Here is a rundown of the six newcomers - three transfers and three frosh - to NU hoops this upcoming season.
Newcomers this season
- Thread starter DaCat
- Start date
Thanks for posting that. Good information about players we haven't really seen.
Sounds like Barkley and Strauss won't play much this season, but the other 4 will.
Sounds like Barkley and Strauss won't play much this season, but the other 4 will.
It seems like Preston will have an important role this season, like Tydus V. did last year giving relief to Big Matt.
Remember how we all thought TVH sucked early in the season. By season's end, he was giving us good minutes.
The post on defense and small ball was a bit depress. Barnhizer at 4 may work and he is so flexible but that may mean Nu is good but covering a gap at the 4 spot.
Preston is a 5, backup for MN. When we play small ball BB will play the 4, or Martinelli. Don't know if Hunger will get any time at the 4.
Marinelli should be able to help at the 4 as well. Needs to get a better understanding of the defense.
Hopefully, Clayton can pick things up during non-conference.
Hopefully, Clayton can pick things up during non-conference.
Preston is a 5. Here was what I read about his time at Liberty and my take on a few sources analysis that I posted when he transferred.
“he’ll be fine defensively in a back up role. Offensively don’t expect volume but he was pretty efficient with his chances. Mostly coming from pick n roll which fits NU’s offense if we return strong guard play. Minutes where limited at last school after showing a lot of promise as a freshman. FT’s are a problem. Everything I’ve read points to him being a very positive locker room presence. With his experience and attitude this is a good pick up for the back up role imo. If we get as good or similar defense from this guy as we did Tydus it’s a great pick up. Hopefully MN can absorb more min next year as well.”
Basically he’d clog the paint too much when paired with Nicholson at the 4 and that plays against our best players greatest strength which is getting downhill with his right hand. So not ideal. At the 5 however fits right into the NU offense with his skill set. Mobile big who can get out of the paint and set screens. Then Can score off the screens as well.
If you thought Barnhizer did well last year (I did) he played the 4. So it definitely worked last season. Barnhizer and Beran played very good traps against Purdue last year. The only time off the top of my head length showed a problem for Barnhizer was defending the mid range game against Ohio State in the 2nd game against them. Based on the pressers I wouldn’t be shocked to see a Buie, Langborg, Berry, Barnhizer, Nicholson line up a lot.
Martinelli actually positioned decently last season defensively minus a couple miss cues on switch’s. It was mainly his footwork and foot speed that needed a lot of work. As well as some time in the weight room. Needs to also learn to play within the flow of the offense. Has some decent upside though.
I get a feeling Mullins could be a pleasant surprise this season.
Also, wouldn't be surprised if we see the team looking to run more with a small lineup. The announcer mentions that we are a 'grind it out' team but that's not inherent to how Collins coaches. The slow offence was a response to the team's 'covid break' and the subsequent need to play a lot of games in a short period of time. The idea was to preserve some energy over that stretch by not running the ball up the floor.
Also, wouldn't be surprised if we see the team looking to run more with a small lineup. The announcer mentions that we are a 'grind it out' team but that's not inherent to how Collins coaches. The slow offence was a response to the team's 'covid break' and the subsequent need to play a lot of games in a short period of time. The idea was to preserve some energy over that stretch by not running the ball up the floor.
Kind of... He was mediocre on offense and serviceable on defense. Often foul prone. He was as limited as dozens of players out there.
But he did give us good minutes because he played within his abilities. Self aware as more veteran guys tend to be. And he never lacked effort. Ultimately that's what I expect from the guy from Falwell U.
For me he is the big question mark. He seems athletic and talented. Being so young, how big a jump he had during the summer?
How green is he? Can't help thinking of Audige when he transferred.
Looking at Torvik's stats, pre-Covid break in January, TVH had three good games - Fort Wayne, #Auburn and @MSU. Aside from those, in the other 14 games, he was mediocre at best defensively and generally a black hole on offense, and following the MSU game his minutes steadily decreased until the break, averaging 12 mpg. In total, he averaged 0.94 Orebs, 1.65 Drebs, 0.2 steals, 0.4 blocks per game.
Post-Covid break, following the first game back where he fouled out in 5 minutes against Wisconsin, he had a positive Box Plus/Minus in 13 of the 14 regular season games, posting 1.53 Orebs, 0.93 Drebs, 0.8 steals, 0.9 blocks in about 17 minutes per game.
Definitely helped with the depth as the season went on, even if he fell off in the NCAA tourney.
Preston is definitely a 5 (a center) who plays with his back to the basket.
6'9" 240lbs - not going to be pushed around by many opponents.
Physical rebounder and actually had some post moves and can run the floor for a bigger guy.
We played against him last year in Cancun, but he only played 12 minutes off the bench.
He's married.
It will be interesting to see what Collins does with his bigs.
Nicholson, in the 2nd half of the season, was significantly better than Verhoeven.
Preston will rarely play alongside Nicholson.
Luke Hunger (who is 6'10" 255) but can shoot the ball, seems like he may get a little time at the 5, but would slot in at the 4 more effectively with Preston than with Nicholson. I hope Collins gets Hunger minutes when he can, assuming Luke stays healthy. If not, we should still be okay.
Because Nicholson is such a presence on defense, we did quite well last year with undersized Barnhizer at the 4. The loss of Audige may impact that. But Nicholson / Martinelli / Barnhizer should also be good if we want to go bigger.
Mullins and Clayton will hopefully contribute useful minutes off the bench. Mullins gives Collins the type of slashing wing he seems to like (similar build to Casey Simmons). I'd like to see Clayton playing a lot in the non-conference. We need a "what if?" answer regarding Buie.
6'9" 240lbs - not going to be pushed around by many opponents.
Physical rebounder and actually had some post moves and can run the floor for a bigger guy.
We played against him last year in Cancun, but he only played 12 minutes off the bench.
He's married.
It will be interesting to see what Collins does with his bigs.
Nicholson, in the 2nd half of the season, was significantly better than Verhoeven.
Preston will rarely play alongside Nicholson.
Luke Hunger (who is 6'10" 255) but can shoot the ball, seems like he may get a little time at the 5, but would slot in at the 4 more effectively with Preston than with Nicholson. I hope Collins gets Hunger minutes when he can, assuming Luke stays healthy. If not, we should still be okay.
Because Nicholson is such a presence on defense, we did quite well last year with undersized Barnhizer at the 4. The loss of Audige may impact that. But Nicholson / Martinelli / Barnhizer should also be good if we want to go bigger.
Mullins and Clayton will hopefully contribute useful minutes off the bench. Mullins gives Collins the type of slashing wing he seems to like (similar build to Casey Simmons). I'd like to see Clayton playing a lot in the non-conference. We need a "what if?" answer regarding Buie.
True, forgot about that. His last start was the first game after exams, where he played poorly against Prairie View and MN was a beast. Then he faded into the background until the Covid break.
This seems feasible especially against some of the bigger opponents. Hunger needs to step up this year, his injuries haven't helped his development so far. Really hoping his 3 point shooting will add a new dimension to our bigs.
MN will eat a lot of min and then you have a very experienced backup in Preston. Hunger lost at least part a year of development to injury. I wouldn’t expect too many min. If he earns it count it as pleasant surprise. Hunger will mainly back up the 5 to keep the lane open for Buie. This will be a guard driven team this year. Need Barnhizer, Berry, and Langborg to step up and support Buie.
I see Barnhizer and Martinelli locking up the four minutes.
It seems to me that Hunger could get some valuable minutes early in the season against a couple of the lesser opponents. But it is a conundrum because those early games are when you want to experiment with and build the chemistry of the core players.
I have a feeling this is going to be mentioned by announcers every game he plays this year unless he himself creates some other narrative.
Every year there are things that seem like they are mentioned by announcers in every game. I agree this has the potential to be one of them.
A positive thing about Beran's departure will be removing the "x factor" from the bingo cards of things heard throughout the broadcast.
Somebody is going to become the "New X Factor"
I think it is announcer-speak for "I'm not really sure why this guy is playing so much, because the stats don't seem to justify it..."
Or is that the glue guy?
Seriously though, Preston said his wife loved Evanston and gave him the go-ahead to transfer to NU, but its probably going to be a bit of culture shock coming in from Liberty, which is known as very (socially) conservative. Niche has a list of "Most Conservative Universities" and it goes BYU, Liberty, Bob Jones.
Hopefully the married 24 year old can focus on hoops and block out the noise.
This article says he is a team-first guy...
Blake Preston impacting Liberty basketball with leadership, physical presence
Fifth-year senior Blake Preston has played in nearly 100 games during his Liberty career, but his role has continued to vary throughout his time with the Flames and sometimes even from game to game…
www.aseaofred.com
Married men make better basketball players. They are taught to take care of the ball.
Evanston vs Lynchburg! Northwestern, sits on the lake, off of downtown Evanston, vs. Liberty, sits by itself, 10 minutes driving from town.Somebody is going to become the "New X Factor"
I think it is announcer-speak for "I'm not really sure why this guy is playing so much, because the stats don't seem to justify it..."
Or is that the glue guy?
Seriously though, Preston said his wife loved Evanston and gave him the go-ahead to transfer to NU, but its probably going to be a bit of culture shock coming in from Liberty, which is known as very (socially) conservative. Niche has a list of "Most Conservative Universities" and it goes BYU, Liberty, Bob Jones.
Hopefully the married 24 year old can focus on hoops and block out the noise.
This article says he is a team-first guy...
Blake Preston impacting Liberty basketball with leadership, physical presence
Fifth-year senior Blake Preston has played in nearly 100 games during his Liberty career, but his role has continued to vary throughout his time with the Flames and sometimes even from game to game…
In July I spent two weeks in the DC area. One day the wife and I drove to Charlottesville and Lynchburg. The curiosity to drive an extra 2 and 1/2 hours to Lynchburg was purely driven by the podcasts (Gangster Capitalism and In God We Lust) and documentary on Jerry Falwell Sr.
Liberty University is weird. It's like every building, while in a conservative and dramatic (think big pillars) architecture, looks new. Not freshly painted, new. It feels super artificial. And super outsized for the town.
Lynchburg is blah. Don't want to badmouth, so I'll leave it at that. Saw someone with a bumper sticker that said "don't kink shame Jerry Falwell Sr.".
Richie Hegarty the football transfer is also married, mentioned a few times on broadcasts so far, though not over played.
It's funny what announcers grab a hold of and mention week after week. I remember stuff from decades ago. Manute Bol once killed a lion! Jacque Vaughn writes poetry!
Lynchburg abuts the James River-wonderful smallmouth fishing. Here is a little trivia about the James River-it is the longest river in the USA entirely within one state.
I had to go to Lynchburg several times on business for a few days each time. You are too kind. Lynchburg sucks
"Randy Moffitt is Billie Jean King's brother." I heard that ad nauseum when I was growing up.
