After a preseason centered on fitting the newcomers in with the team, it is finally time to see how it will all come together.
On Sunday, Northwestern kicks off the 2008-09 basketball season by welcoming Central Arkansas to Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats have lost their last two home openers, losing to then-No. 20 Stanford 71-60 last season and Cornell 64-61 the year before.
NU wants a win to get the season started in the right direction.
“We’d like to get off to a good start in non-conference play,” junior forward Kevin Coble said. “If we get some momentum going into the Big Ten that would be really good for us.”
Conference play is not for a while though, and the focus of the beginning of the season is on integrating the freshman class into the team.
This season the Cats bring in five new players, four of whom will be at least somewhat responsible for manning the center position. NU has not had a legitimate post threat during any of the current players’ tenures. The team is excited to add this element.
“Now, we’re not undersized,” sophomore guard Michael Thompson said. “So we’re going to be a much better rebounding team and have a much better season.”
Lessons from a loss
Optimism is running high for the new season, but in their lone exhibition game the Cats struggled.
Last week NU faced off against NAIA opponent Robert Morris College. Though they did put up some gaudy rebounding numbers – especially considering their struggles on the boards last season – the Cats fell to the Eagles 69-62.
Though the loss was disappointing, it was crucial in getting the freshmen players up to speed with collegiate level basketball. Several players said they came out a little anxious because of their inexperience.
“It was definitely good to get our first college game under our belt,” freshman center Kyle Rowley said. “There were some pre-game jitters but we’re looking forward, and we’re looking ready to attack Central Arkansas on the 16th.”
Scouting the Bears
Central Arkansas is coming off a season in which it went 14-16. But the Bears lost their top two scorers from a year ago to graduation. Now they are led by junior guard Marcus Pillow who averaged 11.9 points per game.
The Cats will start Thompson and senior Craig Moore in the backcourt to neutralize Pillow.
Moore led the Big Ten last year in 3-pointers made per game and was NU’s second leading scorer behind Coble. He is also the lone senior in coach Bill Carmody’s starting lineup.
The 3-point specialist has already taken a leadership role in helping get the freshmen accustomed to the team’s complicated Princeton offense.
“I think he’s the first guy I’ve named captain,” Carmody said. “Moore has come on strong … last year he played really well.”
If he and the rest of the returning players can improve on last year, and the newcomers live up to the hype, this weekend’s game could be the beginning of an exciting year for a squad that’s due for one.
