Northwestern Basketball

Northwestern basketball has plenty of work to do before contending with the Big Ten’s elite teams, and the program is hoping Duke assistant Chris Collins will help the team compete in the powerhouse conference.

The Wildcats fired Bill Carmody after 13 seasons, and now the school has announced via NUSports.com that Collins will become its next coach. The report notes that Collins will stay with the Blue Devils until their season ends, and quotes him saying the following:

I'm so grateful to President Schapiro, Chairman Osborn and Dr. Phillips for the opportunity to lead the men's basketball program at one of the premier universities in the world, to compete in the Big Ten Conference, and to do so in my hometown. 

The Chicago native was Mr. Basketball in Illinois in high school and went on to play for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke from 1992-1996. He held assistant jobs in the WNBA and at Seton Hall before finding a spot on Coach K’s staff in 2000. 

He has been at his alma mater for the past 13 years, and this will be his first head coaching position. 

The Wildcats are in desperate need of new direction as Big Ten basketball has grown continually more competitive, with four of the conference’s teams currently in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament. The Northwestern program has failed to keep up.

Under Carmody, the team went just 13-19 overall this season, and 4-14 against Big Ten opponents.

To make matters worse, the Wildcats finished the season on a nine-game losing streak. During this stretch, the team only managed to lose by fewer than 10 points once, and that was to last-place Penn State. 

Collins is one of the most promising assistants in the nation, and he clearly is not afraid of a challenge. Once Duke’s season ends, he will begin the difficult task of rebuilding a program while playing in the country’s toughest conference. 

Northwestern has fired head coach Bill Carmody following a 13-18 season, his 13th at the school, according to ESPN.

Jim Phillips, Northwestern athletic director, summoned the team Saturday morning to deliver the news before making a public announcement.

The Wildcats failed to reach the NCAA tournament during Carmody's tenure and have never received a berth in school history. His team narrowly missed the tourney the previous three seasons, earning at least 19 wins each of those three years.

Carmody arrived in Evanston following a four-year stint at Princeton where he led the Tigers to the postseason each season, twice reaching the NCAA tournament. He did lead Northwestern to its first national ranking since 1969 when they were ranked No. 25 in the nation in December of 2009.

A loss to Iowa in the Big Ten tournament's first round this week capped a frustrating season, one in which they won only four conference games after losing three of their top players. Drew Crawford and Jared Swopshire both suffered season-ending injuries 10 and 24 games into the season, respectively. JerShon Cobb was hit with a year-long suspension last fall.

Northwestern remains the only team in a power-six conference to never appear in the NCAA tournament. According to ESPN, Duke associate head coach Chris Collins and Lehigh's Brett Reed are considered top candidates.

Carmody compiled a 190-220 record in his 13 seasons as head coach.

Northwestern University's athletic department announced Friday that guard JerShon Cobb has been suspended for the entire 2012-13 season. The given cause was "violation of team policy."

The junior guard from Decatur, Ga. is still enrolled in classes and retains two years of eligibility, according to the school's release.

Coach Bill Carmody said, "JerShon has our complete support as he works to fulfill those expectations and we look forward to having him rejoin the program in a full capacity in the future."

Cobb averaged 7.1 points and 1.4 steals in slightly more than 20 minutes per game last season. An afterthought early on in his sophomore season, Cobb struggled with injuries through early conference games, missing 12 in all last year.

By season's end, however, Cobb was in a groove. He scored a career-high 13 points against Iowa, then shattered both that and his rebounding high with 24 and eight against Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament.

Following that with 19 points against Akron in the first round of the NIT, Cobb appeared to be positioning himself for a major role in the post-John Shurna Wildcat rotation.

However, backcourt depth still may not be a huge problem for Carmody's squad. In addition to veterans Reggie Hearn and Alex Marcotullio, the Wildcats will add former three-star recruit Tre Demps, who redshirted last season after shoulder surgery.

Even with Demps on board, though, Cobb's loss will have its effect on a team still struggling to break a 74-year streak of zero NCAA tournament appearances.

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It was a Saturday night in Evanston, Ill., and the crowd in Welsh-Ryan Arena was buzzing.  Northwestern was playing Minnesota in a pivotal Big Ten matchup with NCAA Tournament implications, but that did not matter at the moment. 

Senior John Shurna was within reach of the school’s all-time scoring record, and after being silent on the offensive end more than 16 minutes into the game, he had exploded for a dunk, two three-pointers, and a lay-up in a two-minute time span. 

Finally, the moment that had been in the works for four years was upon the crowd.  Midway through the second half, Shurna pulled up several feet behind the top of the key and drilled a three. 

The crowd went nuts. 

The Draft

On June 28 David Stern will step up to the lectern under the hot glare of stage lights and cameras and will call 60 names.  No more.  No fewer. 

Shurna—the most talented player to come out of Northwestern since Evan Eschmeyer and probably ever—is still mired in Northwestern’s history of basketball mediocrity as he attempts to make it to the fabled lands of the NBA. 

Fans will be holding their breath to hear the name of the player that captivated Welsh-Ryan Arena for four years: the player who they lauded when he sunk a three-pointer against Minnesota on that Saturday night. 

Will Shurna be the first Wildcat drafted into the NBA in over a decade? 

Why not?

No one has accused Shurna of having the wrong attitude in his approach to the game of basketball.  When he broke Northwestern’s scoring record, he gushed about how happy he was that his team won the game.  When Bill Carmody speaks of his star player, he stresses that Shurna loves the game and improves by simply playing, constantly. 

Shurna’s pre- and post-game acumen carry over to the court where his high basketball IQ leads to stellar off-ball movement, open shots and solid interior help defense. 

At the end of the day, the strongest aspect of his game and what he will be used for at the next level is his ability to score in any situation.  As an honorable mention All-American and a first team All-Big Ten selection, Shurna averaged 20 points per game and led the conference in scoring. 

He has the ability to score from the inside where he can shoot with either hand and has strong body control that allows him to spin and pivot past defenders.  With his height, he provides a big target on quick off-ball cuts toward the basket. 

The first Wildcat to break 2000 points, much of Shurna’s work was done from the perimeter where he hit 95 threes during the season, first in the conference.  He capped the season off by taking home the crown at the three-point shooting contest. 

Defensively, Shurna is first in school history in blocks and his 6’9” frame is tall enough to be an effective small forward.  When Carmody ran the small lineup, Shurna even played center where he battled with the bigs in the Big Ten. 

Shurna’s height, basketball IQ and shooting ability combine to make him a scoring threat viable at the next level. 

Here’s why not.

The draft is a place for the Anthony Davis and Perry Jones III-type players of the world.  They are freakishly tall and at the same time scarily fast.  They never seemed natural in the college game because their pure athleticism was already on the NBA level. 

Shurna is a good player—maybe even a great player—but he is not enough of a pure athlete to be drafted. 

His size and strength are major concerns for the NBA where he would be pitted defensively against players able to easily overpower him. 

In addition, he is lacking in speed and smooth footwork.  The first step he had in college was due to his height and will be lost in the NBA to faster players. 

Without that first step on defenders, he will need to rely more heavily on his ball handling, an area that was never a strength. 

While Shurna plays decent defense in the paint, his ability does not translate to the perimeter where he is often slow to get in the face of a shooter and where much of the NBA game is played.  Even though defense is not a premium in the NBA, he will need to extend his shot blocking to outside shooters in order to make an impact. 

Shurna’s main obstacle is finding a niche where his specific skill set fits.  He can contribute in a major way on offense, but other players can bring similar talents with more athleticism and finesse. 

The future

Shurna is a passionately competitive scorer who brings a combination of smarts and modesty that would make him a positive addition to any team.  However, he is one step behind in the raw talent necessary to be drafted to the NBA. 

That being said, the player who sat red-eyed on the bench next to Drew Crawford after big losses and boasted a smile that made Welsh-Ryan’s bright lights unnecessary after big wins is not done with basketball. 

As the Chicago Bulls use Kyle Korver—a quick player with lackluster defense but a dead on shot when coming off screens—other teams could use Shurna.  

While there is concern surrounding his unorthodox shooting style—he pushes laser-like shots from his chest—it should not be a make or break point for his draft stock. 

Shurna was rarely blocked in college because the release is very fast, and if he is used off screens, then there should not be a defender directly in his face.  The delivery helped him to shoot .440 from behind the arc his senior year, so the extended three-point line in the pros could actually be his friend. 

In fact, going undrafted may not be a terrible situation because Shurna would automatically become an undrafted free agent who could sign with whichever team needed him.  A summer league deal in the D-League at the very least should be in the picture. 

If he does not get picked up by the start of the season, he could continue in the D-League or leave for Europe where the possibility of making it to the NBA is lower, but the pay is higher. 

And who knows, maybe Europe could see Shurna playing with Michael “Juice” Thompson once again.  A little “John and Juice” never hurt anybody…except maybe Minnesota on any given Saturday night. 

With the recent addition of Jared Swopshire, the outlook for the 2012-2013 Northwestern basketball team just got a whole lot brighter.

Northwestern's 2011-12 basketball season ended in misery, as hopes of a first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament came crashing down with a disappointing first-round loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament.

Combine that with John Shurna, Luka Mirkovic and Davide Curletti all being lost to graduation, and feelings about this team going into next season were mixed.

Key pieces are back in Drew Crawford, Dave Sobolewski and Reggie Hearn, but the losses of Mirkovic and Curletti leave a gaping hole in the frontcourt.

Who will provide a big body presence down low? Who will snag rebounds and at least be a threat to block shots?

Well, Northwestern has found their answer in Louisville transfer Jared Swopshire.

His numbers from last season may not be too impressive, as he only played 13 minutes per game, but look at the big men he was playing behind: shot-blocking sensation Gorgui Dieng and freshman phenom Chane Behanan.

He missed the 2010-2011 season due to injury, but it's hard to ignore what he did the year before that. As a sophomore, Swopshire played 25 minutes a game and averaged over six rebounds per game.

Northwestern would probably take those numbers in a heartbeat, seeing as how only two players on last year's team averaged over four rebounds a game.

Due to the transfer graduate degree program, Swopshire will be eligible immediately.

He'll almost assuredly be a starter in what looks to be a solid starting five, even without John Shurna.

There is no doubt that this will be Drew Crawford's team, as he'll be the senior leader and best player on this team, but his surrounding cast actually isn't too bad.

Dave Sobolewski will only get better and better at point guard, and he is turning into one of the best in the Big Ten.

JerShon Cobb looks like he has star potential, as he really came on late last season. Role players Reggie Hearn and Alex Marcotullio aren't going to take over games with their scoring ability, but they can definitely be counted on to put up a few points.

Obviously Swopshire will provide a much-needed presence down low, as will incoming freshmen Kale Abrahamson and Alex Olah if they don't redshirt.

Yes, losing the school's all time leading scorer in John Shurna obviously hurts, but I don't think this team will take much of a step back.

Jared Swopshire could be just what this team needed to finally get them into the NCAA tournament.

However, I think they will once again be on the bubble at the end of the regular season, a place that Wildcat fans are all too familiar with.

In a 21-point decimation, the Wildcats sealed their fate.  Yet another late-season meltdown can now be added to an endless list in Northwestern basketball history. 

Needing to claw back to .500 in conference to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 1939, Northwestern closed out regular-season conference play 3-4. 

Through all this, a soft tournament bubble cruelly kept hope alive for Northwestern fans around the country.  A media storm reminiscent of that surrounding a celebrity scandal resulted as uninformed analysis of the Wildcats’ postseason chances sprung up across all media platforms. 

Dreams were short-lived as the ‘Cats fell in an overtime loss to the floundering Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Big Ten Tournament.  All the pieces from fan support to reasonable team health were there; the postseason was the team’s to lose. 

When the world officially learned Northwestern would have to wait at least one more year, Bill Carmody tried to put on a brave face and stand up to the media.  His players seemed half-hearted, more honest. 

A near collapse at Akron could have either served as a wake-up call or foreshadowing.  It was the latter as the Washington Huskies stomped on Northwestern in the second round of the NIT. Northwestern held a lead until 8:15 remained in the first half.  When the ‘Cats relinquished the lead, Washington took the game and ran away with it. 

The Huskies deserve their due.  They played a great game and have some very talented players, such as Terrence Ross, who put up 32 points and eight rebounds in the game. 

However, the game was not won by Washington.  It was lost by Northwestern. 

The Wildcats shot 21.9 percent from the field in the second half and only 35.3 percent the entire game.  They were out rebounded by 18 boards and had a rare game with more turnovers than assists. 

They did not look like a team that wanted to win.

It never comes down to only one player, but John Shurna's play in the last several games might have made sure that he led the best conference in college basketball in scoring without getting drafted. 

Shurna’s departure is bittersweet.  He is now Northwestern’s all-time leader in games played, blocks, and points (2,038), but he also has had very lackluster all-around performances in this year’s three postseason games. 

It takes a winning attitude to win.  74 straight years of never making the one tournament that matters does not provide the necessary winning experience. 

Without the knowledge of how to close games and close seasons, the team was desperately analyzed by fans and journalists alike who searched for a way to quantify the problem.  The closest anyone could come to putting a name on the intangible issue was pointing the blame at coaching. 

Carmody has one more year on the contract extension he signed last season, so will he be back the year after next if he cannot deliver?  The Northwestern basketball community is no longer okay with the NIT and many are no longer okay with Carmody.  More is expected. 

This year, however, has not been a total failure. 

Shurna is a great player and an all around standup guy, and he has been a feel-good story for the program.  Whether or not he goes to the next level, everyone hopes he does.

Drew Crawford showed he has the athleticism of a professional.  He needs to greatly clean his game next year, but the third-team All-Big Ten selection has the raw tools. 

Dave Sobolewski did the impossible: he made Northwestern forget about Juice, at least for a little.  While Sobolewski is no Michael Thompson just yet, he was selected to the All-Big Ten freshman team, had one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the country, and showed that he just might have what it takes to be the chosen one to lead his team to the promised land.

Reggie Hearn went from a little used walk-on to an indispensable starter in one year. 

Welsh-Ryan Arena received a face-lift with a new court surface, and the atmosphere improved from last year with five sellouts and an almost 13 percent increase in attendance per game.  

The student section was clearly present as the Wildside won the Big Ten Network Home Court Challenge for lowest in conference free throw percentage by opponents on its court and was presented with $5,000 to donate to a charity of its choice.  As big-name teams came to Welsh-Ryan, the student section was rocking and unquestionably showed promise for the future. 

In the end, Northwestern finished the season as only Northwestern knows how. 

They say heartbreak is good every now and then so you know you are human.  They are not Northwestern fans.  For those who bleed purple, heartbreak is a constant thing.  A true Northwestern fan is a true sports fan. 

Maybe next year…

In a season that featured five sellout crowds, Welsh-Ryan Arena was barely over a quarter full as the Northwestern Wildcats took the floor against the Akron Zips in the first round of NIT play. 

While many fans gave up on the season after the ‘Cats failed to make it to the NCAA Tournament for the 74th  straight year, the team is in it to win it.  At least that is what Bill Carmody says. 

A disappointing end to the regular season almost carried into the NIT, as Northwestern barely escaped with a 76-74 win when Akron’s would-be game-winning shot bit iron and refused to go as time expired. 

Akron

While the ‘Cats led by as much as 15 in the first half and took an eight-point lead into halftime, the Zips tied the game 6:25 into the second half.  This came in the midst of a 5:21 long span in which Northwestern hit zero field goals. 

As has been the story of the past several games, JerShon Cobb stepped up at this point, and it was his jumper that broke the drought and tied the game.  He finished with 19 points, three rebounds, and an 80 percent field-goal percentage. 

Drew Crawford was also on a mission, pouring in 27 points and adding seven rebounds and four assists. 

However, his counterpart, John Shurna, seemed to be elsewhere for most of the contest.  

Statistically he had a great game, recording a double-double, becoming the all-time leader in blocks at Northwestern, and becoming the first Wildcat ever to break 2,000 points.  Regardless, for most of the game he looked like anyone but Northwestern’s best player. 

On defense, Shurna looked immobile, and on offense he was throwing one-handed passes out of bounds and to the other team.  If Shurna is not on his game against Washington, the ‘Cats do not stand a chance. 

It certainly did not help that he played 40 straight minutes and 30 of them as the center.  Carmody must play Davide Curletti more than the 10 minutes he did against Akron so Curletti can add size in the middle and allow Shurna to play on the perimeter where he is much more effective. 

Carmody also needs to realize when the 1-3-1 is not working.  A switch was clearly needed on defense in the second half as Akron came alive. 

Finally, the usual best and worst statistics stayed constant for Northwestern.  The ‘Cats were out-rebounded by 14 boards but countered that statistic with 25 assists compared to six turnovers. 

Washington

Being out-rebounded by Akron does not bode well against the Washington Huskies who are the fifth-best rebounding team in the country.  Northwestern is the 333rd best. 

However, Washington did not dominate the University of Texas at Arlington, and its best players are young and inexperienced.  The team has three players averaging over 10 points per game, but two are sophomores and one is a freshman. 

For whatever it is worth, Washington won the Pac-12 regular season title, yet the team’s RPI is still only 65.  The Huskies are 22-10 and 14-4 in conference, and they had close losses to Marquette and Duke during the year. 

This game could easily go either direction with two of the most talented teams in the NIT going head-to-head.  In order for Northwestern to win, the ‘Cats must find balanced scoring on offense and strength inside on defense. 

Crawford, Cobb, and Shurna accounted for 69 of the team’s 76 points against Akron, and Washington will be much more effective than the Zips at forcing those players into tough shots.  Reggie Hearn, Alex Marcotullio, and Dave Sobolewski need to step up to help carry the load on offense. 

On defense, the ‘Cats need to stay strong in the middle while not allowing open shots on the perimeter.  It is extremely basic, but it is something they have been finding difficulty doing. 

Less porous defense and better shooting will come naturally if the ‘Cats head into this game hungry for a win.  They did not show that desire against Akron, and they need this win to prove they have not given up since Selection Sunday.