You couldn’t have written it any better if you tried.
Down by two with 1:30 left in the game, Davor Duvancic steppedinto a wide open three pointer from the top of the key. Afterbattling from behind for most of the game, the Wildcats were primedto take the lead and finish off a remarkable Big Ten season withanother last minute victory.
As the ball was released, T.J. Parker raised his hands intriumph, signaling a made basket. There was only one problem: Itdidn’t go in.
The storybook season wasn’t supposed to end this way. Not onsenior night before a packed student section that had ledNorthwestern to a 10-2 record at home. Not in Jitim Young’sfarewell game with Grandma Ruthie in the stands. Not with an NITberth on the line, which would have given the Wildcats their firstpostseason berth since 1999 and only their fourth in schoolhistory?
Unfortunately, Michigan didn’t read the same novel, and feltlike deciding the game on the court. In the end the Wolverines weresimply too physical for the Wildcats, dominating on the offensiveglass all game. In the end NU simply could not make the shots itneeded to, shooting 35 percent including 5-for-23 from behind thearc. In the end NU played a little nervously, a little sloppily,like a team that had never made it to the last chapter of the bookand was afraid of how it might end.
That NU even found itself in this position is a credit to thelittle man with the heart of a giant. Almost three months ago tothe day, the team took a long and quiet bus trip back from AnnArbor after being embarrassed 78-54 at the hands of the sameMichigan team. That defeat was the team’s fourth straight includinglosses to Illinois-Chicago and Mississippi Valley State and itlooked to be the beginning another long Big Ten campaign.
It was that night the team’s captain took control as he has forthe past four years. Jitim Young challenged his teammates to demandmore and promised his coach that they would never be embarrassedlike that again, not while he could still do something about it. Asusual, Young delivered on his promise, leading the team tovictories against Big Ten leaders Wisconsin and Illinois, a seasonsweep of Iowa and a thrilling defeat of Purdue in WestLafayette.
If NU officials are smart they will include an epilogue to thiswonderful story. After the season winds down and when the studentsreturn from their Spring Break escapades, they should gather inWelsh-Ryan Arena for a fitting conclusion. They should raise theNo. 25 jersey into the rafters forever to serve as a symbol of whatNorthwestern basketball is all about.
So when future players and students walk into the building andask, “Who was that Young guy?” you can tell them all about thefunny looking kid from the streets of Chicago who lifted theprogram out of the doldrums. You can tell them about the 6-foot-2guard who out-battled, out-hustled and simply out-played opponentswith greater size and skill. You can tell them how his leadershipand strength held together a rag-tag group of players who had nobusiness competing in the Big Ten. You can tell them how hisinfectious smile and undying spirit made the game fun to watch andmade people proud to wear purple and white.
It’s rather fitting that that this roller-coaster ride of aseason should come to such a bittersweet end. As we say goodbye toone of the all-time great Wildcats, we catch a glimpse of what ispossible. Young leaves behind a team which will have only onesenior next year when it will welcome the school’s most talentedrecruiting class. He leaves behind a program schooled in thepassion, hustle and desire that defined his game. Most importantlyof all, he walks away from a school filled with pride and optimism,emotions rarely felt in Evanston during the month of March.
Barring a miraculous run in the Big Ten tournament, the schoolthat hosted the first NCAA tournament final will remain the onlymajor-conference program never to be invited to the Big Dance. NUwill never be confused with Duke or Stanford when it comes tobasketball and regardless of future success the school will neverbe known for athletics. You won’t find kids jumping to the NBA,taking fake classes or being lured to Evanston with promises of sexand alcohol.
NU basketball players don’t get the fame and glory that is thestatus quo at other Division I schools. The players know that hardwork and sacrifice will be met with little reward or recognition.To play basketball for the Wildcats you have to want it bad.
When Jitim Young arrived on campus the team was in the midst ofa 32 game Big Ten losing streak. He passed up the siren call ofnational powerhouse Michigan State to come to play for a new coachthat had not even recruited him. He leaves after finishing an 8-8Big Ten season, tied for fifth in conference where the Wildcats areconsidered perennial doormats, the team’s best conference finishsince 1967-68.
If this story is to have a happy ending, Young will not bespending the week after next in his apartment studying for finals.No, if this is a true fairytale, the First Team All-Big Tenselection and the Wildcats will be on their way to the postseasongame that they have worked so hard for and Young has dreamed ofsince he arrived on campus. It would be a fitting thank you and therightful send-off to a most deserving player.
Personally, I’m holding out hope there is one more twist in thisplot and we will all have the chance to see this special player alittle longer.
Jeffrey Treem, Communication ’03, still lives in the Chicagoarea. He can be reached at [email protected].
