NUHoops.com

Despite the loss to Cornell and the unimpressive win over DePaul last night, Northwestern really isn't as bad as you think. Let's look at the positives.

Sterling Williams looks a lot more confident. Kevin Coble has a nice touch and is a really smart passer and overall player. Jason Okrzesik looks like he knows the offense better than the whole team and can knock down a three. The team is really young and the whole strategy in recruiting is starting to take shape if you can envision next year's recruiting class (Thompson, Capocci) fitting in with this team.

But then there are the negatives.

Man, the Cats are painfully small and unathletic.Also, the team doesn't have a lot of players who can create their own shot. This truth was painfully evident in the second half when the Cats had a couple shot-clock violations. And while we're on that topic, how does the ball always find Vince Scott's hands when the shot clock is under 10? Does the team not have a point guard that can make sure that Scott doesn't make the key decisions when the shot clock is running low. That just has to change.

And the final negative with the team is the lack of depth. But it may not be as much a lack of depth as it is Carmody not going deep on his bench. I can understand that in February when the playing rotation is set, but not in November. I would have liked to have seen Jeremy Nash or one of the two Croatian freshmen (Nikola Baran or Ivan Peljusic). These guys need to play. We need to find out if they can play.

Otherwise, this could be a very long season and all we'll have to write about is recruting.