Northwestern basketball was forever changed in the spring.

Coach Bill Carmody finished signing a recruiting class that would significantly change the complexion of the Wildcats’ roster. After going 1-17 in the conference with a team that had a player no taller than 6-foot-8, there was nowhere to look but up.

Now, some of the conference’s smaller players might be looking up at some of NU’s players with the addition of four big men, including 7-foot-2 Kyle Rowley and 6-foot-11 Luka Mirkovic.

And those two might be coming off the bench.

The women too added a big player to their program. Except this one is on the sideline.

The hiring of Joe McKeown, who has won more than 500 games in his coaching career and had only one losing season in 19 years at George Washington, gave the program an air of confidence it has not had in a while.

Under Beth Combs, NU went 24-95. The program seemed lifeless as the team completed an injury-riddled season that ended with, like the men, only one Big Ten victory.

McKeown has already breathed life into the program, bringing his winning experience and an aggressive defensive style of play. No one can argue with his track record. He missed a postseason tournament only once at George Washington and took his team to the round of 16 four times, including the past two years.

Expectations for both teams have risen with the new arrivals. Not meeting those expectations could be disastrous.

This is truly the most important season in Northwestern basketball history. This is the season where both the men’s and women’s teams either begin their climb to decency or continue to wallow in the basement of the Big Ten.

There is no getting around it at this point.

After years of struggles – the men’s team has not reached the postseason since the 1999 NIT and the women have not played postseason basketball since the 1997 NCAA tournament – there is a strong belief that both teams can turn it around in the next couple of seasons.

Postseason success is not going to come this year. But a step in that direction is certainly within reach for both teams.

It is not a stretch for anyone to think Carmody is on the hot seat after winning only three conference games the last two years.

He has had only one winning season in nine years at NU. This year’s team must make significant progress toward the .500 mark this season for him to save his job with a new athletic director and a new school president on his way.

But adding some depth to the front court and returning some experienced players in junior Kevin Coble and senior Craig Moore (not to mention the other three starters from last year’s team) creates some sort of perfect storm that points in a positive direction.

It is probably wishful thinking to say McKeown will immediately turn the Cats into one of the best teams in the Big Ten.

But it is certainly believable that, with the return of junior Kristin Cartwright, who redshirted last season with a knee injury, and the continued maturity and development of sophomore Amy Jaeschke, that this team could finish above last place in the conference.

This season will be a baseline for future years. How the team does this season will set the tone for the next four years and far beyond that.

Otherwise they could both fall into the depths of the Big Ten for a very long time.