The clouds hovering over the Northwestern men’s basketball team are dark and ominous after a week’s worth of revelations concerning the discontent of players.
As it stands now, David Newman, Steve Lepore, Brody Deren and Adam Robinson have all said they will transfer from NU.
Their reasons are varied — except for a uniform desire to escape Evanston.
Combined, the departures have hit the Wildcats’ program like a hurricane, somehow making a 5-25 season seem worse. They have made those 15 minutes that NU went scoreless against Illinois in February seem like the best of times.
And the worst of times might be here soon.
NU was the youngest team in the nation this year and could end up as the youngest team in the nation next year. NU was the lowest scoring team in the nation and now has lost two of its top three shooters in Newman and Lepore.
But even though the Cats’ future appears bleak, there are still some indications that the inky sky hasn’t fallen:
n The eight players coach Kevin O’Neill returns are the same ones who developed the most last season (especially Aaron Jennings and Tavaras Hardy). Altogether, the Cats boast four returning starters — second most in the Big Ten behind Illinois.
In addition, nearly every team in the Big Ten will lose substantial numbers of players. Four starters will leave Purdue and Ohio State while Michigan State and Indiana say good-bye to three.
Even so, Big Ten teams will be licking their chops when they visit Evanston. No squad overlooked NU this year and no squad will in the immediate future. In fact, Illinois and Michigan State delighted in toying with the Cats and perfecting the art of the blowout.
n NU will have another year’s worth of experience at running O’Neill’s new offense. That’s good because the Cats struggled for most of the season when asked to do anything other than play defense.
In the final 10 games of the season, NU’s once-dormant inside game showed signs of life and the perimeter players got their share of three-pointers. Plus, there is no way that NU will be the worst offensive team in the country again. Lightning doesn’t strike twice.
n O’Neill has signed two recruits, Jitim Young and Ed McCants, who seem promising. McCants is a 30 points-per-game scorer with an outside shooting touch. Young led Gordon Tech deep into the Illinois high school playoffs.
Their presence will enable NU to play five-on-five next season in practice. More importantly, they both have proclaimed their dedication to NU’s program — in spite of recent events.
n O’Neill seems likely to stick around. Athletic Director Rick Taylor said Wednesday that he had looked the coach in the eye and received assurance that O’Neill would continue guiding the Cats.
That stability is essential to achieve any future success. Recruiting will be difficult, however, with the defections and miserable season accompanying O’Neill at every visit he makes.
Perhaps the defining word on the Cats’ future came after their loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament. Ben Johnson stood outside the NU locker room and said that with a little hard work, he expected the team to win 12 to 15 games next year.
After losing four players in a week, Johnson’s prediction seems terribly inflated. However, NU is not a lost cause. The Cats’ problems this week had a when-it-rains-it-pours quality to them — one that can cloud perceptions of what hasn’t been washed away.
Admittedly, though, it’s hard to see through the clouds at times.
