Carmody grades himself a C
Interesting Cat Chat with coach Bill Carmody on Thursday as usual. Coach Carmody answered some interesting questions. Among the interesting tidbits:
Carmody gave himself a 'C' as a coach and admitted he really thought that the program would be further along at this point. He really thought the team would have made the NCAAs by now.
Carmody has basically told Mohammed Hachad to not look for the outside shot and continue to drive to the hoop. In an odd moment, Carmody said he doesn't believe Hachad's shot will improve and that he's just trying to work with the skills he has. He talked about Hachad becoming good at a few things and adequate at things like his shooting. This led to a discussion of whether shooters are made or born - and Carmody is firmly down with nature, not nurtue.
Moderator Shon Morris helped Carmody avoid questions about the officiating at Wednesday's Michigan State (of which Carmody was ejected) by saying that "officials are there to administer the game, not interject themselves in the game."
Carmody talked about walk-on Michael Jenkins persevering for years and finally gettting his chance as a senior and playing fantastic. "It's a great story," Carmody said.
Carmody talked about how Northwestern hasn't won at Indiana since the University built Assembly Hall. Without looking it up, it's 20+ years.
Carmody outlined the offseason program. The offseason breaks down like this:
- Recruiting for three weeks after the season with a focus on juniors
- Individual workouts with players until graduation (limited to two hours per player a week)
- Summer camps and tournaments in July to watch high school players
In response to another question about Croatia, Carmody said he will be going on a recruiting trip there to look at a few players this offseason. He said he would be recruiting at a "secret location" and that the players had size. As reported last week, Ivan Tolic may be a medical waiver and that may free up an extra scholarship for next year.