By Zach SilkaThe Daily Northwestern
In light of the very superficial (and yet very hilarious) observations made by Deadspin.com about the racial composition of the men’s basketball team on Monday, some below-the-surface analysis seemed to be in order.
It’s easy to see the Wildcats’ season is already in jeopardy after their home-opener loss to Cornell on Friday. When the opposing team’s coach says some of his players knew the Princeton offense better than many of the NU players, that’s not a good sign.
Just to make sure everyone was paying attention, NU “lost at home to freaking Cornell,” to use the words of Deadspin.
Pathetic is the description that first comes to mind when thinking about this team, but with matchups against Wheaton College and Puerto Rico-Mayaguez still on the horizon, the Cats may not have hit rock bottom yet.
With an intercity matchup with DePaul looming at 7 p.m. tonight at Welsh-Ryan Arena, here are some issues NU may want to address or this season will be over before it even gets going:
n Defense was the story after Cornell dismantled NU from 3-point range in its 64-61 win Friday, but the fact that the Cats have no dominant scoring presence showed up in a big way late in the game. NU seemed reserved to pass the ball around the perimeter for 30 seconds before firing up a prayer for most of the contest, and once Cornell took the lead, it was clear nobody was going to step up to lead NU back. If Tim Doyle really is the guy this year, then it should have been him. Instead, he was held scoreless in the second half.
n Craig Moore really needs to learn the difference between a tangible and intangible barrier. The 3-point line is in fact not the Berlin Wall. There are not East Germans waiting to shoot and kill you if you attempt to cross it. Moore is probably the toughest player on the Cats’ roster. He even finished a game in high school in which his nose was broken only a few minutes into the first quarter. But players that never take a shot in the paint quickly earn the reputation of being soft, and that’s not Moore. His sharpshooting prowess from beyond the arc will also blossom if he takes the ball to the rack once in a while.
n I love the guy, but Vince Scott doesn’t add anything to the offense. The 6-foot-11 senior center plays more like a 6-foot-1 guard on the floor, rarely banging in the paint and grabbing rebounds. Instead Scott plays more like Sam Perkins, dropping a trey once in a while and filling the “big guy” role on the floor when in reality the team would be better served by playing a shorter but more versatile lineup.
n The new guys are not only key in NU’s future success, they are key now. Freshman forward Kevin Coble is the real deal, and his best feature might be that he doesn’t know all the intricacies of the Princeton offense. In the first half against Cornell, Coble wasn’t afraid to create plays on his own – something that is often missing in this rigid, complex offense. Rice transfer Jason Okrzesik may have played his way into the starting lineup Friday night, providing a punch from beyond the arc and nicely filling the role of floor general. Freshman swingman Jeff Ryan also adds a valuable dimension to the team off the bench and should see more minutes as the season goes along. And now that freshman guard Jeremy Nash seems to be back in game shape after a groin injury limited him for much of the preseason, it’s time he sees more time on the floor.
n It’s really good to see Ivan Tolic back on the floor. The senior center sat out all of last season with chronic knee problems, and his career appeared to be over after the NCAA granted NU a medical non-counter waiver for him after the 2004-05 season. NU coach Bill Carmody had called Tolic the best center on the team before his knees sidelined him, and that still may be the case. As long as he stays cleared medically, Tolic should be used as much as his knees can handle. Tolic is NU’s only big man that isn’t afraid to battle in the paint, and he knows the Princeton offense as well as anyone on the team.
Sports editor emeritus Zach Silka is a Medill senior. He can be reached at [email protected].
