Is Lowery CCC’s Hankwitz?

[clarificationcat]

If true then same could be said for any coach including CCC.

I am sure you understand that a head coach does a lot more than teach offensive and defensive principles. He has to recruit players. He has to make in-game coaching decisions. Collins calls out plays on almost every possession. And he has to keep players highly motivated, confident and focused on winning rather than individual goals. Assistant coaches help him accomplish that. The best teachers aren't always successful head coaches.

 

[IGNORE2]

I am sure you understand that a head coach does a lot more than teach offensive and defensive principles. He has to recruit players. He has to make in-game coaching decisions. Collins calls out plays on almost every possession. And he has to keep players highly motivated, confident and focused on winning rather than individual goals. Assistant coaches help him accomplish that. The best teachers aren't always successful head coaches.

I think everything responsibility you described falls upon the whole coaching staff. Pretty sure, as example, that James calls the inbound plays. I would expect lower makes the in game defensive preliminary assignments.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I appreciate that view as a fellow cat fan and I mean no disrespect. But as a guy raised in Indiana by a defensive specialist, it gets my hackles up when people think defense is so simple that people pick up a few principles and then job done. Defense is a complex, never-ending job, and defensive masterminds are a very hard get. John Wooden won a lot of natties with it, and teams that can make stops get wins in March. A good example is Wooden's legendary press at UCLA. Plenty of people saw it, filmed it, and experienced it. But nobody ever replicated it. The teaching and the nuances were so hard to master, the knowledge so specialised, and the muscle memory so intensely trained that it it remains a one-of-a-kind feat.

Now some numbers based on our defensive efficiency ranking. Last year was the all-time best for the CCC era, coming in at 31. This year-to-date we rank 165. Fluctuations are normal and we did bring in Langborg for a more offensive identity this year - a guy the rest of the team ribs about his poor defense. Even with that, the ranking for the Chris Lowery era averages out to 98, versus 130 for CCC's NU years without Lowery. That 130 would be much higher if you take out the other defensive specialist we had for 2 years: Billy Donlan from 2017 to 2019. NU with Donlan averaged a ranking of 76 in defensive efficiency. Donlan is also known as a top tier defensive brain. You may recall that he was at Michigan the prior year when that team came out of nowhere to win the B1G tournament. An article crediting Donlan's defense for that turnaround at the time noted "The Wolverines won the Big Ten tournament, winning four straight games in four days in an improbable run, in no small part, because of their defense."

After Donlan left NU, was CC and staff capable of teaching the same principles without him? Not in the least.
Our average defensive efficiency ranking fell through the floor. After Donlan delivered an average ranking of 76, NU in the subsequent 3 years before Lowery fell to a ranking of 195. From 76 to 195 is a clear indication that these things aren't just learned and maintained on inertia.

All told, if we put those numbers together:
a) the 4 years when we had a defensive specialist on staff, our average defensive efficiency ranking averaged 87
b) The other years CCC was our coach without a defense specialist, we ranked 146.

Finally, as a team I don't think NU can afford to walk away from a clear defensive identity, nor can we really win without a defensive specialist. We have enough challenges in recruiting, and shooting is the kind of thing that goes hot and cold with the best of coaching. Defense on the other hand is more responsive to hard work and smart thinking in how a player uses everything from his eyes to his feet. It's a function of work and intelligence - two things that we have to rely on to remain competitive.

So yeah, Lowery is our Hank. Arguably so was Donlan - but I don't feel Donlan had the old/experienced coach vibes that Lowery has! In either event, there is plenty of evidence that if Lowery leaves we are going to have do more than hope people took notes.

Certainly mean no disrespect to Lowery, but I dislike the comparisons between Coaches of different sports. That makes no sense to me. I get my hackles up when people don’t acknowledge we were good defensively prior to Lowrey. Not with the Nance, Kopp, RY group. However you players that are capable and willing to work on defense. Not sure we had this. Wooden had the best talent around. I would like see the other coaches like James, Battle and BMac get more accolades. I see people acting like CCC was lucky to be forced to hire Lowrey.

 

[IGNORE2]

Certainly mean no disrespect to Lowery, but I dislike the comparisons between Coaches of different sports. That makes no sense to me. I get my hackles up when people don’t acknowledge we were good defensively prior to Lowrey. Not with the Nance, Kopp, RY group. However you players that are capable and willing to work on defense. Not sure we had this. Wooden had the best talent around. I would like see the other coaches like James, Battle and BMac get more accolades. I see people acting like CCC was lucky to be forced to hire Lowrey.

Fair opinion but also fair for others to opine as you describe. It’s something nobody will ever know for sure.

But we do have a strong group of coaching and I suspect everyone could agree that we don’t want to see any changes. Lock them all down now.

 

[Gladeskat]

I think the analogy is a good one.

If we lose CCC to a bigger program or the NBA (and I pray we do not), I would first give an offer to Brian James simply for the continuity that would bring but Lowery would be next. James did coach in the NBA for many years after all and coached Michael Jordan (not that he needed much coaching, but still...).

James taught Michael how to play the low post.

 

[Hkjb]

Appreciate your insights as well. A few responses.

Dropping from 31 to 165 is not just a fluctuation. That's a pretty dramatic drop for a veteran team that lost 2 players (one who played less than 20 minutes a game). So either Lowery forgot how to coach or Chase Audige was a hell of defender (I think the latter).

In the 2015-2016 year , we were 91st in defensive efficiency. In 2016-2017, we were 42nd, so a much better two-year average than Lowery at Northwestern so far. No Donlon or Lowery during that period (Baldwin). In the 2017-2018 season, we dropped to 119 with Donlon. In the year prior to Lowery arriving, our defense finished 144th in defensive efficiency. Not great but better than this year.

So it appears that we have had 3 Hank's in Collins' 11 season. That seems to diminish Hank's legacy a little bit. I'm not saying that defense isn't critical to NU's continued success. I think it absolutely is because we are rarely going to have the same athletic ability and skill as our opponents. I'm saying finding a coach to teach defense is considerably easier than finding a great defensive coordinator because the role of a college basketball assistant does not compare to a coordinator in football. Coordinators have to make critical decisions from play to play. Lowery sits next to Collins and may make a few suggestions during the course of the game. And to put this into further perspective, from 2015 to 2020, our defenses under Hank finished 14th, 26th, 19th, 35th, 37th, and 4th in scoring defense. Let's see when the next defensive coordinator comes along that can match that. I am guessing if Lowery leaves, we will find another assistant coach that can make us an above-average defensive team with the right players.

And as for Wooden, he won a bunch of national championships because he was a great overall coach and he had the best players (many of whom were paid for by Sam Gilbert). On his first championship team, he had the first pick in the NBA draft (Walt Hazzard) and NBA All-Star Gail Goodrich. He later transitioned from from Lew Alcindor to Bill Walton. As an Indiana guy, you know Bobby Knight had no respect for Wooden because of Sam Gilbert.

Well argued and researched, for sure. I appreciate your points, though it's pretty clear neither of us is going to convince the other. Head coaches decide from year to year to allocate their chips to offensive talent vs defensive talent in the rotation, and for that reason I don't think one-year samples are going to get us to the bottom of it. Look across mutiple years at the body of work these two defensively gifted assistants have delivered, and the numbers back up my view more than yours. Hank had some better versus worse years as well.

My main point is that defensive coaching ability in basketball doesn't get enough credit for its impact on W/L record - mainly because it's not as glamorous as scoring buckets. Look at any highlight reel and count the number of defensive stops versus buckets. The majority of people don't get it on that front, including some coaches and players. Also, without a real commitment to D at a team level, a lot of players don't want to put in the work ,because it's such a grind and it doesn't put them on a highlight reel. That leads to some very good defensively-focused assistants being undervalued and underappreciated. An optimistic assessment that we could do just as well without Lowery because people took notes is risky, in my view.

Still, exactly how much credit to allocate to whom is an answer I doubt anyone can answer perfectly - myself included. Happy with the past 2 seasons, regardless. We very likely agree that Lowery is a guy we need to value and keep on staff, rather than take for granted - and the same goes for everyone on our staff.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Fair opinion but also fair for others to opine as you describe. It’s something nobody will ever know for sure.

But we do have a strong group of coaching and I suspect everyone could agree that we don’t want to see any changes. Lock them all down now.

If you look at Collins and his staff objectively...

Collins probably wasn't "lucky to be forced to hire Lowery." He probably looked at the failings of the Nance/Young/Beran squad and realized that we weren't good enough defensively and that he needed an assistant who could upgrade our defense. He was "lucky" that Bruce Weber and his staff had resigned under pressure at Kansas State (March 10) just days before the infamous Gragg ultimatum. Weber's trusted assistant Chris Lowery had taken a new assistant job (May 1) at Missouri State but came highly recommended and was willing to bail on that contract, which he did (July 27). That was certainly fortunate and has made a big difference at NU, possibly saving Collins' job.

I think Talor Battle and Bryant McIntosh are a bit redundant. Similar players and experience. Different personalities. Battle probably has the edge as a coach, at least so far. Brian James still draws up plays and does well in that niche, but we need a coach for the big guys.
Even if you think James is that guy (I don't) he is looking to retire, so if any "big man specialist" is out there, we should talk to him.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

If you look at Collins and his staff objectively...

Collins probably wasn't "lucky to be forced to hire Lowery." He probably looked at the failings of the Nance/Young/Beran squad and realized that we weren't good enough defensively and that he needed an assistant who could upgrade our defense. He was "lucky" that Bruce Weber and his staff had resigned under pressure at Kansas State (March 10) just days before the infamous Gragg ultimatum. Weber's trusted assistant Chris Lowery had taken a new assistant job (May 1) at Missouri State but came highly recommended and was willing to bail on that contract, which he did (July 27). That was certainly fortunate and has made a big difference at NU, possibly saving Collins' job.

I think Talor Battle and Bryant McIntosh are a bit redundant. Similar players and experience. Different personalities. Battle probably has the edge as a coach, at least so far. Brian James still draws up plays and does well in that niche, but we need a coach for the big guys.
Even if you think James is that guy (I don't) he is looking to retire, so if any "big man specialist" is out there, we should talk to him.

How do you know Battle and BMac are redundant? I realize they both were guards but their games were very different?

Honestly, I think our offense has been at least as good our defense when we have been at full strength. I might even say it has been better.

 

[EagerFan]

If Battle had played at NU and posted his PSU stats, he would be something like:

#1 points scored
#1 made FGs
#1 made 3s
#2 made free throws
#2 assists
#3 steals
#7 rebounds
#1 games played
#1 games started

There may be some redundancy with him and BMac both being point guards, but I think they both bring a lot to the table for a coach who loves loves loves guard play and has a lot of guards to coach.

 

[Hkjb]

How do you know Battle and BMac are redundant? I realize they both were guards but their games were very different?

Honestly, I think our offense has been at least as good our defense when we have been at full strength. I might even say it has been better.

This year I think that's true on the O vs the D. It's a big shift considering how much of the squad is the same - with notable exception of Audige leaving and Langborg joining.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

This year I think that's true on the O vs the D. It's a big shift considering how much of the squad is the same - with notable exception of Audige leaving and Langborg joining.

Beran and Roper gone too.
Neither was a real scorer and both were arguably better on the defensive side.
Of course Roper missed the 2nd half of the season.