Do you remember how excited you were when the announcement came?
Northwestern was getting a real live Dukie. At 6-foot-10 he was a natural center, the savior of Wildcat basketball. He was a McDonald’s High School All-American.
I know my eyes lit up.
But 385 days after the official announcement, I think a lot of people are asking the same question: Why doesn’t McDonald’s stick to food?
Saturday’s matinee disaster at Welsh-Ryan Arena confirmed the worst. A year after some students could have sworn they saw Mike Thompson walking on water, NU’s biggest weakness is at center.
Sophomore Vince Scott and Thompson, the junior transfer, combined for two points, five rebounds, two assists and a block in 36 minutes of action.
That’s disgusting.
For those of you who woke up at 10 a.m. to catch a shuttle and watched Ohio State pick apart NU’s postseason dreams, go ahead and blame the centers.
NU coach Bill Carmody did a great job of describing his centers’ production after the 65-52 loss: “We can’t score. They’re not scorers.”
Thompson appears to be playing with a preconceived notion that he doesn’t need to make field goals because he’ll always be fouled.
Well, he was 1 of 6 against Ohio State without a trip to the free throw line. And it might have been better for the 48 percent free throw shooter to steer clear of the charity stripe anyway.
Thompson leads the Cats in rebounding, barely, with 4.9 boards per game. But c’mon. We’re getting 4.9 from a Dukie? I feel cheated.
(Who else thinks Michael Jenkins could grab more by the end of the season? What about by the end of the week?)
As for Scott, he’s better than he was last year. But three rebounds in his last three games (67 minutes) isn’t going to cut it.
And while it was interesting to see the
6-foot-10 sophomore hit four 3-pointers against Penn State, the Cats need a center who can score inside, rebound and play defense. Another perimeter shooter just isn’t enough.
The centers are not the only ones to blame for NU’s Cinderella-season-gone-wrong. But Scott needs to learn how to play like a center, and Thompson needs to be more than a “presence.”
Oh, and suspensions aren’t going to fly with Carmody — nor Thompson’s teammates.
“You have to take care of your business,” senior Davor Duvancic said Saturday of Thompson’s one-game suspension against Penn State for violating class-attendance policies. “There are no excuses for what he did.”
That’s right. And if things don’t get better soon, Carmody might have to schedule another trip to Split, Croatia.
They have 7-footers there, right?
Deputy Sports Editor Teddy Kider is a Medill sophomore. He can be reached at [email protected].
