A look at Northwestern’s opening roster reveals a clear vacancy. There are no players listed at center. In fact, there are no players taller than 6 foot 8.
But the Wildcats will try to prove this season that bigger is not always better.
“We don’t have a true center,” coach Bill Carmody said. “But we’ve played before with 6-8 centers. Some of our best centers have been 6-7, 6-8, 6-9. I think we can do it. Do I wish we had some 6-10 guys? Yes. You just have to play with what you have.”
NU faces a tall order tonight when it plays No. 20 Stanford (3-0) at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Cats (0-0) will not just be facing an NCAA tournament team from last year, but also the first of many tests for their small lineup.
Stanford will start 7-foot center Robin Lopez, who scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds against the Cats last year. But the focus on him freed up perimeter players to help the Cardinal get a 58-53 win.
“Last year, we did a fairly good job on Lopez, but their other big guy killed us,” sophomore Jeff Ryan said. “We can’t just contain him. They’ve got a lot of great players. They’ve got a great guard out on the perimeter. We need to focus on a lot of guys and do well on a lot of guys.”
Starting at “center” might be freshman Nikola Baran. Carmody said Baran and fellow freshmen Michael Thompson and Mike Capocci will probably start tonight.
The players on the court will have to work together defensively to keep bigger teams from getting the ball inside against the smaller lineup. The Cats will primarily play a zone defense to combat the size difference, making it more difficult for teams to get the ball inside. But the attention inside could lead to open shots on the perimeter.
Carmody said the team needs to rebound well for the team to be successful against bigger teams. The Cats were last in the Big Ten last season in rebounding, grabbing 23.3 per game and giving up 35.5 per game.
“We are just trying to play as hard as possible,” Baran said. “When you get something like (playing a 7-footer), you try to fight in front of him. He’s bigger and all that. You try to get around him, try not to let him get the ball. My teammates are helping me the same as I am helping them on the other side post.”
NU will look to push the pace and use its quickness and perimeter play to combat its lack of size.
Carmody said the team must make shots. Making shots pulls centers from the paint, forcing them to guard on the perimeter. It negates some of their defensive size and opens the lane for cutters.
“We have to turn the tables and work with our advantages,” Ryan said. “We’re going to be quick. We might have some advantages on the perimeter if they have a big guy on one of our quicker forwards or guys. We’ve just got to take advantage of that offensively and defensively.”
Reach Philip Rossman-Reich at [email protected].
