Wow, no one really was interested in the Bryant game
- Thread starter EvanstonCat
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We were at the game and it was a pretty nice crowd for the day after Thanksgiving against a team that I had to google to fine out where it was located.
And I sorta liked Bryant. Thought they were a decent team and well coached. I haven't looked at the box score but it seemed that Bryant lost it down low. They didn't have near NU's size, blocked a ton and couldn't get/stop put back rebounds. And NU got some steals at critical times.
Some thoughts....
* Law is shooting well and hitting lots of threes. That's nice. But he's taking and making shots at critical points in the game. Really "must have" shots for NU to keep momentum or keep the score from getting away from them (Butler);
* Lindsey is aggressively looking for his shot and the man is competent converting in a bunch of ways. He and law are mechanically very sound on their long range shooting;
* BMac is going to be fine. It was clear that the misses yesterday were getting into his head but he's a decent, not great, shooter and the shots will fall. I'd like to see fewer turnovers and more crispness on his passing;
* Brown is a freshman and does lots of freshman things. But he's an absolute joy to watch. He's like a magnet for the action on the floor;
* The team defense is vastly improved from last year. NU was up twenty and the Cats were digging in. Collins was all over Brown for his D and others. He's ok with occasional screw ups on offense, not defense;
* Pardon is way better than this board seems to get. He's one of the floor generals on defense. Key to everything that's going on.
I was struck yesterday watching the game by something I read in a profile on Theo Epstein last month. The piece said that Epstein looks at personality and character first. Can prospective players get along with one another and are they coachable. Well, that seems to be the bar for NU basketball. This is a close knit team, very smart and coachable that looks to be making a leap this year.
And I sorta liked Bryant. Thought they were a decent team and well coached. I haven't looked at the box score but it seemed that Bryant lost it down low. They didn't have near NU's size, blocked a ton and couldn't get/stop put back rebounds. And NU got some steals at critical times.
Some thoughts....
* Law is shooting well and hitting lots of threes. That's nice. But he's taking and making shots at critical points in the game. Really "must have" shots for NU to keep momentum or keep the score from getting away from them (Butler);
* Lindsey is aggressively looking for his shot and the man is competent converting in a bunch of ways. He and law are mechanically very sound on their long range shooting;
* BMac is going to be fine. It was clear that the misses yesterday were getting into his head but he's a decent, not great, shooter and the shots will fall. I'd like to see fewer turnovers and more crispness on his passing;
* Brown is a freshman and does lots of freshman things. But he's an absolute joy to watch. He's like a magnet for the action on the floor;
* The team defense is vastly improved from last year. NU was up twenty and the Cats were digging in. Collins was all over Brown for his D and others. He's ok with occasional screw ups on offense, not defense;
* Pardon is way better than this board seems to get. He's one of the floor generals on defense. Key to everything that's going on.
I was struck yesterday watching the game by something I read in a profile on Theo Epstein last month. The piece said that Epstein looks at personality and character first. Can prospective players get along with one another and are they coachable. Well, that seems to be the bar for NU basketball. This is a close knit team, very smart and coachable that looks to be making a leap this year.
Couldn't agree more. especially regarding Pardon and Brown. Still they need Falzone playing regularly in order to make the next jump.
In the post-game interview, Collins said he is making progress but he couldn't go yesterday. I suspect they are being very conservative wth him and if he isn't right after New Years he will be red shirted.
Medill 90 is right on the money with his post-game analysis.
Some short additional notes: Skelly's game has really improved and broadened and has nice form on his shots. He is also a great passer and his career best 15 points was impressive and his 6 rebs. and 6 assists were not too bad either. Taphorn provided a big boost off the best and scored around 10 points in first half action and then did not play much or at all in the second half.
There was also a Barrett Benson appearance in the second half and his size will be welcomed in the Big 10 portion of the season.
Overall, a much more athletic team than in Collins first three seasons. Goes man-to-man the whole game and has the depth and athleticism to do so.
Pardon is a stud and still developing. He must had 5-6 blocks again and runs the floor better than any center that I have seen at NU (only watching NU games for 35 seasons).
Some short additional notes: Skelly's game has really improved and broadened and has nice form on his shots. He is also a great passer and his career best 15 points was impressive and his 6 rebs. and 6 assists were not too bad either. Taphorn provided a big boost off the best and scored around 10 points in first half action and then did not play much or at all in the second half.
There was also a Barrett Benson appearance in the second half and his size will be welcomed in the Big 10 portion of the season.
Overall, a much more athletic team than in Collins first three seasons. Goes man-to-man the whole game and has the depth and athleticism to do so.
Pardon is a stud and still developing. He must had 5-6 blocks again and runs the floor better than any center that I have seen at NU (only watching NU games for 35 seasons).
Pardon is unlike any player I've ever seen at Northwestern. He'll get about 8-10 points a game this year basically as the fifth option every time he's on the court. Positioning and garbage buckets and hands ready to catch and dunk.
I couldn't agree more with the Pardon statement. Those long arms are an asset and a half. Forget the blocked shots. Watch how many shots are changed when he comes into the play.
Also, does everybody agree his foul problems are generally behind him?
His true challenge is going to be getting the proper amount of rest. His motor is constantly running, and I'm not sure he's ready for 32+ minutes/game against B10 competition.
I like Skelly and I love what he's done with his game, but I'm not sure Skelly is ready for 10+ minutes against upper echelon B10 big men. It's going to be interesting to see how CC juggles this because it doesn't seem Benson is ready for a solid role.
I haven't seen too many people talk about the Cats fast break.
Now, I'm not under the impression they are going to be able to run and gun in the B10. But these guys are definitely looking to run - an NU first.
More than looking to run, they know how to run. It's a well organized transition. They hit any choice of the right players on the outlet. They fill the lanes but don't get crowded. And more than anything, they make good decisions on the break with good trailing options.
Now, I'm not under the impression they are going to be able to run and gun in the B10. But these guys are definitely looking to run - an NU first.
More than looking to run, they know how to run. It's a well organized transition. They hit any choice of the right players on the outlet. They fill the lanes but don't get crowded. And more than anything, they make good decisions on the break with good trailing options.
I know someone posted about missing Olah but I believe Pardon's mobility is much more valuable . How he will fare against bigger centers will be the test
Would be a shame but seems to be the right move. Certainly could provide that extra boost for Big Ten. No reason to rush him back.
Good signs for NU: Butler took down no. 8 Arizona 68-64. ND is undefeated at 6-0. So NU's losses although very painful, do not hurt our RPI.
Problems: Meliker Trimble is an All American and has led Md. to a 7-0 and other Big 10 teams have impressed UM and Minny that NU has to beat to get in NIT or NCAA.
BTW I was very young when i started watching NU bball.
Problems: Meliker Trimble is an All American and has led Md. to a 7-0 and other Big 10 teams have impressed UM and Minny that NU has to beat to get in NIT or NCAA.
BTW I was very young when i started watching NU bball.
I also like the way this team is coached to push the ball up the floor and Pardon definitely runs the floor with the best of them.
Right on in my opinion. And I have had that feeling since the first Pardon sighting on the floor. Olah was terrific at times, and maddening at other times. I think Pardon is going to be a much steadier performer and more versatile as well in terms of the things he can do with the ball and when rebounding.
He's already played a few games, so we can't redshirt, he would have to qualify for a medical redshirt, which prob would require him having surgery to be ruled out for the year, right? Is he knee that bad?
Rules are different in basketball. You can get an almost guaranteed medical if you play in less than 30% of the games. Recall Drew played in 9 games before taking the medical.
With all of the Pardon comments in this thread, I have to butt in because just a few days ago I was talking to Alan Smithee, big-time Northwestern basketball fan, and I told him that already Parton is my favorite player to watch. Brown has potential to become my favorite, but right now I love watching Pardon.
I'd rather have the B1G teams be better and give us more chances for quality wins. Then we are targeting 9-10 conf wins plus 1 in BTT and a couple OOC rather than 10-11 conf wins to have a shot at the tourney.
Sadly I don't think Pardon's foul troubles are behind him - he's certainly gotten much better on knowing when to use his arms but he still does a bit more than most, and with how they call the drives nowadays in NCAA bball... I would guess it'll be an issue in ~1/3 of the B1G games and I would be shocked if we don't have foul issues when we play the bigs of Purdue. That said, couldn't agree more that he is a huge and underrated asset to this team right now. His rebounding and the block threat in the lane are huge. And garbage points count just the same as all the other points - he has a very real skill at finding those buckets which most don't, certainly not NU centers historically. Also, he does a lot of fighting for low post position and seems to get space a decent amount, I would like to see us get him 2-3 shots down there per game (vs 0-1 right now). Don't need to make it a central part of the offense by any means, but reward him for his effort and let him continue to develop. He's not great from 10 feet out, but if he's down on the block he has pretty good hands and feet, and has flashed that close in hook with the good ball spin a couple times.
And thanks for the recap Medill - agree with all your points, especially the Lindsey / Law scoring, and your comments on BMac Brown and the defense.
I also heard that a couple days back. Hope he gets better, but I'm not sure we should expect his return this season.
Well, I may dispute whether there was interest on our game vs. Bryant, tonight's Bryant game was uh......interesting.....
http://deadspin.com/bryant-basketball-player-dribbles-out-the-clock-after-f-1789453809
http://deadspin.com/bryant-basketball-player-dribbles-out-the-clock-after-f-1789453809
That's like Jim Marshall running the wrong way to his own end zone with the football
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