The last time Northwestern competed in the NCAA Tournament, the team lost in the first round to a George Washington team led by one of the most successful coaches in the history of women’s basketball.
Flash forward 12 years – and zero winning seasons later – the Wildcats may have found the answer to their basketball woes. And it comes in the form of Joe McKeown, the coach of that George Washington team that beat them 12 years ago.
While McKeown brings with him 17 NCAA tournament appearances, a .745 career winning percentage, and 19 career 20-win seasons, he also brings a new attitude to Evanston. And coming off a season in which the Cats won only one Big Ten game, this new mentality may be the key to their future success.
“I think the biggest thing is really changing the attitude of the people at Northwestern and Evanston about women’s basketball by letting them see what great people we have in this program and how talented these young ladies are,” McKeown said.
His first step is getting the team to move forward and forget about the struggles the program has had the last 12 years. The coach said he has not looked at game film of last year’s team and, in wiping that slate clean, is trying to instill a foundation for a winning mindset with the players he has.
“I think as a group, they really just want somebody to have a little confidence in them,” McKeown said. “Their confidence got shattered, I think, more than anything else. So, the natural instinct for me would be to be very positive and upbeat.”
Losing is something that McKeown is not used to. He has never coached a losing team in his 22-year career.
On the other hand, the Cats have not had a winning season since 1997 when they finished 17-11 and qualified for the NCAA tournament. Since then, they have gone 69-240 overall and 22-160 in the Big Ten.
“The most important thing we can do is change the attitude of the whole program from negative to positive,” McKeown said. “I’m not so concerned about how many games we win. It’s more how we play, how we prepare and what goes into that. Then, I think that winning will take care of itself.”
In addition to a revamped mindset, NU has also reformed its conditioning habits in an effort to prevent the injuries that plagued the team last year.
Of the 12 returning players, half of them were injured at some point last year. Three of them, Kaitlin McInerny, Beth Marshall and Kristin Cartwright, sustained season-ending injuries early in the season.
The injuries to key players last season hurt the team in its 5-26 finish.
“This year, we challenged (the team) in the summer to come back in better shape, and I think they’ve taken that on as a challenge,” McKeown said. “More than anything else, it’s just them wanting to have a great year.”
Sophomore Amy Jaeschke, a member of last year’s All-Big Ten freshman team despite missing nine games due to a fractured hand, believes that the time she spent on the bench last year gave her new insight into the game.
“When you’re sitting out you get to watch practice and see what the coaches want,” Jaeschke said. “You can tell a lot by watching players and trying to learn from the mistakes that your teammates are making.”
Thus far, with the exception of Marshall who will again miss the season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament, the Cats’ new approach has helped them avoid injuries.
In terms of age, the Cats have a relatively young team, with three seniors, two juniors, seven sophomores and three freshmen – Brittany Orban and twins Allison and Maggie Mocchi. While NU had several different starting lineups last year, the team returned three players who started at least 20 games.
McKeown has also brought a new defensive philosophy to help the team improve. Jaeschke said the team’s new pressing and swarming style of defense will be the biggest change this year.
“This year, we’re going to be a different team because we’re working so hard on defense,” Jaeschke said. “I think that’s going to be the biggest improvement from last year.”
According to senior Julie Bielawski, the new positive atmosphere has not only helped the Cats during conditioning, it has also heightened the team’s desire to win. Bielawski, who has been a part of three other teams, sees something special in this team.
“This team just wants it more,” Bielawski said.
