frosh. Brooks did a little, but injuries messed up his first year. Ty was a little rough around the edges, but he didn't seem afraid of the moment. Nick certainly wasn't afraid of the moment. I think it's safe to say that Windham and Ciaravino played pretty fearlessly last night. Windham almost looked cocky, he played with such swagger. I am excited about him. He will be a nice player this year, but a real potential leader going forward. Ciaravino displayed some clear talents and it will be fun to watch him get more comfortable and develop his game.

4) Has Luke Hunger arrived? Here is another guy that showed courage as a frosh and now looks like he's ready to take off. He may not be quite big enough to hold his own on defense the way Matt can, but other than that, he is clearly our better option at the 5. That step back jumper from about 12 feet in the second half was super sweet! And he can still confidently put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. He will mess up some bigger BIG centers this year with that dribble drive - especially if they have to respect his three point shot.

5) The team defense may be even better this year. While I loved the 51 first half points, the thing that excited me more in that first half was watching our team defense. We could switch at just about every position and guys were outstanding at recovering after the switch. Guys were hedging to help on drivers without leaving their man totally wide open. When someone fell off, someone else was always there and the rotation of the rest of the lineup to find the open man was fun to watch. Most importantly, it looked like guys were working their butts off on defense. That effort plays, man.

6) Ok, let's be real. We'll get a better sense of whether this was a mirage or not after this weekend. Lehigh heads to Georgetown next. If the Hoyas beat them by 40 or 50 points, then we'll know some of this had to do with just how bad Lehigh is. We, of course, see a step up in competition against Dayton. I'd like to think the things we did in this game are repeatable against better teams. But I also know that Lehigh missed a ton of shots. It seemed like they had nobody who could finish at the rim. Their big guys looked weak and we were able to bully them (Us! Northwestern! Being the bullies!!). I'm not ready to put us in the dance quite yet, but if this team is even half as good as they looked last night, we may have some fun in Welsh Ryan again this year.

P.S.... I was stunned at the student turnout for a November game against a nobody team. That was really encouraging to see. I hope we continue to have great atmosphere's in WR this season!

 

[SmellyCat]

5) The team defense may be even better this year. While I loved the 51 first half points, the thing that excited me more in that first half was watching our team defense. We could switch at just about every position and guys were outstanding at recovering after the switch. Guys were hedging to help on drivers without leaving their man totally wide open. When someone fell off, someone else was always there and the rotation of the rest of the lineup to find the open man was fun to watch. Most importantly, it looked like guys were working their butts off on defense. That effort plays, man.

My son missed the beginning of the game (it was 18-7 when he started watching with me), but I kept telling him over and over how well the defense was playing in those minutes he missed. The D really set the tone from the beginning, and while NU shot well and scored a ton of points, it was really the defense that took this game over from the beginning. Lehigh did miss a lot of open/easy shots, so I'm not going to say this D is a "you will score in the 40s" defense, but they definitely looked like they had been practicing team defense a lot more than offense. And this with maybe our best defender in street clothes! This alone is a reason to be very excited about this team.

 

[Catreporter]

P.S.... I was stunned at the student turnout for a November game against a nobody team. That was really encouraging to see. I hope we continue to have great atmosphere's in WR this season!

At the opener two years ago, you could count the students on one hand. Now, it seems to have become a "thing" on campus, and that is great for the team. Brings great energy to the building, even if it does hurt my ears a bit.

 

[Hungry Jack]

I thought Lehigh would be better with two all-conference guards. They weren't. We overwhelmed them physically and with energy and intensity. They missed some open looks from 3, but that's life on the road. They could do very little inside.

Great to see Mullins out there defending well. We need his athleticism to hound guys on the perimeter like Chase could do.

 

[SmellyCat]

Speaking of overreacting, after one night Torvik's rating of NU went from 46 to 34 and Haslam went from 43 to 20! Considering a lot of teams in our neighborhood also had blowout wins last night, there must have been something really good in the underlying numbers to cause NU to jump so much after one game against a bad opponent.

Yesterday at this time, Haslam was predicting something like 10-10, 19-11 for NU. Today, it's 17-3, 27-3!

(usual small sample/beginning-of-season caveats apply of course, but since this was the "overreacting" thread, I figured it belonged here).

 

[macarthur31]

Ok, that was fun last night. The day started with a thread on here asking whether we should be worried about Lehigh who was one game from making the NCAA tournament last year and had some guys returning. Those worries were put to rest right quick!

1) Nick is the man. He just looked like a man among boys out there. We've all gotten used to his goofy push shots and incredible footwork in the paint. Now I just feel super confident every time he has the ball. And so does he apparently! That three point stroke looks 100X smoother than last year. If that is for real..... (Homer Simpson salivating noises here). He also has the quickest footwork that legitimately isn't traveling. I watched him take off with the ball at the top of the key and thought for sure he'd be called for traveling because he cut so fast, but when you watch the replay, he was absolutely not traveling. He just has great footwork.

2) Leach can play. He has such a nice mix of athleticism and size for a guard. His three pointer may be streaky. But what really did it for me was in the second half when he drove the ball toward the elbows and knocked down two mid-range jump shots off the dribble. Those shots were silky smooth. That could be fun to watch this year if that's for real.

3) Not one, but two fearless freshman. One key thing about our recent top contributors is that they came in as freshman and looked like they belonged. They didn't have to be stars as freshman and they certainly didn't have to be perfect. But you could tell they weren't overwhelmed or afraid. Boo played that way as a frosh. Brooks did a little, but injuries messed up his first year. Ty was a little rough around the edges, but he didn't seem afraid of the moment. Nick certainly wasn't afraid of the moment. I think it's safe to say that Windham and Ciaravino played pretty fearlessly last night. Windham almost looked cocky, he played with such swagger. I am excited about him. He will be a nice player this year, but a real potential leader going forward. Ciaravino displayed some clear talents and it will be fun to watch him get more comfortable and develop his game.

4) Has Luke Hunger arrived? Here is another guy that showed courage as a frosh and now looks like he's ready to take off. He may not be quite big enough to hold his own on defense the way Matt can, but other than that, he is clearly our better option at the 5. That step back jumper from about 12 feet in the second half was super sweet! And he can still confidently put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. He will mess up some bigger BIG centers this year with that dribble drive - especially if they have to respect his three point shot.

5) The team defense may be even better this year. While I loved the 51 first half points, the thing that excited me more in that first half was watching our team defense. We could switch at just about every position and guys were outstanding at recovering after the switch. Guys were hedging to help on drivers without leaving their man totally wide open. When someone fell off, someone else was always there and the rotation of the rest of the lineup to find the open man was fun to watch. Most importantly, it looked like guys were working their butts off on defense. That effort plays, man.

6) Ok, let's be real. We'll get a better sense of whether this was a mirage or not after this weekend. Lehigh heads to Georgetown next. If the Hoyas beat them by 40 or 50 points, then we'll know some of this had to do with just how bad Lehigh is. We, of course, see a step up in competition against Dayton. I'd like to think the things we did in this game are repeatable against better teams. But I also know that Lehigh missed a ton of shots. It seemed like they had nobody who could finish at the rim. Their big guys looked weak and we were able to bully them (Us! Northwestern! Being the bullies!!). I'm not ready to put us in the dance quite yet, but if this team is even half as good as they looked last night, we may have some fun in Welsh Ryan again this year.

P.S.... I was stunned at the student turnout for a November game against a nobody team. That was really encouraging to see. I hope we continue to have great atmosphere's in WR this season!

After watching Collins post game presser, some addendum to your observations:
1). Collins is very high on Nick Martinelli. Coming in he had hyped Martinelli (and Hunger) as the biggest risers from the summer. Collins sees him as a key player in the post, and anticipating that Brooks and Nick will be posting up their opponents and they'll be kicking out to Jalen, Ty, KJ and maybe even Luke Hunger for 3s.

2) Agreed on Leach - he's able to score on all 3 levels. Based off my limited viewing of him, he seems more comfortable with the ball than playing catch and shoot. Collins loves Leach at 6'4" and how he can switch off on defense, and would be happy with consistent 12/6/5 production.

3). I didn't catch many comments in the Collins presser regarding the frosh, but I align with your perspective that Windham's confidence/cockiness is the right direction for the mentality required for frosh to compete. That being said, I loved seeing Angelo's drive to the hoop - showed his quicks and his jumping ability, though he lacked the strength to finish the move. I expect those will be dunks when he becomes a junior and gains more strength. Ciaravino's 5 assists speak to his ability to facilitate to the offense. They've already leaped over Clayton and Barkley in the rotation.

4). Collins acknowledges that Matt and Luke offer different skill-sets and are considered both as starters, and projects 22-18 split pending on foul trouble and opponent. He also used a Luke question to opine on NU's approach to the portal - they won't ignore it, but for him its about camaraderie and culture. Luke is an example of the development that he prides his program on.

5 + 6). "Defense is so much about scheme, and so much about wantin' to do it, and believing in that scheme." That's Collins on their defense, and how they will forge their identity this year. Collins liked what he saw early, but saw the execution wane over the course of the game. That will be a continued point of emphasis, and I'll be intrigued to see how they deliver against Dayton - a better opponent and doing it on the road. Martinelli would later affirm in his presser that all worries about is "winning and defense, and the offense will pick up after that." YES.

 

[techtim72]

NU has quietly gotten big. Leach is 6-4 or so and Mullins is 6-6. Barnhizer is 6-5, I believe at the guard position. Ciaravino is big (Don't recall height.) and he fits in at the guard/forward prototype Collins loves. Lehigh was just overwhelmed with NU's size.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

1. NU completely overwhelmed Lehigh physically and athletically, especially defensively. Always nice to see us have drastically better talent than a decent mid major team. This element makes it hard to get more than some specific things out of the rest of the game.
2. While overwhelming them with talent defensively, NU also played hard and disciplined the whole way on defense. Peacock had a nice package at halftime showing the good defensive work. NU also won nearly all the hustle balls. Great start on that front in a game they didn't need to.
3. Martinelli's smoother outside shot. Spicy meatballs, mama mia.
4. KJ Windham starting is a clear message. He didn't look like a freshman. The Big Ten will be an uptick in speed and difficulty, but Lehgih wasn't too fast for him at all, he processed the game at full speed and was fully smooth. Very exciting. Ciarvino looked like a talented freshman getting some play for whom the game was still a little quick.
5. Luke Hunger continues to get smoother and smoother and was okay defensively. The big test will be when he has to defend a real power conference big.
6. The crowd was great. I'm a football guy over basketball by far, but honestly NU and Jackson should make a decision to view itself as a basketball school and make revenue sharing and NIL decisions thusly. We should field competitive and non-embarrassing football teams and strive to be a serious player in basketball. It's easier to achieve cultural excitement in basketball, our place in Chicago is a better fit, and our upside is higher.