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After a 13-point halftime deficit, the Cats made a game of it before falling to Stanford on Saturday, 65-59.

Kevin Coble led the Cats with 15 points, including back-to-back threes that cut the lead to 55-50 with 4:44 to play. Unfortunately, no other player scored in double figures. John Shurna, who had 20 points against Missouri-Kansas City earlier in the week, had early foul trouble and finished with only five points. Craig Moore and Jeff Ryan both had eight points for Northwestern.

This is a disappointing loss for the Cats. It was a chance to prove their ability to win against a quality non-conference opponent. However, at this point, the bigger concern is how to find consistent scoring from players other than Coble.

Moore and Michael Thompson need to be double-digit scorers. Shurna needs to be a consistent scoring threat.

But the Cats also need to figure out ways to slow down a team's high scorers. Stanford's Anthony Goods and Mitch Johnson had 20 and 16 points, respectively. They combined to shoot 13-for-17 (76 percent) from the field.

Clearly, there is still a long way to go before the Cats can claim to being a solid Big Ten contender this year. Tuesday's home game against SMU will be another chance to gear up for the conference schedule in January. SMU at 3-5 should be a very winnable game.

Posted by Greg Shea at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After Monday's 77-62 dismantling of Missouri-Kansas City, the Cats look like they could be a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team. Maybe.

This much is clear about this year's Cats:
1. They have the most talent in a loooonnnng time at Welsh-Ryan
2. John Shurna is a legit scoring threat as a freshman
3. Shurna, Coble and Michael Thompson give the Cats three players who can create and score on their own.
4. Kyle Rowley can be a threat in the middle. (Now, if they can just get him more than 20 minutes ... )
5. Craig Moore, although 2-for-8 from three-point land on Monday, is a deadly outside threat and is displaying all the right senior leadership.

I've said in the past that coach Bill Carmody has to make the NIT this year or he's out. The Cats look well on their way to an NIT season. Is it crazy to even think about an NCAA Tournament bid?

Yes, it is. This team has some skill, but they look like a 16-win team and appear to be a year away. But it looks real promising for the future. And this could be a fun year.

Saturday's road game against 5-0 Stanford will be a serious test and a game that the Cats will need to win to further their postseason hopes. Game is at 9 p.m. CT.

Posted by Greg Shea at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Van Coleman on cstv.com gave an overall Big Ten basketball recruiting update and listed two early signees for Northwestern. He lists John Shurna, a 6-8 forward from Glenbard West high school and Nick Fruendt, 6-5, out of of Batavia.

Don't know anything about either player, but of more interest was the fact that the Cats enjoyed a visit from 6-11 Garrett Stutz from Kansas City. He sounds like an immediate starter because, well, he's tall.

Posted by Greg Shea at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

News today that forward Kevin Coble will take a leave of absence from the basketball team hit me a little hard.

Because I was renewing my season tickets.

We wish Coble's mom the best in her cancer treatment and admit our reaction was not how we wish it would have been. But it's a pretty tough break for a team that looked to be heading into a rebuilding season with decent young talent. But it was all talent led by Coble.

Yes, he's NU's best player. We expected him to improve. We expected him to help lead a team of young players like Mike Capocci and Michael Thompson. But without him this year, Northwestern is a bottom of the Big Ten team.

Adam Rittenberg's article in the Daily Herald discussed how Coble's mother was at all home games last year.

We admire Coble's dedication to family and are thankful that Bill Carmody allowed him the leave of absence without hesitation. After your initial thoughts, you do start to think about how long Coble will be out. It's possible that he could miss the non-conference schedule and be back for the Big Ten season.

Of course, then the cynical Northwestern fan comes out and asks if he'll come back at all. NU has a long history of devastating transfers and you can talk yourself into the possibility that Coble will elect to transfer to Arizona or Arizona State and be close to home. Your mind goes in that direction, but it doesn't seem that is his intent.

For now, we just wish Kevin and his family the best.

Posted by Greg Shea at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, are there any bright spots in a 13-18 season? As you can probably imagine, yes.

- Kevin Coble proved to be one of the best freshmen in the Big Ten.
- Jeff Ryan also looks like a great recruit out of Chicago.
- Vince Scott graduates
- Mike Capocci and Michael Thompson are two good recruits for next year that should play right away.
- Our two redshirt Croatian players -- Nikola Baran and Ivan Peljusic -- are both 6-8.

The problem, though, is that NU still lacks a big man and the Cats desperately need a player who can rebound consistently in the Big Ten. Could either Baran or Peljusic be that player? I tend to doubt it, but let me offer my theory on how the Cats need to recruit and form their team.

The Cats need to go the route of 2-4 6-8 forwards that can rebound, pass and shoot in the Princeton offense. A 7-foot center more suited to playing on the box will not fit this system. But several 6-8 players who can run and shoot will pose matchup problems for Northwestern's opponents.

If you have two 6-8 players in the starting lineup -- and they could eventually be Baran or Peljusic -- the Cats could have an offense of 2-3 guards, an athletic swingman and two versatile 6-8 forwards. Is it an ideal team compilation? No, but in this era of college basketball, it could work.

Northwestern is never going to have a classic team with a great point guard, scoring small forward and a monster center in the middle. That is not the personnel that coach Bill Carmody has, nor is it the type of player that they are currently after. Carmody seems to want a team made of five players who can all shoot, dribble, pass and move without the ball.

And he's not far from having it. The Cats have one more scholarship to give in the spring signing period and if they can sign a big forward, it'll be the best recruiting class Carmody has ever had.

If I had my way, this would be the starting lineup next year.
PG: Craig Moore - backup: Jason Okrzesik and Mike Thompson
SG: Jeff Ryan - backup: Jeremy Nash
SF: Mike Capocci - backup: Sterling Williams
PF: Kevin Coble - backup: Ivan Peljusic
C: Nikola Baran - backup: upcoming recruit if we can sign a big man

It's an extremely small lineup and is counting heavily on several players that have never played a minute of Big Ten basketball. (Thompson, Capocci, Peljusic and Baran) Coble is listed at power forward just to fill the space, but he is a classic example of a versatile 6-7 player that we are essentially forced to play with at this point. Since he's such an excellent player, and does so many things so well, we could live with him at the 4 spot. But Baran will need to be a monster on the boards.

The Cats are said to be in the running with several Chicago-area recruits, but they need to land a player with size as a necessity. It is a great opportunity for someone to play immediately at a Big Ten school. You have to think there's a possibility that this will appeal to a local player.

All in all, there was a lot of positive steps made this year, despite the record. The Cats need to take a step up next year to be a 17-18 win team. That would enable them to be an NIT team and would allow fans to start dreaming of the NCAAs in 2009.

It's really not such a longshot. It can be done.

Posted by Greg Shea at 07:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)