A home loss to Penn State wasn’t the result Mohamed Hachad envisioned for his first game back with the team.
“It took me a little while to fall asleep (Wednesday) night,” Hachad said. “It was a tough loss.”
The senior will need his rest this Saturday when the Wildcats (9-5, 2-1 Big Ten) travel to Wisconsin to face the Big Ten-leading Badgers (13-2, 3-0). Coach Bill Carmody said Hachad’s minutes will increase as he rounds back into game shape.
Hachad had nine points and five rebounds in 22 minutes during the 65-61 loss to the Nittany Lions. The guard had missed Northwestern’s last three games after undergoing an appendectomy on Dec. 28.
With Hachad officially back in the mix, NU has no shortage of options at the guard position.
The freshmen duo of Craig Moore and Sterling Williams emerged as able contributors over the last two weeks. Moore already had logged five starts earlier in the season, but he averaged only 20.8 minutes per game during that stretch.
With a shortened rotation during Hachad’s hiatus, Moore played 33.7 minutes per game and responded with three strong offensive performances – including a career-high 15 points in last week’s road win at Minnesota.
Williams also set a career high with 15 points against the Gophers. The redshirt freshman played 25, 31 and 37 minutes while starting each of the Cats’ three victories without Hachad.
“These guys are a lot more experienced than they were even five weeks ago,” coach Bill Carmody said. “They’ve seen a lot of situations, which is good.”
Now Hachad must work his way back into a rotation that includes Williams, Moore and senior point guard Michael Jenkins.
“Obviously, they’ve been on a roll,” Hachad said of the team’s play during his absence. They’ve been playing pretty well. I have to come in here and do my part without affecting the way they’ve been playing. I have to find that optimal point of contributing.”
The transition will be eased by the versatility of Hachad and Williams. Both are rangy, 6-foot-4 swingmen with solid ball-handling skills, the quickness to defend smaller guards and the size to play in the frontcourt.
“So many people can play so many positions out there,” Jenkins said. “Mohamed can be a forward. Sterling can be a forward. Even (6-8 forward Vedran Vukusic) can play in the backcourt. It just gives us a lot of options.”
Jenkins, who began the season as the team’s starting point guard, might stand to lose the most playing time with Hachad’s return. The 5-9 guard played a season-low eight minutes in the loss to Penn State. But the senior said he is ready and willing to contribute off the bench and mentor the younger guards.
“I know the offense really well, being here five years,” said Jenkins, a former walk-on who did not play the 2002-03 season. “If I see something during practice or the games that they’re not doing right, I give some words of encouragement. It’s a learning process.”
Reach Gerald Tang at [email protected]
