Men’s Basketball

Law will average double-digit points

Jesse Kramer: Freshman forward Vic Law is experiencing a breakout stretch. He earned his first Big Ten Freshman of the Week award Monday after posting career-highs of 17 points and 11 rebounds in Northwestern’s win against Penn State on Saturday.

This could just be the high point of an up-and-down freshman season. Maybe Law will come out Wednesday and score 4 points on 2-of-8 shooting against Indiana.

We don’t know. That inconsistency is part of being a freshman.

However, his late-season growth is a sign of great things to come at the tail end of this year moving into next season.

The freshman learning curve for Law was as much mental as it was physical. Law came in as an incredibly confident player, possibly a result of being a top-100 recruit in high school.

“There’s not really a big difference for me,” Law said before the season, about transitioning from high school to college hoops.

Compare that to his thoughts after Saturday’s career game against Penn State.

“I just think I’m starting to get used to college basketball now, so everything’s getting a little easier,” Law said. “My mindset has changed greatly since the beginning of the season.”

Law has always had the skillset to be a good college player. He’s athletic and rangy, with an adequate jump shot and tenacity on defense and the glass.

With the way Law has changed his mentality so he can better use these skills, it’s reasonable to expect him to be a double-digit scorer for NU next season.

Since NU’s game Feb. 10 against Michigan State, which is when Law himself said he really started to understand what it takes to be a successful Division I player, he has averaged 8.8 points.

Remove from that stretch the Iowa game, when Law played only 6 minutes due to foul trouble, and he is averaging 11.7 points in the three games where he has seen significant minutes.

Law should get only more consistent as his career continues, and now we know what he is capable of when locked in.

The freshman needs more time to develop

Bobby Pillote: Vic Law will be a good basketball player for NU, but expectations for the freshman forward’s still very nascent career need to be tempered.

His 26 points and 15 rebounds during the last two games is a great sign of progress, but it’s important to keep in mind that unevenness has been the hallmark of Law’s game for much of this season. The forward has seven contests this year in which he’s recorded as many or more personal fouls as points.

But even if Law finally has turned a corner in his freshman campaign and finishes the season strong, there’s still a long way to go before he becomes a reliable offensive threat simply because of his position and role on the team.

The exceptionally lanky forward, listed at 6-7 but just 185 pounds, needs to add size and strength in order to win battles against opposing players on the glass and in the post. That’s a process that may not be complete by the beginning of Law’s sophomore season.

And going into next year, Law probably won’t be considered one of the team’s three best players. That honor will almost certainly belong to junior guard Tre Demps, junior center Alex Olah and freshman point guard Bryant McIntosh. The trio leads the Cats in scoring this season and will continue to get a majority of the offensive touches next year.

Law also faces relatively stiff competition for playing time at his position from sophomore forward Nathan Taphorn and freshman guard Scottie Lindsey. Although Law will likely emerge as the best of those three, Taphorn and Lindsey are still valuable rotation players who will eat into Law’s minutes.

He’ll be a valuable contributor on the team next year, but most of what Law produces will not be in the form of scoring. Expect rebounds, steals and defense — high-octane offensive efficiency will take longer to develop.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @Jesse_Kramer

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @BobbyPillote