There were no bright lights and no madness as Northwestern kicked off its first official practice of the season Friday with a chest passing drill at the Sports Pavillion and Aquatics Center.
Despite the few frills surrounding the kickoff to the 2005-2006 season, coach Bill Carmody said his team was excited to get back on the court.
Fans can get their first glimpse of this year’s version of the Wildcats at Halloween Hoop-la, which takes place before the NU football game against Michigan on Oct. 29 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
“September and the first two weeks of October are a hard time,” Carmody said. “You can’t coach. We can exhale now and start going. This is what we like to do. This is what we have the passion for and now we can do it.”
The Cats are anxious to start up a new year, after falling one game short of postseason eligibility in the past two seasons.
Carmody said early season struggles last year translated into disappointment later in the year.
The Cats need to avoid a slow start this season, Carmody said, when the season begins in Laramie, Wyo., in the Black Coaches Association Invitational from Nov. 13-15. NU plays Lehigh in the opening round.
“We want to see if we can get out of the box quickly this year,” Carmody said. “We want to get some wins early on and have that carry on. Last year it seems like the losses early seemed to linger with us in the way we played.”
NU opened last season with a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska, for the Top of the World Classic. The Cats struggled, losing two out of three games. After the tournament in Alaska, they dropped their next two games to Colorado and Virginia to put them in a 1-4 hole.
To help the Cats stem their early season woes, three starters return, led by Third-Team All-Big Ten selection Vedran Vukusic.
The senior forward led the Cats in scoring with 16.8 points per game last season. He set a school record by starting in all 31 games and failed to score in double figures in only four of those games.
“Vedran should have a nice year,” Carmody said. “He’s healthy, he seems like he’s very committed and focused. We’re looking for big things from him.”
Junior Bernard Cote, a transfer from Kentucky, will suit up for NU for the first time after sitting out a mandatory one year because of NCAA transfer regulations.
“Bernard will definitely add something to us,” Carmody said. “He makes long shots. He has a good-size body and has a good sense of things. And I’m hopeful there isn’t too much rust.”
Carmody said Cote, a 6-foot-8 forward, will likely fill the role vacated by Davor Duvancic, who graduated in the spring.
Reach Scott Duncan at [email protected].
