What went wrong with this Northwestern basketball team? Everything

[Katatonic]

So what went wrong this season? In short, everything.

“Pound the Rock” is the program motto. The Wildcats smashed it last season and barely tapped it this year.

They refused to pay the price over the summer, so they paid it in the winter.

The players got fat and happy. They developed their own agendas, playing more for themselves than one another. Some spent too much time with their girlfriends and not enough with their teammates. The leadership of Sanjay Lumpkin and Nate Taphorn graduated and was not replaced.

It’s a gift to return almost the exact same team, but the flip side is there’s little new blood to inject enthusiasm and challenge the veterans in practice. Some got numb to Collins’ voice. Collins, still a young coach, didn’t react quickly enough to the warning signs.

There were too many long, contested jumpers with 23 seconds on the shot clock. Too many lazy closeouts.

Not enough communication on defense. Not enough discipline to avoid silly fouls.

Sophomores Barret Benson and Isiah Brown regressed. Aaron Falzon’s legs betrayed him. McIntosh and Law got beat up. Only Dererk Pardon played hard, tough and smart every game.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...disappointment-greenstein-20180227-story.html

Pretty much everything Teddy writes rings pretty much true to me.

Some of the stuff we have seen w/ our own eyes, other things have been admitted to by BMac and others.

The injection of new blood by the incoming class should be a breathe of fresh air - not only b/c of their talent, but the new attitude they'll be bringing in - which should push the upperclassmen (not that vets like Law and Pardon need any pushing).

Pardon being Pardon is why he's my current fave.

 

[NJCat]

https://northwestern.forums.rivals.com/forums/wildcat-basketball-board.18/create-thread

Pretty much everything Teddy writes rings pretty much true to me.

Some of the stuff we have seen w/ our own eyes, other things have been admitted to by BMac and others.

The injection of new blood by the incoming class should be a breathe of fresh air - not only b/c of their talent, but the new attitude they'll be bringing in - which should push the upperclassmen (not that vets like Law and Pardon need any pushing).

Pardon being Pardon is why he's my current fave.

You pasted in the wrong link.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Dang! I didn’t renew my subscription to BT Network as it was too painful to watch this epic collapse. Got to keep players healthy. Ask Fitz!

 

[1830sherman]

Agreed that the story is pretty much on point. Some of the tougher remarks are unattributed, which presumably means they're just Greenstein's personal take, as opposed to anything that was sourced. But the overall point is well-taken: the year was a major disappointment, and there's plenty of blame to be shared.

Here's the link

 

[Catreporter]

Sometimes it's very hard to live up to expectations, especially if they might be a bit too high. This was not a team brimming with 4-and-5 star talent. And as hard as smashing that rock was last year, doing it again was a huge challenge all unto itself.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Better if NU played at ETHS HS. Ash getting hurt was the pivotal point of the season. We won 4-5 games in a row when Ash was healthy. He got hurt and we lost six in a row!

 

[12375CAT]

Good luck @ the B10 dance

 

[NUCat320]

"What went wrong? Everything" is a fine take. But the piece is garbage.

If we're accusing of spending too much time with girlfriends, let's "sources say", at least.

I agree they played sloppy - early jumpers, "lazy closeouts" - but let's get a coach on the record with it.

Teddy was not much better than the 2017-18 Cats on this one. Hopefully both start their road to redemption tomorrow.

 

[Walker Fan]

Teddy has always believed that due to the facilities (The BC excuse) that NU could never win or make the tourney. Well, he was wrong about that. He has also never understood that NU could recruit on a successful level of other Big 10 schools. But Collins has changed that. Now he falls prey to the rumors that certain players were not spending enough time with the team. A better explanation for the team’s issues this season is that players who were supposed to take the place of Lumpkin and Tap like Falzon, Rap, Benson, Brown and Gaines did not step up and replace them due to injury or failure to rebound from a surgery, or failure to get consistent minutes or due to a freshman who took a number of games to figure out the college game. As a result, the pressure of NU’s starters grew and at 35 minutes a game, McIntosh and Law’s bodies broke down.

 

[Katatonic]

"What went wrong? Everything" is a fine take. But the piece is garbage.

If we're accusing of spending too much time with girlfriends, let's "sources say", at least.

I agree they played sloppy - early jumpers, "lazy closeouts" - but let's get a coach on the record with it.

Teddy was not much better than the 2017-18 Cats on this one. Hopefully both start their road to redemption tomorrow.

OK, maybe Teddy filled-in-the-blanks with the remark about spending time w/ girlfriends, but many of the guys clearly didn't spend enough time in the gym.

The ugliest of them was a 36-point loss to Texas Tech in November, the worst beating Northwestern has taken in Chris Collins’ five seasons as coach. McIntosh, the senior point guard, saw it coming.

“I kind of knew we weren’t ready,” he told the Sun-Times on Wednesday, a day before the Wildcats’ game at Wisconsin. “We weren’t really prepared to play a good team. We weren’t mentally ready. I don’t think we were in shape physically. I’m still not sure we’re even really in shape now.”

Collins blew it, too. He sensed well before the season started that something was amiss with his team. He chirped — a little too quietly — at his players that they’d lost their “edge,” but what he did about it simply wasn’t enough.

“Guys were working hard, but you can always notice when there’s an edge to a team,” Collins said. “There’s an edge to their workouts, when they’re lifting weights, when they’re shooting, when they’re practicing. Our guys were working, but we didn’t have that same edge. We didn’t have that same hunger that I had seen the previous couple years.

“At the end of the day, I take responsibility for it. I told them, but I wasn’t as strong as I needed to be with it. I would love to go back and have a heavier hand with those guys and force them [to change].”

https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports...hris-collins-bryant-mcintosh-ncaa-tournament/

A learning experience for CC.

Teddy has always believed that due to the facilities (The BC excuse) that NU could never win or make the tourney. Well, he was wrong about that.

Before the every-day facilities (meeting rooms, lockerroom, etc.) got the badly needed upgrades about half-way thru BC's tenure, very likely the 'Cats wouldn't have sniffed the NCAAs.

It was an untenable situation for coaches to have to come up w/ some sort of excuse to not show recruits the facilities.

Not a coincidence that recruiting started to improve after the upgrade (nothing fancy, but no longer a complete embarrassment).

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

"What went wrong? Everything" is a fine take. But the piece is garbage.

If we're accusing of spending too much time with girlfriends, let's "sources say", at least.

I agree they played sloppy - early jumpers, "lazy closeouts" - but let's get a coach on the record with it.

Teddy was not much better than the 2017-18 Cats on this one. Hopefully both start their road to redemption tomorrow.

Poorly written article

 

[NJCat]

Poorly written article

Glad to see you putting that Medill sheepskin to work. Dang!

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Glad to see you putting that Medill sheepskin to work. Dang!

God awful writing!

 

[Hungry Jack]

"The players got fat and happy. They developed their own agendas, playing more for themselves than one another. Some spent too much time with their girlfriends and not enough with their teammates. The leadership of Sanjay Lumpkin and Nate Taphorn graduated and was not replaced."

Is this Teddy's spin on things or was this proffered up in privileged conversations with players and coaches? It sounds like pop psych to me. Not that it is not plausible, but I doubt that this is actual "reporting."

The best thing about that article is that it got 13 comments, most of which are generally forgiving and informed. At least some people are paying attention to NU hoops in Chicagoland.

 

[NJCat]

"The leadership of Sanjay Lumpkin and Nate Taphorn graduated and was not replaced."
.

I never saw Tap as a "leader", more a solid citizen who did his job and maximized his limited skill set. Pretty hard to be a Leader from the bench. Not a knock on him, I just think there can only be 1 or 2 leaders on a team and these tend to be the most impactful players. Having 4 Captains is just nutso.

 

[willycat]

I never saw Tap as a "leader", more a solid citizen who did his job and maximized his limited skill set. Pretty hard to be a Leader from the bench. Not a knock on him, I just think there can only be 1 or 2 leaders on a team and these tend to be the most impactful players. Having 4 Captains is just nutso.

Captain Pardon in 2018/19.

 

[Walker Fan]

Vic Law, NU's top rated recruit (No. 66 or 71) in the nation chose to go to NU not because of the facilities, but because of CC. His dad made it clear he would never have chosen to go to NU if BC was in charge. Frank Kaminisky, former national player of the year, made the decision because BC failed to be there for his recruiting visit even though his best friend, Sobo was going to NU and his mom was a volleyball player at NU. The reports were that Drew Crawford had to send a dvd in of his play to get the attention of Tavares Hardy because BC was not attending his games. Recruiting is hard work and CC does it, but BC did not. Now, HC sees the results in a 11-18 record and a RPI of 250 plus. My guess is one or two more years at the max and then they will have had enough and make a change.

As for Greenstein, he is repeating a rumor and the question is from whom. That is not good journalism. Also, if a team wins, sometimes these chemistry problems go away. The failure of players to perform and make shots or play good enough defense and coaches' errors (failure to give a starting lineup to the scorer's table before the Texas Tech game, failure to give consistent minutes to bench players, failure to mix in zone defense with man to man defense in the first 10 games, failure to mix up lineups like playing Benson and Pardon at the same time) led to this season's results.

Hopefully, we win tonight and make a run. But if not, both players and coaches need to be accountable for this season and hopefully, it does not get petty like TG did in his column.

 

[purplejustice]

Live and learn. It just shows how hard it is to take a team to the NCAA tournament on a consistent basis. I am grateful for last year. I look forward to improvement next year, but do not expect us to get back to the tournament with a bunch of freshman.

 

[Catreporter]

Hard t

It just shows how hard it is to take a team to the NCAA tournament on a consistent basis. I am grateful for last year. I look forward to improvement next year,

Competiton is ferocious even in a DOWN year in the BIG. Just look at the BTT so far. You can never take success for granted, especially at Northwestern with some of its built in disadvantages. Illini have missed the tourney four straight years now.

 

[phatcat]

Sometimes it's very hard to live up to expectations, especially if they might be a bit too high. This was not a team brimming with 4-and-5 star talent. And as hard as smashing that rock was last year, doing it again was a huge challenge all unto itself.

See 2013 football

 

[NJCat]

See 2013 football

And 2014 LAX.

 

[Katatonic]

I never saw Tap as a "leader", more a solid citizen who did his job and maximized his limited skill set. Pretty hard to be a Leader from the bench. Not a knock on him, I just think there can only be 1 or 2 leaders on a team and these tend to be the most impactful players. Having 4 Captains is just nutso.

Not all leaders have to be starters, much less stars.

Tap was the kind of selfless guy/player who was happy for everyone and lauded in their accomplishments.

While Lumpkin gets the credit for being the glue-guy on the court, think that Tap (along w/ Sanjay) played that role off the court.

Don't think it was coincidence that the team (last season) would go over to Sanjay's and Tap's place to eat dinner (wasn't just b/c of Tap's skills as a cook).

Richard Jefferson was way past his prime during his time w/ the Cavaliers, but was acknowledged as one of the leaders of the clubhouse - the kind of guy who would smooth things over btwn quarreling teammates.

Hard t

Competiton is ferocious even in a DOWN year in the BIG. Just look at the BTT so far. You can never take success for granted, especially at Northwestern with some of its built in disadvantages. Illini have missed the tourney four straight years now.

Benson says it all here...

Asked what the team learned from flopping after its breakthrough NCAA tournament season, Benson replied: “Always stay hungry and keep the chip on your shoulder.”

The chip comes back now?

“Should have never left,” he replied.

 

[Katatonic]

Vic Law, NU's top rated recruit (No. 66 or 71) in the nation chose to go to NU not because of the facilities, but because of CC.

No duh.

But there's the likely possibility that Law wouldn't have committed to NU even w/ CC if those everyday facilities were as bad as they were then.

Heck, who knows if CC would be here.

His dad made it clear he would never have chosen to go to NU if BC was in charge.

And that's b/c Law's dad didn't care for BC's take it or leave it offer (which BC shouldn't done in that manner).

Just as Law's dad didn't like his son wasn't a higher priority w/ the Illini.

Frank Kaminisky, former national player of the year, made the decision because BC failed to be there for his recruiting visit even though his best friend, Sobo was going to NU and his mom was a volleyball player at NU. The reports were that Drew Crawford had to send a dvd in of his play to get the attention of Tavares Hardy because BC was not attending his games. Recruiting is hard work and CC does it, but BC did not. Now, HC sees the results in a 11-18 record and a RPI of 250 plus. My guess is one or two more years at the max and then they will have had enough and make a change.

No need to repeat info. that we all have seen time and time again.

No one is disagreeing that CC is the better and much more enthusiastic recruiter.

As for Greenstein, he is repeating a rumor and the question is from whom.

Greenstein may have added the spending time w/ girlfriend remarks w/o any substantiation, but BMac, himself, stated that he knew that the team wasn't ready, including not being in shape.

BB stated that they lost the chip on their shoulder and that it was something they should never have lost.

 

[SmellyCat]

Not all leaders have to be starters, much less stars.

Tap was the kind of selfless guy/player who was happy for everyone and lauded in their accomplishments.

While Lumpkin gets the credit for being the glue-guy on the court, think that Tap (along w/ Sanjay) played that role off the court.

I see this from Benson, actually. I think he'll be one of the unexpected leaders this year, and may be the leader when he's a senior.

 

[Deeringfish]

"The players got fat and happy. They developed their own agendas, playing more for themselves than one another. Some spent too much time with their girlfriends and not enough with their teammates. The leadership of Sanjay Lumpkin and Nate Taphorn graduated and was not replaced."

Is this Teddy's spin on things or was this proffered up in privileged conversations with players and coaches? It sounds like pop psych to me. Not that it is not plausible, but I doubt that this is actual "reporting."

The best thing about that article is that it got 13 comments, most of which are generally forgiving and informed. At least some people are paying attention to NU hoops in Chicagoland.

This quote and the one about not putting in the time over the summer seem pretty harsh. OTOH in previous years I remember reading articles about players working at this camp or that camp or playing in a summer league or tournament. I don't remember reading any of that this year, not that that means it didn't happen perhaps I just didn't see any articles or what they did was not news worthy but I wondered about it all season.

 

[willycat]

No duh.

But there's the likely possibility that Law wouldn't have committed to NU even w/ CC if those everyday facilities were as bad as they were then.

Heck, who knows if CC would be here.




And that's b/c Law's dad didn't care for BC's take it or leave it offer (which BC shouldn't done in that manner).

Just as Law's dad didn't like his son wasn't a higher priority w/ the Illini.




No need to repeat info. that we all have seen time and time again.

No one is disagreeing that CC is the better and much more enthusiastic recruiter.



Greenstein may have added the spending time w/ girlfriend remarks w/o any substantiation, but BMac, himself, stated that he knew that the team wasn't ready, including not being in shape.

BB stated that they lost the chip on their shoulder and that it was something they should never have lost.

Just which improved facilities are you referring to when you state that Law only committed to NU because of all the new stuff. I don't recall any new thigs be put into W-R during Law's recruitment. Also don't think that his father lied when he said that his son would not have come to NU if Carmody was still the coach. face it Carmody was a one trick pony kind of coach. It was the P offense and the fact that he didn't think rebounding and defense were all that important and especially didn't feel he needed to put some effort into recruiting.

 

[MysticCat]

Just which improved facilities are you referring to when you state that Law only committed to NU because of all the new stuff. I don't recall any new thigs be put into W-R during Law's recruitment. Also don't think that his father lied when he said that his son would not have come to NU if Carmody was still the coach. face it Carmody was a one trick pony kind of coach. It was the P offense and the fact that he didn't think rebounding and defense were all that important and especially didn't feel he needed to put some effort into recruiting.

Defense and rebounding!

161.

 

[Styre]

Now, HC sees the results in a 11-18 record and a RPI of 250 plus. My guess is one or two more years at the max and then they will have had enough and make a change.

If there's one thing that will not be tolerated it's only making the NCAAs once in five years.

 

[willycat]

If there's one thing that will not be tolerated it's only making the NCAAs once in five years.

Holy Cross and the NCAA Tournament in the same sentence. Will wonders cease to exist.

 

[willycat]

Defense and rebounding!

161.

Again, which wonderful new facilities did Collins have that helped him get Law to commit to NU ?

 

[NJCat]

If there's one thing that will not be tolerated it's only making the NCAAs once in five years.

Fire Cushing!!!!!

Oops, wrong board.......

 

[Katatonic]

I see this from Benson, actually. I think he'll be one of the unexpected leaders this year, and may be the leader when he's a senior.

Yeah, could have used more of Benson fire (and play this season.

Pardon has been teaching him well.

This quote and the one about not putting in the time over the summer seem pretty harsh. OTOH in previous years I remember reading articles about players working at this camp or that camp or playing in a summer league or tournament. I don't remember reading any of that this year, not that that means it didn't happen perhaps I just didn't see any articles or what they did was not news worthy but I wondered about it all season.

BMac, himself, stated that they weren't ready (mentally) to play the good teams, nor were they in shape physically.

 

[Katatonic]

Just which improved facilities are you referring to when you state that Law only committed to NU because of all the new stuff. I don't recall any new thigs be put into W-R during Law's recruitment. Also don't think that his father lied when he said that his son would not have come to NU if Carmody was still the coach. face it Carmody was a one trick pony kind of coach. It was the P offense and the fact that he didn't think rebounding and defense were all that important and especially didn't feel he needed to put some effort into recruiting.

Reading comprehension!

What I had stated was that it was less likely for Law to have committed to NU (even w/ CC) if those everyday facilities were still the embarrassment that they were before they were modestly upgraded to a certain level of respectability during BC's tenure (which, not surprisingly, led to improved recruiting).

If the BB program still had those crappy, embarrassing everyday facilities, likely that the Law family would have thought that NU was not serious about its BB program, and if NU still had those crappy facilities, maybe CC wouldn't even be here.

 

[willycat]

Reading comprehension!

What I had stated was that it was less likely for Law to have committed to NU (even w/ CC) if those everyday facilities were still the embarrassment that they were before they were modestly upgraded to a certain level of respectability during BC's tenure (which, not surprisingly, led to improved recruiting).

If the BB program still had those crappy, embarrassing everyday facilities, likely that the Law family would have thought that NU was not serious about its BB program, and if NU still had those crappy facilities, maybe CC wouldn't even be here.

Again what enhanced facilities happened while Carmody was here? Oh, I remember a minor locker room upgrade. Got it. What else. I would bet that NU needed to promise certain things like the new scoreboards and possibly a major upgrade to W-R in order to get Collins.

 

[DaCat]

Wrassler helped ruin the basketball season this year. Before this he was an annoyance on the football board and occasional poster on bball, but he really turned it up to another level this year here. I blame him for the poor performance.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Wrassler helped ruin the basketball season this year. Before this he was an annoyance on the football board and occasional poster on bball, but he really turned it up to another level this year here. I blame him for the poor performance.

We agree,both wrassler and I!

 

[NJCat]

We agree,both wrassler and I!

Double Dang!!!!

 

[Medill90]

Reading comprehension!

What I had stated was that it was less likely for Law to have committed to NU (even w/ CC) if those everyday facilities were still the embarrassment that they were before they were modestly upgraded to a certain level of respectability during BC's tenure (which, not surprisingly, led to improved recruiting).

If the BB program still had those crappy, embarrassing everyday facilities, likely that the Law family would have thought that NU was not serious about its BB program, and if NU still had those crappy facilities, maybe CC wouldn't even be here.

An unwritten story about Law is that he and his family knows exactly what he is getting with the NU degree.

Last year on selection Sunday night, when we were on here predicting a run of Big Ten Championships and string of tournaments, Law was in his apartment emailing a hiring manager to confirm his internship.

I'm going to wager not one other basketball player on a tournament team did the same.

Yes, Collins made the difference. But the promise of a facilities upgrade never factored in. The education is far more important.

 

[EagerFan]

What does one do with a degree in Learning and Organizational Change?

 

[NJCat]

What does one do with a degree in Learning and Organizational Change?

Human Resources.

Business Process Redesign.

Organizational Change Management.