Game Thread: Northwestern vs. Oregon

[Purple Pile Driver]

He drove by everyone, Clayton included. Dude was the fastest player I have seen in recent memory.

No doubt he drove by everyone. My point was KJ still needs to improve a lot on defense and understand the folks get excited when he comes alive on offense, but some don’t acknowledge that there are two ends of the court. As I said, he wasn’t afraid, and I don’t think Clayton was afraid either.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

greer— he was not a good player. . Defintley not a guy who would play on a winning big ten team. Just play the better player. Windham needs to be getting 30 minutes a game, every game. These guys need to play freely and not be worried about being pulled out of game if they miss a few shots. If kj has a bad game, keep rolling with him. He is clearly a guy that could become a star.

He won’t get pulled for missing shots. If he gets pulled it will be for missed defensive assignments. CCC doesn’t put you in the court if you aren’t properly positioned on defense. This is a defense first program.

 

[TheC]

He won’t get pulled for missing shots. If he gets pulled it will be for missed defensive assignments. CCC doesn’t put you in the court if you aren’t properly positioned on defense. This is a defense first program.

Seriously. If our guys got pulled for missing shots, we wouldn't have anybody left on the court!

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Seriously. If our guys got pulled for missing shots, we wouldn't have anybody left on the court!

That was my point.

 

[GatoLouco]

Coaches who know what they are doing do not pull players for missing good shots. But they do for taking bad shots.

 

[Arlcatsfan]

KJ is a true frosh. He will get bigger and stronger over the summer. The experience he is getting know will go a long way next year. He is a typical true freshman learning his way in a very tough league. He should get plenty of minutes the rest of this year because we just don't have anyone on the roster who is any better. I am looking forward to see his development in his NU career.

 

[prez77]

KJ full-time the rest of the way. At this point in the arc of NU basketball, no player should start if they aren't of the quality, or have the potential, to be a starter on an NCAA tournament team. I think the only question rotation-wise for now is who should get the minutes at the "3" position the rest of the way. As long as it's not ridiculous, I have a bias toward guys who are young and aggressive, even if mistake-prone at that age.

 

[EagerFan]

I really don't get it. Clayton is a sophomore, right? I can't see giving up on the kid this quickly, especially for anyone who believes in Collins and his staff. He may turn out to be a starter by his senior year, he may be a sixth man, or he may drop off the radar / transfer. I was leaning a lot more towards the last one until he burned his red shirt - surprised me, I admit. But we now have a sample size of two games, a decent one and a not decent one.

If Collins is going to continue selling the program as one that develops talent, we should be prepared to give him time for that talent to develop. Some of the kids may boom and some may bust, but lets not give up on them as sophomores, eh?

 

[CatJones]

Hunger should not play, ever.

Well, Luke is going to play some next year, as will the new first year, but we will need an experienced, skilled center next year, and that will likely require a Barnhizer level (at least) cash payout.

 

[Hungry Jack]

This is mere speculation, but I wonder if hunger will get his degree in the spring, and then seek greener pastures at a lesser program. The fact that he has played very little lately says a lot about where he stands in the eyes of the coaching staff.

 

[SmellyCat]

This is me speculation, but I wonder if hunger will get his degree in the spring, and then seek greener pastures at a lesser program. The fact that he has played very little lately says a lot about where he stands in the eyes of the coaching staff.

I think so too. I think most dismissed it out of hand because for a while it looked like he’d be the presumptive starter at center next year but now I’m not so sure, even if there’s no one else on the current roster who’d be ahead of him on the depth chart.

 

[Davidgolds5]

This is me speculation, but I wonder if hunger will get his degree in the spring, and then seek greener pastures at a lesser program. The fact that he has played very little lately says a lot about where he stands in the eyes of the coaching staff.

Sounds about right.

 

[EagerFan]

If Hunger really wants to play, it might be his best bet at a starter job. If he wants a graduate degree and is satisfied with timesharing as backup - or if he believes he can make the big leap over the summer - we'll see him again next year.

He could be a key piece for a number of competitive mid major programs as a PF or C.

 

[PURPLECAT88]

This is mere speculation, but I wonder if hunger will get his degree in the spring, and then seek greener pastures at a lesser program. The fact that he has played very little lately says a lot about where he stands in the eyes of the coaching staff.

Is he on track to graduate in three years? I guess a lot of guys do, but do we know this for sure?

 

[Hungry Jack]

Is he on track to graduate in three years? I guess a lot of guys do, but do we know this for sure?

No. As I noted, it is pure speculation.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Add "What the hell happened with Hunger and Fitzmorris?" to my list of questions about this season.

Fitzmorris sat glued to the bench, playing 8 minutes in the opener against Lehigh, then 3 minutes in the Pepperdine game on 11/22, then sat idle until the Jan 5 blowout at Purdue, when he played 9 minutes. One week later he played 18 minutes in the home loss to Michigan State. He's played ever since.

Hunger played 14 minutes or more in the first 6 games, about 10 in the Butler and UNLV tournament games, then back to 15 for Georgia Tech, DePaul, Northeastern, Penn State and Purdue, when he got hurt. He sat out for 17 days, but returned and has played more than 4 minutes in only the Illinois game.

Its odd that we were so committed to Hunger, giving Fitzmorris nothing, for 2 months of games, but now its the exact opposite. And the last couple games, Hunger has only played as a 4, alongside Fitzmorris.

 

[SmellyCat]

Add "What the hell happened with Hunger and Fitzmorris?" to my list of questions about this season.

Fitzmorris sat glued to the bench, playing 8 minutes in the opener against Lehigh, then 3 minutes in the Pepperdine game on 11/22, then sat idle until the Jan 5 blowout at Purdue, when he played 9 minutes. One week later he played 18 minutes in the home loss to Michigan State. He's played ever since.

Hunger played 14 minutes or more in the first 6 games, about 10 in the Butler and UNLV tournament games, then back to 15 for Georgia Tech, DePaul, Northeastern, Penn State and Purdue, when he got hurt. He sat out for 17 days, but returned and has played more than 4 minutes in only the Illinois game.

Its odd that we were so committed to Hunger, giving Fitzmorris nothing, for 2 months of games, but now its the exact opposite. And the last couple games, Hunger has only played as a 4, alongside Fitzmorris.

I don't know how odd it is. He's simply been passed on the depth chart because he wasn't producing and then got injured, which certainly didn't help. Additionally, if his experience is anything like Barnhizer's, Berry's, Nicholson's, etc., he might still be at less than 100%, and his 100% isn't nearly as good as the 100% for those other guys. So why not bench him?

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

I don't know how odd it is. He's simply been passed on the depth chart because he wasn't producing and then got injured, which certainly didn't help. Additionally, if his experience is anything like Barnhizer's, Berry's, Nicholson's, etc., he might still be at less than 100%, and his 100% isn't nearly as good as the 100% for those other guys. So why not bench him?

Its a little too "all or nothing" for me.
To be clear, Hunger was playing 15 minutes a game, while Fitzmorris was playing 0 minutes a game - right up until Hunger got hurt.
So until that point Hunger was considered (indisputably) better than Fitzmorris, but after that, Fitzmorris is basically indisputably better than Hunger.

Thats the part that I find weird, because I always thought Hunger was to give us something of a different look offensively.