Roster in review and the future

[GatoLouco]

Season player review, trying to be succinct:

Boo - He was already a monster. And it was legit to wonder if he had hit his ceiling or if the extra attention he would get would not allow him to go higher. He just went ahead and raised his numbers and became more clutch. He came close to perfection, can only remember 2 or 3 games where he was sub par. Goat

Langborg - I am talking about him next because I think it's easy to underestimate what a good get he was. We can all point out to the recent fact he got us to the second round. No way we go by FAU without him. But to me it was the fit. From day one it seemed he had been here for a while, that he fit the culture, the attitude. In awe of this kid.

Martinelli - He just keeps getting better. He bulked up. He stepped up when injuries demanded it. He continued to be fearless, as he's always been. I am very optimistic he will be taking 500 shots a day in the summer. The potential to be a threat from 3 is there. Add some more bulking up and he will too will be a double digit scorer. Amazing how he quieted down the voices on this board that called out his defense.

Berry - Well above average rebounder and defender for his position. It was the coming out party for the potential as a shooter we saw in him. I hope he returns, I think he will

Nicholson - Injury, lack of shape, whatever, made the beginning of his season poor. Easy to forget how poor it was, he even lost his starting job. After that, he came back, it was our old double pistols. Fouls must have decreased by like 2 a game. Looked like a different guy. And more important than numbers, he was getting tactically more and more mature.

Bench - Smith was heroic, Hunger/Preston had their moments but were very naïve overall, Mullins is very unlike what we are used to in his athleticism... others? No great sense on expanding, the bottom line is our bench players are just a gigantic question mark.

Barnhizer - Left him for last because this guy has the potential to be all B1G first team. I have voiced my man crush for him. I voiced how much I thought he was going to be our main other than Boo guy. He delivered on that and gave us more. He's not slow nor very quick, he's not bouncy nor a stiff, his physical advantage is that he's strong as a bull and knows how to use that. I am positive he will continue to get better at taking advantage of his strengths. This is his team now and if I had to guess that's what Collins was whispering in his ear when he was subbed. Never stop coaching

The portal needs, in order of priority:

1) A steady hand to replace Boo. Don't care as much about stats as I care about calm, poise, making others feel we are in good hands
2) Height and depth at 3/4. Right now we have no depth 2-4. Our bench is Smith/Mullins and players we never saw playing. Height would be nice, but we get best available.
3) Developmental and backup big. In no way this is our #2 priority. We are fine as it is. But I'd love to get a youngin here. At the end of next season Matt will be gone. And in the meantime we have depth if we can land one here. I know this depends on someone transferring. Someone probably will.

 

[NUCat320]

Always excellent hoops analysis. Your Martinelli comments are spot-on. I did not believe he could step into that four position, but he’s legit.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Season player review, trying to be succinct:

Boo - He was already a monster. And it was legit to wonder if he had hit his ceiling or if the extra attention he would get would not allow him to go higher. He just went ahead and raised his numbers and became more clutch. He came close to perfection, can only remember 2 or 3 games where he was sub par. Goat

Langborg - I am talking about him next because I think it's easy to underestimate what a good get he was. We can all point out to the recent fact he got us to the second round. No way we go by FAU without him. But to me it was the fit. From day one it seemed he had been here for a while, that he fit the culture, the attitude. In awe of this kid.

Martinelli - He just keeps getting better. He bulked up. He stepped up when injuries demanded it. He continued to be fearless, as he's always been. I am very optimistic he will be taking 500 shots a day in the summer. The potential to be a threat from 3 is there. Add some more bulking up and he will too will be a double digit scorer. Amazing how he quieted down the voices on this board that called out his defense.

Berry - Well above average rebounder and defender for his position. It was the coming out party for the potential as a shooter we saw in him. I hope he returns, I think he will

Nicholson - Injury, lack of shape, whatever, made the beginning of his season poor. Easy to forget how poor it was, he even lost his starting job. After that, he came back, it was our old double pistols. Fouls must have decreased by like 2 a game. Looked like a different guy. And more important than numbers, he was getting tactically more and more mature.

Bench - Smith was heroic, Hunger/Preston had their moments but were very naïve overall, Mullins is very unlike what we are used to in his athleticism... others? No great sense on expanding, the bottom line is our bench players are just a gigantic question mark.

Barnhizer - Left him for last because this guy has the potential to be all B1G first team. I have voiced my man crush for him. I voiced how much I thought he was going to be our main other than Boo guy. He delivered on that and gave us more. He's not slow nor very quick, he's not bouncy nor a stiff, his physical advantage is that he's strong as a bull and knows how to use that. I am positive he will continue to get better at taking advantage of his strengths. This is his team now and if I had to guess that's what Collins was whispering in his ear when he was subbed. Never stop coaching

The portal needs, in order of priority:

1) A steady hand to replace Boo. Don't care as much about stats as I care about calm, poise, making others feel we are in good hands
2) Height and depth at 3/4. Right now we have no depth 2-4. Our bench is Smith/Mullins and players we never saw playing. Height would be nice, but we get best available.
3) Developmental and backup big. In no way this is our #2 priority. We are fine as it is. But I'd love to get a youngin here. At the end of next season Matt will be gone. And in the meantime we have depth if we can land one here. I know this depends on someone transferring. Someone probably will.

1) Weirdly Nicholson’s foot injury might serve as extra motivation to keep his weight down and improve conditioning. Doctors will almost always recommend that bigger guys drop weight to help heal and maintain foot injuries.

2) Jordan Clayton was the biggest mystery for me this year. Clearly he wasn’t going to be taking minutes from Boo, but he was playing a decent number of minutes early (22 against Western Michigan and 24 against Rhode Island), but never really showed much and got pretty much parked on the bench. Him or Strauss or Windham are going to have to take some minutes off whoever our PG ends up being.

3) I think we have three open scholarship spots, more if guys choose to transfer out.

 

[gradeck]

3) I think we have three open scholarship spots, more if guys choose to transfer out.

There are only 2 open spots, currently.

12 scholarships currently filled. Buie, Langborg, and Preston are leaving; Ciavarino and Windham are coming in.

Obviously, as you note, more could open:
-Berry and/or Nicholson could elect not to return
-Others could leave via transfer

 

[gocatsgo2003]

There are only 2 open spots, currently.

12 scholarships currently filled. Buie, Langborg, and Preston are leaving; Ciavarino and Windham are coming in.

Obviously, as you note, more could open:
-Berry and/or Nicholson could elect not to return
-Others could leave via transfer

I could’ve sworn I heard there were 11 scholarships currently used, but you’re right: Buie, Martinelli, Berry, Barkley, Langborg, Strauss, Clayton, Barnhizer, Mullins, Preston, Hunger, Nicholson

 

[NUAlum2010]

The priority will clearly be finding a point guard who is poised and capable. Not Boo level (not going to find that), but capable of running the offense and hitting some shots.

If, for whatever reason, Collins doesn’t find someone to fill that role via the portal, don’t be surprised if he’s unwilling to compromise with a lesser point guard and ends up using Brooks as a point forward. That’s a far better alternative than filling the void with a less than capable point guard just because they are a “point guard”.

 

[wildcatpn]

The priority will clearly be finding a point guard who is poised and capable. Not Boo level (not going to find that), but capable of running the offense and hitting some shots.

If, for whatever reason, Collins doesn’t find someone to fill that role via the portal, don’t be surprised if he’s unwilling to compromise with a lesser point guard and ends up using Brooks as a point forward. That’s a far better alternative than filling the void with a less than capable point guard just because they are a “point guard”.

That's what Illinois did with Domask this season. He and Barnhizer are about the same size so definitely a possibility.

 

[cedricmelons]

I could’ve sworn I heard there were 11 scholarships currently used, but you’re right: Buie, Martinelli, Berry, Barkley, Langborg, Strauss, Clayton, Barnhizer, Mullins, Preston, Hunger, Nicholson

Also, what they do with Blake Smith and a potential scholarship has to be a factor. If I were him, I'd hop in the portal unless he knows he's getting a full ride either from the NU Athletic Department or the Financial Aid Office.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Clark Slajchert from Penn is the first guy we should talk to...

Already contacted by Kansas, Mississippi, Indiana, UCLA and many others.

He's a Penn grad. Northwestern makes perfect sense for him.

 

[DaCat]

That's what Illinois did with Domask this season. He and Barnhizer are about the same size so definitely a possibility.

Plus Berry can fill in at point in a pinch. It was interesting that Collins had Martinelli bring the ball up at times, even though in my opinion he's only an average ball handler. But playing 35 minutes plus ball handling duties, especially against a press, will wear out our guys. Need that point guard.

 

[CatManTrue]

Our biggest determinant of our success next year will be how much Berry & Nicholson recover to their prior form.

If they can play at the same level as they have been, then I’ll feel Berry good about our core and ability to return to the postseason.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Also, what they do with Blake Smith and a potential scholarship has to be a factor. If I were him, I'd hop in the portal unless he knows he's getting a full ride either from the NU Athletic Department or the Financial Aid Office.

He came to NU with no expectation of playing basketball, to say nothing of a basketball scholarship. I have a hard time seeing him suddenly trying to cash in on some admittedly surprisingly good minutes at the tail end of the season.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Also, what they do with Blake Smith and a potential scholarship has to be a factor. If I were him, I'd hop in the portal unless he knows he's getting a full ride either from the NU Athletic Department or the Financial Aid Office.

I love what Smith brought to the table, but do you really think he would be a hot commodity in the transfer portal?

 

[NUera]

I love what Smith brought to the table, but do you really think he would be a hot commodity in the transfer portal?

A hot commodity? No. But will some random mid-major offer him a scholarship to take the place of someone who left in the portal? Probably. In this completely hypothetical situation, it would come down to the next 2 years vs the next 40.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

A hot commodity? No. But will some random mid-major offer him a scholarship to take the place of someone who left in the portal? Probably. In this completely hypothetical situation, it would come down to the next 2 years vs the next 40.

I just don’t see it even at a mid major. Maybe after a season where Blake shows some kind of an offensive game. Right now he is a damn good defender but is very limited on offense. Mid Majors have these type of players all over their roster.

 

[CatManTrue]

A hot commodity? No. But will some random mid-major offer him a scholarship to take the place of someone who left in the portal? Probably. In this completely hypothetical situation, it would come down to the next 2 years vs the next 40.

This back and forth about Smith is ridiculous.

He gave us more quality minutes than other scholarship players did when we really needed him. And we absolutely lucked into him.

Give him a scholarship. Let the players who are on scholarship and clearly can’t contribute in the B1G transfer or become “normal” students. This isn’t complicated.

 

[90sCat]

The last few years we have seen players make substantial jumps from one season to the next. Barnhizer, Nicholson and Martinelli all made jumps after limited debuts. Perhaps I am just a wishful alum but I feel like one of our bench who did not play much will make a jump this summer and surprise us.

 

[CatManTrue]

The last few years we have seen players make substantial jumps from one season to the next. Barnhizer, Nicholson and Martinelli all made jumps after limited debuts. Perhaps I am just a wishful alum but I feel like one of our bench who did not play much will make a jump this summer and surprise us.

This is a great point.

CCC hasn’t missed much with his recruiting. The light may come on for Clayton or another guy who didn’t play as much next season.

It is funny how fast most of our fans have moved on to next season. A coworker (who’s an NC State fan by the way) told me the game on Friday was one of the most exciting he’s seem in a long time.

I’m still salivating over how much fun that was. and I’m grateful for what CCC and the players have done, especially after that awful football offseason.

 

[Baz=Heisman]

I think the next PG will come in via the portal given we are now a stable program and also with a spot to play right away. This Penn guy is intriguing. I will read up on him. I don’t think the Stanford guy or Dug McDaniel are realistic options given some of their academic issues. That wouldn’t fly with us.

Additionally, I would expect Clayton to transfer to a non-P5 school as his limited time showed that’s he’s probably not P5 material (and that’s no disrespect to him - he seems like a great kid) and had quite a few non-P5 offers from what I remember.

 

[Sec.112]

... 2) Height and depth at 3/4. Right now we have no depth 2-4. Our bench is Smith/Mullins and players we never saw playing. Height would be nice, but we get best available.
3) Developmental and backup big. In no way this is our #2 priority. We are fine as it is. But I'd love to get a youngin here.

I don't know if I agree there's no depth 2-4. If you want to say there's no experienced depth, I can buy that. But there's a ton of options at 2-3 - BrooksB @ 6-6, NM @ 6-7, TB @ 6-2, BS @ 6-6, JM @ 6-6, BlakeB @ 6-7, PS @ 6-3, AC @ 6-5.

One of those guys HAS to be able to fill in some minutes behind Berry, Barnhizer and Nick. And if they can't, it's the bed NU made. Now they have to sleep in it.

My concern is the 5. Next year is fine ... I guess. But I sure don't want to enter '25-'26 with Hunger as the only big guy.

If there's only one schollie available, I wonder if you can get away with Barnhizer and Berry at 1 & 2. It's not ideal, but next year is going to be imperfect anyhow.

 

[DaCat]

I don't know if I agree there's no depth 2-4. If you want to say there's no experienced depth, I can buy that. But there's a ton of options at 2-3 - BrooksB @ 6-6, NM @ 6-7, TB @ 6-2, BS @ 6-6, JM @ 6-6, BlakeB @ 6-7, PS @ 6-3, AC @ 6-5.

One of those guys HAS to be able to fill in some minutes behind Berry, Barnhizer and Nick. And if they can't, it's the bed NU made. Now they have to sleep in it.

My concern is the 5. Next year is fine ... I guess. But I sure don't want to enter '25-'26 with Hunger as the only big guy.

If there's only one schollie available, I wonder if you can get away with Barnhizer and Berry at 1 & 2. It's not ideal, but next year is going to be imperfect anyhow.

I agree with most of your points. With the developmental track record the past few seasons, I would not be surprised if one of the redshirts, or Blake S, or Justin M, made a significant improvement. Who knows, Blake could take a Reggie Hearn-like trajectory. Collins certainly sees something in him.

I'm also a little nervous about how fast and how well Big Matt can recover from his foot injury. Definitely would feel much better if we got a quality big through the portal.

 

[NUThump]

Give him a scholarship. Let the players who are on scholarship and clearly can’t contribute in the B1G transfer or become “normal” students. This isn’t complicated.

You mean the guys who were redshirting?

 

[freewillie07]

I’ve been getting a lot of pushback for suggesting that some of the young guys could/should transfer. Very short-sighted to think that we’re going to develop all of these guys into Big Ten starters.

We lost Casey Simmons and Julian Roper — two highly rated guys — to the portal and were just fine. It’s bound to happen. And with NU stock at an all-time high, it’s not a bad thing at all if we are able to “recruit over” our past classes.

Need to have that kind of balance between culture guys and mercenaries in this day and age to sustain success.

 

[GatoLouco]

I agree with most of your points. With the developmental track record the past few seasons, I would not be surprised if one of the redshirts, or Blake S, or Justin M, made a significant improvement. Who knows, Blake could take a Reggie Hearn-like trajectory. Collins certainly sees something in him.

I'm also a little nervous about how fast and how well Big Matt can recover from his foot injury. Definitely would feel much better if we got a quality big through the portal.

That’s all fine and logical but last year we did not rely on just having unproven Hunger to back up at 5. We went out and got supposed experience. We did rely a lot more on Martinelli providing depth in the 2-4 rotation. He had shown he was crafty.

So do we want to just stick to hopes or do we go get some experience 2-4? I’ve been praising Mullins’ potential for a long time but no way we should not try to balance not having anyone with any significant experience coming off the bench. And that’s reality right now.

 

[T_Levine]

If we find two in the portal that fill our needs and all come back. We are a sweet 16 team.

We could have four guys on the floor that can consistently score and never have we had more than 3.

 

[ballerog711]

Reynard and Stojakovic are the two I would go after. Stojakovic would be the scorer on and help Brooks and Nick.

Reynard can defend and score.

Add those two and NU would be fine.

 

[cedricmelons]

I love what Smith brought to the table, but do you really think he would be a hot commodity in the transfer portal?

Unless he has been promised a scholarship or doesn't need a scholarship due to financial aid/need, there's no harm in testing the waters. Would force NU's hand and maybe a Vanderbilt or Stanford might offer him as their new coaching staffs try to fill their rosters.

 

[NUera]

I just don’t see it even at a mid major. Maybe after a season where Blake shows some kind of an offensive game. Right now he is a damn good defender but is very limited on offense. Mid Majors have these type of players all over their roster.

It’s a valid opinion and I respect where you’re coming from. What I’ll say is that as soon as the 2024 portal window opened, 500 names went in. A week later, it’s over 900. By the time all of these tournaments are over, it will likely eclipse last year’s 1,700 names.

Never underestimate the desperation of a low D1 or mid-major whose roster has been gutted. Lest you’ve forgotten, even Kevin O’Neill gave scholarships to Adam Robinson, Casey Cortez and Harry Goode (who showed up three inches shorter than he was listed) when his back was against the wall at NU.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

It’s a valid opinion and I respect where you’re coming from. What I’ll say is that as soon as the 2024 portal window opened, 500 names went in. A week later, it’s over 900. By the time all of these tournaments are over, it will likely eclipse last year’s 1,700 names.

Never underestimate the desperation of a low D1 or mid-major whose roster has been gutted. Lest you’ve forgotten, even Kevin O’Neill gave scholarships to Adam Robinson, Casey Cortez and Harry Goode (who showed up three inches shorter than he was listed) when his back was against the wall at NU.

There certainly are hundreds of guys on scholarship at D1 schools that flat out should not be. I have an upfront view to a lot of them when I was in school. Blake is certainly better than several of them and they may include some from our own Cats. We are pretty confident he is better than them now.

This is a tricky situation and I feel somewhat uncomfortable taking the position that we should TRY to over-recruit Blake, but this is big business and CCC’s job is to win games. Blake has from all appearances done EVERYTHING asked of him. He jumped the Freshman in the rotation. Ironically, the perceived lack of development of the freshman put Blake on the floor but may keep him off the scholarship grid. If the freshman are ready, the need for Transfers lessens. Is anyone confident that they will be significant contributors next year?

Finally, none of us know what the Cost of attendance is for the Smith family. Isn’t NU a full need institution known generous FA? I believe the staff will do the right thing.

 

[GatoLouco]

Reynard and Stojakovic are the two I would go after. Stojakovic would be the scorer on and help Brooks and Nick.

Reynard can defend and score.

Add those two and NU would be fine.

It's very easy to go after shiny things. But the reality is that the only top 100 type of transfer we every landed was the kid from Evansville. We are usually looking at players well below the ones you mentioned.

But who knows this is the year we look that much better for transfers. After all, following tourney years we landed the above mentioned kid and, last year, Langborg. Maybe we have more NIL stuff in place than I believe we do.

 

[olshin]

Clark Slajchert from Penn is the first guy we should talk to...

Already contacted by Kansas, Mississippi, Indiana, UCLA and many others.

He's a Penn grad. Northwestern makes perfect sense for him.

Sure does. I do have some concerns in that he's listed 6-1, 170 ... I mean even Boo was listed at 6-2, 180 ... and I wished he was a bit bigger ....... but certainly, given the skill, the leadership, and where he grew up, I'm sure we'll be actively in on him.

 

[NUAlum2010]

Reynard and Stojakovic are the two I would go after. Stojakovic would be the scorer on and help Brooks and Nick.

Reynard can defend and score.

Add those two and NU would be fine.

Those are currently 2 of the top 4 players in the portal. In this era, that’s equivalent to recruiting 2 of the top 4 high school players in the country. NU has come a long way, but they aren’t at that level.

 

[DaCat]

That’s all fine and logical but last year we did not rely on just having unproven Hunger to back up at 5. We went out and got supposed experience. We did rely a lot more on Martinelli providing depth in the 2-4 rotation. He had shown he was crafty.

So do we want to just stick to hopes or do we go get some experience 2-4? I’ve been praising Mullins’ potential for a long time but no way we should not try to balance not having anyone with any significant experience coming off the bench. And that’s reality right now.

At this point, if no one enters the portal and B Smith isn't give a schollie, we only have two scholarships available. So the obvious priorities are PG and Big. If any more become available (portal out) then we can go after a wing.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

At this point, if no one enters the portal and B Smith isn't give a schollie, we only have two scholarships available. So the obvious priorities are PG and Big. If any more become available (portal out) then we can go after a wing.

It’s crazy to me we’re seriously talking about wings when the whole damn roster and returning production is in the wings.

 

[IGNORE2]

I love what Smith brought to the table, but do you really think he would be a hot commodity in the transfer portal?

Yup. Easily hotter than Simmons.

 

[IGNORE2]

The last few years we have seen players make substantial jumps from one season to the next. Barnhizer, Nicholson and Martinelli all made jumps after limited debuts. Perhaps I am just a wishful alum but I feel like one of our bench who did not play much will make a jump this summer and surprise us.

I jumped on the Mart train because of what I saw a year ago. The flashes were there. Saw that from Smith. Saw some flashes from Hunger and Mullins. Saw nothing else.

Next year - I expect Berry and MN back. And the staring four leaves a giant hole that smith is not positionally able to fill. Mullins and hunger either. But they make for a great three for an 8-man rotation.

So I bid Clayton adieu. And if Stauss or Barkley (who couldn’t be ready to pitch in this year) can’t handle minor minutes next year, then I can find a use for those schollies. And the frosh can plan to redshirt absent mind blowing preseason practices.

That gives me at least two schollie. One goes to smith and the other a transfer pg. If MN leaves, then I go after a big. If Berry goes, I look for a four.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Yup. Easily hotter than Simmons.

Not too difficult. He didn’t even get an athletic scholarship when he left.

 

[Prescott2018]

The priority will clearly be finding a point guard who is poised and capable. Not Boo level (not going to find that), but capable of running the offense and hitting some shots.

If, for whatever reason, Collins doesn’t find someone to fill that role via the portal, don’t be surprised if he’s unwilling to compromise with a lesser point guard and ends up using Brooks as a point forward. That’s a far better alternative than filling the void with a less than capable point guard just because they are a “point guard”.

 

[IGNORE2]

Plus Berry can fill in at point in a pinch. It was interesting that Collins had Martinelli bring the ball up at times, even though in my opinion he's only an average ball handler. But playing 35 minutes plus ball handling duties, especially against a press, will wear out our guys. Need that point guard.

Has to do more with defender. The 4 and 5 are not usually ball stealers without fouling. Guards are better at takeaways. The three might or might not. So mart brings up the ball to either force immediate mismatch if a guard hangs back to defend and mart can pass over the top. If four keeps coverage, mart has enough ball skills to get ball past the time line.

 

[IGNORE2]

Not too difficult. He didn’t even get an athletic scholarship when he left.

Bet he pays zero tuition. And every other player on his team and every other player in his conference are on equal footing.

Being on athletic scholarship is a status. It’s something to be proud of - B1G scholarship athletes are top level athletes. S&D was my second sport - my original schollie only lasted a year. I walked in and bolted for the scholarship when I was offered one. Didn’t need the money - lucky to have great family and never had any debt. ND even offered a PWO type spot when I transferred and as a south side Irish kid, that’s the gold ring.

But NU put me back into athletic scholarship land plus at the Big 10 level. That meant so much more to me than joining the rare air of the few able to get into ND from my neighborhood. (Btw - a few friends thought I was nuts, though they had also never heard of NU)