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Seth Davis on CCC

How does he miss THAT??? Not a single sentence about NU's academic requirements.

" I’m not sure if it’s Northwestern’s high academic standards that are preventing this, or maybe Collins is having a hard time shedding his Duke DNA. Regardless, there needs to be a shift on this front or Northwestern will have an even harder time climbing out of the cellar."
 
" I’m not sure if it’s Northwestern’s high academic standards that are preventing this, or maybe Collins is having a hard time shedding his Duke DNA. Regardless, there needs to be a shift on this front or Northwestern will have an even harder time climbing out of the cellar."

The Valpo kid is a clear cut example of academics hurting us on the transfer market.
 
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Walker Lambiotte is still getting a blood transfusion from all the blood he lost in that game.
That was against Duke at WR. The most exciting atmosphere I've ever seen at an NU game during my time. (Probably bested in 2017 I imagine.)
 
I get that Carmody had a unique offensive system and some nifty inbounds plays, but I still can't get over the concept that a supposed "master tactician" didn't seem to understand the value of offensive rebounding. I used to openly curse while watching all five of our guys turn and run back to the defensive end when a shot went up.

That's to say nothing of Carmody's appprehension about and de-emphasis of weight lifting and physical development because, essentially, he believed that it might deteriorate his players' skill level.

Northwestern could not rebound defensively, so why would you think that Carmody should have tried to emphasize offensive rebounding with the lack of physical talent that he had to work with. Getting back on defense was the better option with Northwestern's talent and athletic ability
 
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Northwestern could not rebound defensively, so why would you think that Carmody should have tried to emphasize offensive rebounding with the lack of physical talent that he had to work with. Getting back on defense was the better option with Northwestern's talent and athletic ability

"Oh well, better not try at all and get absolutely hammered by teams that can actually rebound."

It's chicken and egg. Carmody didn't put in the effort to recruit and/or develop higher-level athletes, then put in place a system that essentially ceded any attempt at rebounding. I hated it.
 
Northwestern could not rebound defensively, so why would you think that Carmody should have tried to emphasize offensive rebounding with the lack of physical talent that he had to work with. Getting back on defense was the better option with Northwestern's talent and athletic ability

Getting back also allowed him the opportunity to set up the variety of zones he liked to implement; when they clicked it could be quite a bit for the opposition to handle.

Carmody had several flaws (we certainly do not need to relitigate his tenure for the billionth time), but it was easy to see that in-game strategy was a strength and as a result was held in high esteem by the coaching fraternity.

While I’m pleased that Collins in is Evanston (good fit, energy, higher ceiling), I do miss seeing the PO and 1-3-1 from time to time. Very pleasing basketball to watch when it was “on”.
 
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Getting back also allowed him the opportunity to set up the variety of zones he liked to implement; when they clicked it could be quite a bit for the opposition to handle.

Carmody had several flaws (we certainly do not need to relitigate his tenure for the billionth time), but it was easy to see that in-game strategy was a strength and as a result was held in high esteem by the coaching fraternity.

While I’m pleased that Collins in is Evanston (good fit, energy, higher ceiling), I do miss seeing the PO and 1-3-1 from time to time. Very pleasing basketball to watch when it was “on”.
Is that why he got all of those Power 5 offers, after leaving NU, before settling on Holy Cross
 
" I’m not sure if it’s Northwestern’s high academic standards that are preventing this, or maybe Collins is having a hard time shedding his Duke DNA. Regardless, there needs to be a shift on this front or Northwestern will have an even harder time climbing out of the cellar."

oops
 
“Excluding one single season”; ya know the greatest single season in the history of the program? Imagine the Cubs excluding one single season? LOL.

And WHERE is the manager of that Cubs team for that season?

And as already pointed out, the Cubs had other seasons of making the post season.

Fitz accomplished something with the FB program that hadn't been done in a long while - winning a bowl game.

But what do you think the sentiment would be if every season since that breakthrough resulted in missing the postseason?


I get that Carmody had a unique offensive system and some nifty inbounds plays, but I still can't get over the concept that a supposed "master tactician" didn't seem to understand the value of offensive rebounding. I used to openly curse while watching all five of our guys turn and run back to the defensive end when a shot went up.

BC understood it, but he also knew the limits of his roster, plus his scheme of spreading out shooters wasn't exactly conducive to rebounding.

The short while the Lakers ran the PO, they weren't a good rebounding team either.

That's to say nothing of Carmody's appprehension about and de-emphasis of weight lifting and physical development because, essentially, he believed that it might deteriorate his players' skill level.

Seem to recall Shurna, Crawford and others getting bigger and stronger.

Hearn was a beast who would bully his way to the basket.

Think it was Luka who actually gained too much mass and ended up slow.



Northwestern could not rebound defensively, so why would you think that Carmody should have tried to emphasize offensive rebounding with the lack of physical talent that he had to work with. Getting back on defense was the better option with Northwestern's talent and athletic ability

Yep.


"Oh well, better not try at all and get absolutely hammered by teams that can actually rebound."

It's chicken and egg. Carmody didn't put in the effort to recruit and/or develop higher-level athletes, then put in place a system that essentially ceded any attempt at rebounding. I hated it.

Again, it's also the limits of the scheme.

Carmody did recruit Crawford, Cobb and Lumpkin, who along with Swop and Hearn would have made for BC's most athletic team (a bit lacking in height/length so D would have been more of the emphasis than rebounding).

3 of them ended up being the core of the defense for CC's 1st team.

Carmody also changed things up when it came to recruiting his center, going for size/heft (Rowley) which didn't work out.
 
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And WHERE is the manager of that Cubs team for that season?

And as already pointed out, the Cubs had other seasons of making the post season.

Fitz accomplished something with the FB program that hadn't been done in a long while - winning a bowl game.

But what do you think the sentiment would be if every season since that breakthrough resulted in missing the postseason?




BC understood it, but he also knew the limits of his roster, plus his scheme of spreading out shooters wasn't exactly conducive to rebounding.

The short while the Lakers ran the PO, they weren't a good rebounding team either.



Seem to recall Shurna, Crawford and others getting bigger and stronger.

Hearn was a beast who would bully his way to the basket.

Think it was Luka who actually gained too much mass and ended up slow.





Yep.




Again, it's also the limits of the scheme.

Carmody did recruit Crawford, Cobb and Lumpkin, who along with Swop and Hearn would have made for BC's most athletic team (a bit lacking in height/length so D would have been more of the emphasis than rebounding).

3 of them ended up being the core of the defense for CC's 1st team.

Carmody also changed things up when it came to recruiting his center, going for size/heft (Rowley) which didn't work out.

Here’s a fact; a statement you can’t refute; an argument you can’t win:

Collins took NU to the NCAA tournament where they won a first round game.
 
BC understood it, but he also knew the limits of his roster, plus his scheme of spreading out shooters wasn't exactly conducive to rebounding.

First time I've heard this posited as defense of a poor rebounding team.

Shouldn't the spread open up spaces for the other O players to rebound? Wouldn't they see the direction of the miss first?

Offensive rebounding under Carmody had little to nothing to do with the offensive scheme and everything do with the disparity in size, strength and athleticism. At times, it was like watching the Dream Team against Angola.
 
Is that why he got all of those Power 5 offers, after leaving NU, before settling on Holy Cross
Have you seen NU’s record under Collins the past 3 years? Programs aren’t knocking down Collins’ door.....
 
Yep. Kinda sloppy work from Seth (or his editor) on this.

The BIG wins argument really stuck out to me. If you go by conference win percentage Collins (.331) is only slightly better than Carmody (.313). There are certainly issues making a comparison between the two (sample sizes, state of program when taking over, strength of the conference, etc), but I think it shows that the previous regime was generally more consistent (albeit limited), whereas the current staff is more up and down (with a higher ceiling). This would have been my take prior to looking up the numbers, so while I'm personally optimistic when thinking about the future of the program, I could see how one could start to get antsy.

This trend is seemingly reflected in recruiting as well...although one could make the case that recruiting is somewhat a crapshoot to begin with.

I think the next 3-4 years tell the tale with Collins. It takes a few years to get established in a program and if he keeps recruiting at the level he has recently I see more wins in our future. Bottom line if you cant recruit in modern college b-ball you have no shot at being good. The fact that he was able to bring in a good class after our on court struggles last year tells me he’s a developing recruiter and salesman for the program. Now he just needs to blend talent into better on court performances on a more consistent basis
 
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Good. I think we're gonna be quite happy with Collins for a long time to come, and this is just the beginning.

We on this board need to reach a happy place where we're neither worrying that Coach K will anoint him his successor or hoping that some program will take him off our hands. Here's to future success and normalcy!
 
Haters gonna hate. If NU basketball was a stock; would you buy or sell? Holding is not an option.

Well I’d be buying at a pretty low point with not much room for the value to decline (based on last year) so seems like an easy answer =)
 
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Three or four years at most!

It's absolute make or break time. Fingers crossed to make it.

No matter what he isn’t going to get fired for at least say 2 years. While the program needs to start showing more on the court success this season imo, we aren’t going to really know the potential of the program under him for 3-4 years realistically.
 
"Oh well, better not try at all and get absolutely hammered by teams that can actually rebound."

It's chicken and egg. Carmody didn't put in the effort to recruit and/or develop higher-level athletes, then put in place a system that essentially ceded any attempt at rebounding. I hated it.
Carmody's systems maximized the chances that his teams could win based on their talent and athleticism-you can criticize the talent base but not how he prepared it to contest against far superior teams
 
Carmody's systems maximized the chances that his teams could win based on their talent and athleticism-you can criticize the talent base but not how he prepared it to contest against far superior teams

The issue is that Carmody had 13 years to improve his "talent base" and showed neither the capability nor the conviction to do so via either improved recruiting or improved player development.
 
I think the next 3-4 years tell the tale with Collins. It takes a few years to get established in a program and if he keeps recruiting at the level he has recently I see more wins in our future. Bottom line if you cant recruit in modern college b-ball you have no shot at being good. The fact that he was able to bring in a good class after our on court struggles last year tells me he’s a developing recruiter and salesman for the program. Now he just needs to blend talent into better on court performances on a more consistent basis

I think CC has done a good job recruiting wings that can shoot (but not necessarily drive). He got very unlucky with Falzon and Ivanauskas both getting hurt and never getting any production from them. Falzon started as a freshman and was an effective spot up shooter. Then nothing. Ivanauskas never saw the court, then shined at Colgate. Unsure if he was BIG caliber but after 2 years of injuries he may not have been what he was. Both were high level recruits.

CC has been very successful at recruiting PGs and SGs. We have lacked those since Bmac. The last 3 recruiting classes have had several PGs and SGs. Buie, Berry, Barnhizer, Audige, Roper and Simmons (and Bamisile until he wasn't). I think that is what was lacking since Bmac and it has shown. Because of those six, I am optimistic about the future. I think if we can recruit wings next year to replace Kopp Nance and Beran we will be in good shape. If we get to 6-10th place in BIG I think we have momentum and it will help with recruiting. We have work to do but we are close and I like the trajectory we are on. I don't expect us to win the BIG anytime soon, but 4-8th in BIG on a regular basis make BBall like the Football program. A fun program to get behind.
 
The issue is that Carmody had 13 years to improve his "talent base" and showed neither the capability nor the conviction to do so via either improved recruiting or improved player development.

The fact that 4 of his last 5 years constituted what was then the most successful stretch for NU hoops since the 1930s, breaking the old program wins record in 3 of those years, suggests to me that he did, in fact, improve those elements over his tenure.
 
The fact that 4 of his last 5 years constituted what was then the most successful stretch for NU hoops since the 1930s, breaking the old program wins record in 3 of those years, suggests to me that he did, in fact, improve those elements over his tenure.

I thought the last few years he had great talent.

I think some of the Collins recruits have higher ceilings, but Crawford, Cobb, Shurna....and that's just a sample...as talented as NU has had.
 
I thought the last few years he had great talent.

I think some of the Collins recruits have higher ceilings, but Crawford, Cobb, Shurna....and that's just a sample...as talented as NU has had.
Shurna was an All American, three time All BiG including one first team selection, and led the B1G in scoring. I see no one who has played in the Collins era who has a higher ceiling than John.
 
Here’s a fact; a statement you can’t refute; an argument you can’t win:

Collins took NU to the NCAA tournament where they won a first round game.

And who's to say that BC wouldn't have eventually broken thru?

And CC has yet to do it (which he will) or just make the post season with entirely his recruits.

If Sanjay hadn't gotten mono, then injured and thus ending up taking a RS, no Sanjay and NO Tourney bid (kinda funny how those things end up working out).


First time I've heard this posited as defense of a poor rebounding team.

Shouldn't the spread open up spaces for the other O players to rebound? Wouldn't they see the direction of the miss first?

Offensive rebounding under Carmody had little to nothing to do with the offensive scheme and everything do with the disparity in size, strength and athleticism. At times, it was like watching the Dream Team against Angola.

So explain the Lakers sucking at rebounding when they ran the PO for a short while?

And 4 of the "top" 5 coaches (with at least 10 years as a HC) with the worst average O rebounding teams ran the PO, with BC #3.

Beilein, who had superior talent and ran a hybrid PO, ranks 10th in this dept.


The issue is that Carmody had 13 years to improve his "talent base" and showed neither the capability nor the conviction to do so via either improved recruiting or improved player development.

You haven't been paying attention if you think BC didn't improve the talent level.

Now, some of the early struggles in recruiting had to do with BC and staff not having cultivated the relationships with Chicago/Suburban schools, but a big part was also having facilities that were embarrassing even for a powerhouse HS program.

The thing recruits (usually) most want to see on campus are the facilities, and what other P5 program had to make up excuses not to show recruits the facilities?

It's no coincidence that recruiting started to pick up after the renovations (while modest compared to most other programs, at least they were no longer embarrassing).

And I'd put up Coble, Juice, Shurna, Crawford, Cobb, Lumpkin, Hearn, Moore, Swop, Taphorn, Olah, Demps, etc. against the best who have played for CC in purple (now, this will likely change in a few years).

Making the postseason 4 years in a row (would have been 5 yrs, but for the injury riddled 2012-13 season) wouldn't have been possible without there being an improvement in recruiting, and such a streak has yet to be repeated.

But it's also tough to recruit when you're basically working on a year-to-year basis, with every off-season swirling with talk as to whether BC did enough to hold on to his job (which is why had stated that Phillips should have cut the cord sooner).

But even with those less than ideal recruiting conditions, BC was still able to land players like Jared Sina (ranked 87th by 247) and Kyle Abrahamson (ranked 134) even tho neither ended up panning out (wouldn't be so hung up on recruiting rankings as opposed to how they actually fared on the court).
 
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And who's to say that BC wouldn't have eventually broken thru?

And CC has yet to do it (which he will) or just make the post season with entirely his recruits.

If Sanjay hadn't gotten mono, then injured and thus ending up taking a RS, no Sanjay and NO Tourney bid (kinda funny how those things end up working out).



Beilein, who had superior talent and ran a hybrid PO, ranks 10th in this dept.




You haven't been paying attention if you think BC didn't improve the talent level.

Now, some of the early struggles in recruiting had to do with BC and staff not having cultivated the relationships with Chicago/Suburban schools, but a big part was also having facilities that were embarrassing even for a powerhouse HS program.

The thing recruits (usually) most want to see on campus are the facilities, and what other P5 program had to make up excuses not to show recruits the facilities?

It's no coincidence that recruiting started to pick up after the renovations (while modest compared to most other programs, at least they were no longer embarrassing).

And I'd put up Coble, Juice, Shurna, Crawford, Cobb, Lumpkin, Hearn, Swop, Taphorn, Olah, Demps, etc. against the best who have played for CC in purple.

Making the postseason 4 years in a row (would have been 5 yrs, but for the injury riddled 2012-13 season) wouldn't have been possible without there being an improvement in recruiting, and such a streak has yet to be repeated.

But it's also tough to recruit when you're basically working on a year-to-year basis, with every off-season swirling with talk as to whether BC did enough to hold on to his job (which is why had stated that Phillips should have cut the cord sooner).

But even with those less than ideal recruiting conditions, BC was still able to land players like Jared Sina (ranked 87th by 247) and Kyle Abrahamson (ranked 134) even tho neither ended up panning out.

LOL...that’s some weak sauce. Carmody never made the dance with NU. Collins did. That’s it. That’s my point. Undisputed. Fact. Case closed.
 
And but for the usual bad luck with injuries, BC would have done it.

You don't think a team with Coble, Juice, Shurna, Crawford and Cobb would have made it?

And CC still has yet to do it without an assist from BC (Lumpkin).
 
And but for the usual bad luck with injuries, BC would have done it.

You don't think a team with Coble, Juice, Shurna, Crawford and Cobb would have made it?

And CC still has yet to do it without an assist from BC (Lumpkin).

But Carmody didn’t. And Collins did. You can play your hypothetical games all day long. The facts don’t lie.

Did I mention Collins led NU to a victory over Vanderbilt in the NCAA tournament? That’s another fact.
 
So explain the Lakers sucking at rebounding when they ran the PO for a short while?

And 4 of the "top" 5 coaches (with at least 10 years as a HC) with the worst average O rebounding teams ran the PO, with BC #3.

Beilein, who had superior talent and ran a hybrid PO, ranks 10th in this dept.

Why would the Lakers running the PO impact their defensive rebounding?

I know nothing about the Lakers running the PO but I'll venture why the rebounding sucked (a stat of which I am also unaware). The key is in your questions..."for a short while."

"For a short while" tells me it didn't work. In the NBA, that means the players rejected it. Which means they were unenthused about the system and coaching. Which is why the coach was fired before T'Giving.

But the discussion is about offensive rebounding and the fact that NU would flee like the French in Maginot rather than compete for a missed shot. NU also sucked at defensive rebounding because of the physical and athletic deficits.
 
... we aren’t going to really know the potential of the program under him for 3-4 years realistically.

I agree with your general direction. However, outside COVID, we should know much more than the potential. The program will be pretty well defined outside variations here and there.

Then you make a decision going forward.
 
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