Say hi if you see me, I'll be the guy in the Northwestern hoodie.
Open Practice Today From 4 - 5 For STH
- Thread starter EagerFan
- Start date
Big guys doing defense drills vs. Gus, who looks like he’s been working out a bit. He’s scoring on them pretty well. He’s working on a nice little hook.
Scrimmage defense with coaches and starters on offense, BMac still our best PG on the floor. Ty breaking some ankles. Freshmen demonstrating that bite-on-everything experience. Lots of athleticism tho.
They’re working a lot on perimeter switching. They need a lot of work.
They’re working a lot on perimeter switching. They need a lot of work.
Ty Berry looked ready to go and I believe he will be a focal point of the offense. I thought Clayton looked improved and Chris Collins had some praise for Mullins. Nicholson moves really well for a big guy. I just wish he had a better touch on his shots, although he did show a little half hook with his left hand that could help. I don't expect much immediate help from the Frosh. This team will go as far as the veterans and two transfers will take us, and we can't afford injuries to key guys that we managed to survive last year.
I thought Matt's shooting touch from 10-12 feet looked good in the pick and roll drills for the big guys. I suspect he has worked hard at it.
Gus Hurlburt, the kid from North Dakota?
Gus Hurlburt - 2024-25 - Men's Basketball - Northwestern Athletics
Gus Hurlburt (54) F - 2023-24: Appeared in six games, averaging 0.3 points per game in 1.0 minute per game … Made his collegiate debut and scored his first c...
It looks like they've been running those drills a fair bit for him, Keenan, and Luke.
If we ever see Gus in a game, I'll bet he gets off at least one of those bunny hooks because he's definitely been working on those.
Thanks!Gus Hurlburt, the kid from North Dakota?
Gus Hurlburt - 2024-25 - Men's Basketball - Northwestern Athletics
Gus Hurlburt (54) F - 2023-24: Appeared in six games, averaging 0.3 points per game in 1.0 minute per game … Made his collegiate debut and scored his first c...nusports.com
Not much to add. It was hard to get a sense of the rotation or who looked good just based on the offensive and defensive drills that they were doing. I did notice that Barkley was working with the wings not the big men. Still don't know if he'll be a contributor, but I was wondering how the coaches saw him fitting in.
I'm sure the dynamic will change a lot once Brooks joins in, but from what we saw yesterday I think Ty will spend a lot of the offense without the ball, moving around the arc for a three on the third pass.
Mullins, Windham, and Leach all look like they will be doing the drive and dish with Matt/Keenan, while Nick/Blake/Brooks (Luke) are moving and screening low. I think Leach had the best shooting results, but I was pretty happy with what Windham was doing.
Angelo looked 'the most' lost of the guys and I'm pretty sure I heard Collins say something to him like 'I know you don't know the plays, but try...'. Setting that aside, he has a nice touch and moves well. He just might not see too much court until he learns a bit more specifics to the team.
I was generally happy with everything I saw out of the guys and I'm confident that playing time will come down to who can get the best handle on the defense the soonest, because they all look like they can compete. The worst part of the practice for me, really, was just Matt flubbing so many of the passes to him on the move. There were some optimistic (bad) efforts to get him the ball, but there were several solid into-his-hands throws and he didn't capitalize on most of them. We need that to change by next week, imho. But even there, he was moving really well for a guy recovering from a foot injury earlier this year. Ty also moved well, btw.
Something to keep an eye on, to be sure, but I would chalk this up to just working on his timing now after being out of action for a while.
Also Brooks is absolutely yoked. He's definitely spent his leg days on his upper body.
Oops, now I want to be clear that Collins was encouraging him, I just don't remember the specific advice he gave him to try. Maybe something about going over the pick instead of under? I'm not sure.
Honestly, as a Nicholson fan, his hands have got to get better. There's so much raw material there and his footwork on the defensive end is pretty good - he just needs the ball thrown in the right place or he's not been very good at catching it. To the point where a bounce pass to him was ill-advised. Still, glad to hear they're trying to run stuff to get him the ball in scoring position. He has gotten to be a pretty good passer.
Question to all attendees...
Is it safe to say Mullins is ahead of Smith who is ahead of Ciavarino?
And am I crazy to think Windham will play and score significantly for us?
Is it safe to say Mullins is ahead of Smith who is ahead of Ciavarino?
And am I crazy to think Windham will play and score significantly for us?
Based entirely and solely on the practice yesterday, Windham will get to see the court in the early games and have the chance to show he deserves minutes. What happens after that is really up to him.
Mullins vs. Smith playing time, I have no idea - I suppose it depends on how they're showing up in practice. Smith was better working in the defense last year, Mullins seems more athletic.
Mullins vs. Smith playing time, I have no idea - I suppose it depends on how they're showing up in practice. Smith was better working in the defense last year, Mullins seems more athletic.
Thanks for the observations.
I look at the roster and see two experienced guards, only one of whom has shown he can play in the Big Ten (Ty Berry).
Clayton was shaky all season, so a big step up seems unlikely.
Windham looked good in the videos from Europe - thats all I have to go on - and hit a bunch of 3's.
In my opinion, we need him to be pretty good right away.
I hold more hope for Leach than Clayton this season. Would love to be proven wrong by Clayton.
Leach was a key target for CCC - had lots of really good offers. Plays great defense as well as very solid offense. I think we’ll be happy with him, especially as the year unfolds and he learns the systems well.
My concerns with Leach are...
He started out at Fairfield as a wing and played that position/role for 3 years.
He had season ending injuries his first two seasons, and missed the last 3 games last year due to injury, so durability in the Big Ten is a concern.
Last year he was considered a combo guard.
With the big step up in class, its just hard to see him being a good point guard for NU.
Torvik projects him as someone who won't have a lot of assists and will have slightly more turnovers.
He only played one game last year against Torvik's top 100 teams, so he isn't battle-tested.
The breakdown of his field goal attempts last season was 133/238 from 2 (56%) and 46/127 from 3 (36%).
Half of his 2 point attempts were at the rim, suggesting an advantage in athleticism over his opponents.
So while he had a really good senior year for Fairfield, it is entirely possible that he will find the quickness and size of the opposing guards to be a difficult challenge to overcome in the Big Ten, especially as the primary ballhandler.
Hopefully he can take another step forward and stay healthy.
I’m not sure how you reconcile: “he has an advantage in athleticism” but “he will find the quickness and size of opposing guards to be a difficult challenge”. I frankly don’t think BIG guards are all that scary athletically compared to other conferences. (Look at Wesley Cardet of Chicago State). He’s 6’4” and goes to the rim strong and often. If he stays healthy, learns our system and shoots well like last year, he should be quite an asset. Not saying he will shoot as well as Boo or Ryan, but he’s also likely to be a much better defender than Ryan. I also like to think our coaches and other big name schools’ coaches were high on him for lots of good reasons more so than concerns.
