CHICAGO — If this season was a coming-of-age movie for freshman guard Jake West, Wednesday’s Big Ten Tournament win marked his progression to adulthood.
However, his growth as a collegiate basketball player began last summer, senior forward Nick Martinelli said. West had the veteran on an “island” and scored on him, alerting Martinelli about his new teammate’s skills.
“His development has been great,” Martinelli said postgame Wednesday. “But even in the summer, I knew this kid was gonna be a good player.”
Months later, after nearly one full season as teammates, No. 15-seeded Northwestern trailed No. 10-seeded Indiana by nine in the first half. West had accounted for five of the team’s 13 points, and by the end of the first half, he tallied 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting.
Of his six makes, four came in the paint, and none of them came easy. With defenders lurking on each possession, the 6-foot-3 West drove hard to the dish and snuck the ball into the hoop with the expertise of a four-year player. His two other made shots came from beyond the arc.
The only other player to muster more than four first-half points was Martinelli, who scored just four points in the first 13 minutes. Martinelli stepped up in the second half and finished with 28 points for the Wildcats (15-18, 5-15 Big Ten), but he praised West’s ability to facilitate the offense, especially during a slow start.
Though West hit a rut offensively in the second half against the Hoosiers (18-14, 9-11 Big Ten), he tied his career high with 18 points. After coming off the bench for the first half of the season, he has been a part of the starting lineup for the past 16 games, posting five double-digit scoring outings. Three of those have come in the past five games.
“I feel like I’m playing with a lot of confidence,” West said. “Kudos to coach (Chris) Collins for believing in me.”
One of those strong offensive performances came against Indiana just over two weeks ago in a contest with many similarities to Wednesday’s matchup. NU trailed for a majority of the first half while West scored seven first-half points, and he finished with an efficient scoring night while Martinelli posted 28 points. Those games marked the ’Cats sixth and seventh consecutive wins over the Hoosiers.
During the latter half of the season, West has played alongside junior guard Jayden Reid. The backcourt tandem showed proficiency across the board and helped limit NU’s turnovers, as the team has only had five games with 10 or more turnovers since West’s first start. Reid said West, whom he calls “Three,” has helped his mentality regardless of how the game is going.
“Three has taught me a lot about playing with joy and energy,” Reid said. “Obviously, the game doesn’t go your way all the time, but just coming out there and continuing to fight.”
West is part of the core of freshmen playing significant roles for the ’Cats. Freshman forward Tre Singleton posted at least seven points and five rebounds in each game against Indiana and has started in all but three games this season.
Freshman forward Tyler Kropp has started in 10 games this season and provided much-needed height in the absence of junior center Arrinten Page, who has missed a number of games due to illness.
As NU advances in the conference tournament to play its third game in as many days, Collins mentioned how they will be “underhanded” in the front court, meaning they will likely be without Page for the fourth straight game. When asked about motivating the team during short rest, Collins said he told his players to use their imagination while shooting baskets in the driveway.
“You would dream of playing these kinds of games, right?” Collins said about playing in the Big Ten Tournament. “If you can’t get juiced up in energy, then you should turn your jersey in.”
The ’Cats take on No. 7-seeded Purdue on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
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