From every insider, the one constant people close to the team told me during the season and a huge difference with this team over the last few years is that the players are so close.
Whenever a season starts, I always try to study the interactions on the sidelines. It was clear from the start that these guys really like each other. They have fun. They hang out together, they coach each other, they talk critically on the floor during games about what they did wrong. Buie and Audige are especially good at talking over plays on the court and what they did wrong.
These guys knew they were playing for themselves and their coaches. It was a lot of pressure. It is why Collins and his kid were crying at the end of the Purdue game. Everyone associated with the program knew this was it, put up or shut up. Win or they all go home.
I cannot express, as a long time NU hoops fan, how dangerous this season was. Imagine if instead of being No. 2, Gragg was forced to dismiss Collins after the big ten tourney ended. This program would have been a mess. We would all be panicked as the portal decimated the roster and it would not have been an easy rebuild. All I can say ... Thank God!
As it stands, now we will wait not with dread but to see who might come back for a COVID year. No idea what will happen and Boo made it clear, no decisions have been made. There is room on the roster for all three COVID seniors to return. Only Beran has seen his role reduced due to the emergence of Barnhizer and to a much lessor extent, the play of Martinelli due to Roper's injury.
I have heard that Brooks is ready to take over and has plans to put in the work over the summer. He is a player that NU has no comp for since Vedran Vukušić. Brooks is basically Vedran if Vedran did not have the shoulder issues that dogged him throughout his time at NU.
I am really interested to see what Boo and Audige do. Both could probably play in Europe but might be able to improve their standing in that regard with another year. At the same time, the three seniors and TV have given Cats fans more than we ever expected and I would wish them all well - unless they transfer to Indiana.
I also think that Collins deserves all the credit in the world. He clearly reevaluated himself and his program and identified where it had left the rails over the last few seasons and it was clearly on the defensive end. Collins has also mellowed a ton on the sidelines.
I would say that other than the '95 football team, this has been the most surprising NU team. The next step, consistent winning.
Whenever a season starts, I always try to study the interactions on the sidelines. It was clear from the start that these guys really like each other. They have fun. They hang out together, they coach each other, they talk critically on the floor during games about what they did wrong. Buie and Audige are especially good at talking over plays on the court and what they did wrong.
These guys knew they were playing for themselves and their coaches. It was a lot of pressure. It is why Collins and his kid were crying at the end of the Purdue game. Everyone associated with the program knew this was it, put up or shut up. Win or they all go home.
I cannot express, as a long time NU hoops fan, how dangerous this season was. Imagine if instead of being No. 2, Gragg was forced to dismiss Collins after the big ten tourney ended. This program would have been a mess. We would all be panicked as the portal decimated the roster and it would not have been an easy rebuild. All I can say ... Thank God!
As it stands, now we will wait not with dread but to see who might come back for a COVID year. No idea what will happen and Boo made it clear, no decisions have been made. There is room on the roster for all three COVID seniors to return. Only Beran has seen his role reduced due to the emergence of Barnhizer and to a much lessor extent, the play of Martinelli due to Roper's injury.
I have heard that Brooks is ready to take over and has plans to put in the work over the summer. He is a player that NU has no comp for since Vedran Vukušić. Brooks is basically Vedran if Vedran did not have the shoulder issues that dogged him throughout his time at NU.
I am really interested to see what Boo and Audige do. Both could probably play in Europe but might be able to improve their standing in that regard with another year. At the same time, the three seniors and TV have given Cats fans more than we ever expected and I would wish them all well - unless they transfer to Indiana.
I also think that Collins deserves all the credit in the world. He clearly reevaluated himself and his program and identified where it had left the rails over the last few seasons and it was clearly on the defensive end. Collins has also mellowed a ton on the sidelines.
I would say that other than the '95 football team, this has been the most surprising NU team. The next step, consistent winning.
