ANN ARBOR, Mich. – They came into this season without their quarrelsome teacher, four of their classmates and any semblance of a curriculum. Northwestern basketball players were the kids everyone forgot about, the scrubs who won only five games last year and who would be lucky to match that unimpressive feat in 2000-01.
But weeks before the season’s tip-off, the Wildcats were joined by a new instructor – an Ivy League “tenured professor” who had a history of winning games with limited talent.
Simply put, Bill Carmody was the right man at exactly the right time. Carmody is a sympathetic yet demanding leader who forced the Cats to improve the critical aspects of basketball that gnawed at them throughout last season. He challenged his players to rebound, run an unorthodox offense, attack the basket and make smarter decisions during games. And while it has been a gradual process, the Cats have passed most of their tests this year.
NU aced its most critical exam Wednesday night, downing Michigan 75-70 at Crisler Arena. The Cats’ first Big Ten road victory in more than two years capped an 11-18 regular season.
NU seemed ready to fold when starting forward Tavaras Hardy fouled out with 4:05 left in the game. But the Cats turned the seemingly deflating blow into a point of motivation, crashing the boards, taking care of the ball and sinking free throws to seal the win.
Many of Carmody’s seasonlong lectures were absorbed against Michigan. Some examples were:
_Ѣ Persistence – Ben Johnson following his missed layup with a putback, giving the Cats a 38-32 lead at the 16:44 mark of the second half.
_Ѣ Composure – Jason Burke refusing to panic with the shot clock winding down and NU leading 49-47. Burke took a beautiful inside feed from Winston Blake and sank a bank shot while getting hammered by Michigan’s 7-foot-2 monster Josh Moore. Needless to say, Burke nailed his free throw.
_Ѣ Maturity – Johnson faking a three-pointer, dribbling to an open space and nailing a wide-open 12-foot leaner. The hoop gave NU a 20-15 lead with 10:08 left in the first half.
_Ѣ Stepping up – Aaron Jennings, who took over for Hardy, snatching a backdoor pass from Blake and going strong to the hoop. While Chris Young mauled him, Jennings laid the ball in to give the Cats a 65-61 advantage with only 2:26 remaining.
“As long as we play together we can do anything,” Hardy said. “We’re not a bad team at all. We just got to stick together, step up and knock down shots. Once we do that every game, we’ll be fine.”
Hardy is right. NU is not a bad team, but it was last year. The team’s transformation under Carmody has been impressive, especially considering all the players who have left the team since last season.
“He’s a teacher,” Blake said after the game. “He doesn’t try to get all up in your face and he lets you know when you make mistakes, but he doesn’t stay on your case. He lets you learn and move on, and those are the things that help you as a team.’
Sure, the Cats still make moronic passes, suffer through lengthy offensive lapses every game and dwell in the Big Ten cellar. But thanks to Carmody’s training and the players’ effort this season, NU also follows its shots, dives for loose balls and works tirelessly for steals.
The Cats will always be short on talent, but with no graduating players, they have loads of time to improve.
“I’m trying to get these guys thinking long-range,” Carmody said. “Work on your dribbling, work on your passing, work on your individual stuff. I’ve got a lot of these guys for a number of years.”
Carmody isn’t planning to dismiss this class anytime soon – and that’s the way he likes it.
