Cats rip listless Hoosiers
Mich-ael Jen-kins! (clap, clap) Mich-ael Jen-kins! (clap, clap)
With T.J. Parker out with the flu, Jenkins gave the performance of his career as the Cats dominated Indiana, 72-53. Jenkins played 36 minutes at point guard, scoring eight points -- including two three-pointers -- and grabbing seven rebounds.
From a freaking walk-on.
The game was never in doubt as Northwestern shot 52 percent from the field. Mike Thompson scored 18 points and was a presence on defense. Vedran Vukusic added 17.
But back to Jenkins. The 5-8 senior looked completely in control at the point and may have locked in some minutes for the rest of the year. He ran the offense, hit jump shots, made nice backdoor passes and generally looked like any scholarship player. He won't be a defensive specialist for 3-4 minutes a game any longer.
Indiana, on the other hand, has serious problems that run deeper than the ample talent on the floor. I can't remember the last time Indiana let a team like NU shoot more than 50 percent from the field. The Hoosiers turned the ball over 17 times to Northwestern's six.
Not good. Mike Davis, it was good knowing ya.
Comments
A nice win for the Cats. Granted, Indiana is a horrible team, but it's not as though NU squeaked out a narrow win as it did over Texas Pan American or Delaware State. The Cats blew out a terrible team at home -- exactly what they should do.
The biggest thing I noticed is how the Cats almost look like two different teams, depending if Thompson is on the floor or not. If he is, they run more of a standard half-court set and look to pound the ball inside. When he's on the bench, you see a little more of the Princeton offense (more backdoor cuts, etc.). It's sort of like when a football team puts in a "change of pace" running back.
I have no idea what this means. Maybe it's to keep opponents off-balance (good). Or maybe it's because Thompson doesn't have a good grasp on the offense yet (not so good).
Either way, a win is a win. I'll take it.
Posted by: Matt | January 6, 2005 07:50 AM
Totally agree with you. I thought I saw the making of this a few weeks back.
Carmody appears to be trying to adapt the offense to his personnel because they aren't a great three-point shooting team. So, fewer threes, much less Evan Seacat and more pounding it inside with Thompson.
I think this also reflects the change in the starting five. He's going to go with Duvancic as a starter and then put in Tim Doyle as the sixth man when he wants the smaller, more 'Princeton' lineup.
If it works, they can turn the season around somewhat. Thompson is a pretty solid post player, but they are just feeling their way around in the offense right now.
Michigan State will be a tall task.
Posted by: Greg Shea | January 6, 2005 10:25 AM