Butler is a good team and you have to be impressed with the way they play, but let’s be honest Northwestern was really bad tonight. I’d go far as to say they played about as bad as they could have for much of the second half. Now, Butler might win 9 out of 10 if these teams played that many times, but most of them would be closer than this. Tonight the Wildcats were outmatched both offensively and defensively by a substantial amount. This is really disappointing as if Northwestern wants to survive this season without their injured players they need to be able to at least compete with good teams and I honestly think they have the talent to do so. They simply didn’t show those talents tonight.
An example of how Butler outplayed NU is how the Bulldogs constantly found holes in Northwestern’s 1-3-1 zone, and the Wildcats stood around and didn’t seem to move crisply in their offense. Freshman Drew Crawford did some nice things athletically on defense with a couple blocks, but looked more than a little lost when forced to run offense. In the front court, Luka Mirkovic played one of his worst games since early last season. He looked dramatically indecisive and slow to get off the floor. Basically like a totaly different player than on Friday night. Ivan Peljusic who played well against NIU played badly in the first half and essentially disappeared in the second. John Shurna who NU desperately needs to play well had his second consecutive poor game (he really didn’t play that well against NIU until the game was in hand) and Michael Thompson needs to listen to his coaches and become more assertive shooting the ball because right now NU is not offering many other long range threats.
Getting back to Shurna, he’s got talent and was NU’s best rebounder tonight, but his shot is odd. Like most odd shots, it is the type of shot that can lead to prolonged slumps or hot steaks. It’s similar to a guy with a non-traditional batting stance in baseball. That guy can catch fire for weeks and carry a team, or he can slump for an extended period. Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano is a good example. Fans in Chicago, Texas, and New York have seen him carry a team for two weeks or have two weeks where he strikes out 14 times on 14 curveballs in the dirt. I can totally foresee days where Shurna will hit 9-of-10 threes and be the reason NU wins games, but I fear he will also have more nights like tonight where he really can’t get the shot to fall. Not that I mean to pick on Shurna, the fact is no Northwestern player looked really good on offense tonight, but it is one thing for Mike Capocci to miss threes or Drew Carwford to make bad passes, but with Coble out it is essential for Shurna to hit wide open threes if NU wants to beat good teams. Yes, if Coble were around he'd get those wide open shots and probably make them more consistently given his smooth shot, but he isn't around and thatms means NU needs Shurna and others to come through and hit open shots.
On defense Northwestern really struggled rotating in the 1-3-1. Some of the credit goes to Butler’s fantastic passing, but it didn’t look like the Wildcats had the same hustle on defense after the Bulldogs Zach Hahn hit two early shots against that zone. It was almost like NU looked defeated as soon as those shots went in the hoop. Part of that might be NU didn’t have Jeff Ryan on defense, but Drew Crawford and Mike Capocci ought to at least be competent subs for Ryan given their athletic skill. To be honest, once a team gets hot for the outside I hate seeing NU stick in the 1-3-1 because if you’re a good shooter who is in rhythm you’ll get open looks against that zone. That’s why when guys like Hahn get hot they start building a house in the corner.
Northwestern also really struggled when it came to attacking the glass tonight. The Bulldogs grabbed a ton of offensive rebounds and Northwestern couldn’t seem to equal their effort on the boards from the either exhibitions win vs RMU or the NIU game. I think Butler’s team, and especially Matt Howard and Willie Veasley, are excellent rebounders, but I still wasn’t impressed with NU’s effort to block out or get off the ground. At times it looked like while Butlet’s guys jumped, NU’s stayed on the ground. If Northwestern doesn’t rebound at least marginally better this season will be even tougher than expected.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Game 2: Butler Bulldogs @ Northwestern Wildcats
The Matchup: Butler (1-0) @ Northwestern (1-0)
Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, IL)
TV: Big Ten Network (7:00 PM November 18th)
Radio: WGN 720 AM
Fun Fact: Butler returns all five starters and three All-American candidates from last year’s NCAA Tournament team.
About the Game
Before Kevin Coble got hurt his was a tough game for Northwestern. Now, it is a very tough game for Northwestern. Before Kevin Coble got hurt I thought Northwestern could win this game. Now, I’m not so sure. The reason for my doubt is that that Butler can score points. They return all five starters from last year’s team. I feel that at least four of those guys are legitimate offensive threats. On the other hand, Northwestern will be limited on offense all year until (or unless) Coble returns. Despite the 77-55 victory over NIU, I still think we’re going to see Northwestern play their old style of basketball where the ‘Cats work the ball around and use all 35 seconds on the shot clock in order to find the best shot more often than not. This might not please fans, but it will give NU the best chance to win against the Bulldogs and other highly rated teams.
Butler’s collection of shooting stars is led by 6-9 207-pound sophomore forward Gordon Hayward. He averaged 13.1 ppg and 6.5 rpg last season and was the Bulldogs leading scorer with 17 points in their season opening win over Davidson. The other guy that is scary good as an outside shooter is 6-1 junior guard Zach Hahn who will come off the bench. The good news is that other than Hayward and Hahn the Bulldogs aren’t great three point shooters (nobody else made over 40% last year). That means NU can use the 1-3-1 defense and pressure Butler guards Ronald Nored and Shelvin Mack. The 6-3 Mack likely will pressure right back. Mack is a great defender and it will be interesting to see which assignment he draws on defense. Obviously guarding Michael “Juice” Thompson might be more natural, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mack spend time guarding Shurna or Crawford (or after Friday night Nash) to try and take away some of NU’s athletic advantages. This is where NU could get a lift from the athletic skill of Ivan Peljusic or Mike Capocci.
Inside Butler’s smaller than NU with 6-8 Matt Howard and 6-3 Willie Veasley, the Bulldogs second leading scorer with 15 points in their win over Davidson, joining Hayward in the front court. However, Howard is a force having scored 14.8 ppg and grabbed 6.8 rpg last season. The good news is that he is not a great three point shooter. Therefore, if Luka Mirkovic, Kyle Rowley, and Davide Curletti can deny the ball in the post it’ll make it tough for Howard to score unless he gets offensive rebounds. Veasley scored 8.9 ppg and grabbed 4.3 rpg and is another solid defender. He’s a tough matchup for NU, but the ‘Cats should have a size advantage no matter if they play Crawford, Peljusic or Capocci at the small forward spot.
Prediction: Before Kevin Coble’s injury I thought Northwestern would win this game. I figured a strongly pro-NU crowd in Welsh-Ryan would give Coble and the ‘Cats just enough to push them past the highly rated Bulldogs. I still expect to see a strongly pro-NU crowd as I’m not sure Butler is going to bring all that many fans to Evanston on a random Wednesday night. However, I think without Coble, NU will be just a little short of the needed fire power to beat this offensively minded Butler squad. Butler, 71 Northwestern, 65
Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, IL)
TV: Big Ten Network (7:00 PM November 18th)
Radio: WGN 720 AM
Fun Fact: Butler returns all five starters and three All-American candidates from last year’s NCAA Tournament team.
About the Game
Before Kevin Coble got hurt his was a tough game for Northwestern. Now, it is a very tough game for Northwestern. Before Kevin Coble got hurt I thought Northwestern could win this game. Now, I’m not so sure. The reason for my doubt is that that Butler can score points. They return all five starters from last year’s team. I feel that at least four of those guys are legitimate offensive threats. On the other hand, Northwestern will be limited on offense all year until (or unless) Coble returns. Despite the 77-55 victory over NIU, I still think we’re going to see Northwestern play their old style of basketball where the ‘Cats work the ball around and use all 35 seconds on the shot clock in order to find the best shot more often than not. This might not please fans, but it will give NU the best chance to win against the Bulldogs and other highly rated teams.
Butler’s collection of shooting stars is led by 6-9 207-pound sophomore forward Gordon Hayward. He averaged 13.1 ppg and 6.5 rpg last season and was the Bulldogs leading scorer with 17 points in their season opening win over Davidson. The other guy that is scary good as an outside shooter is 6-1 junior guard Zach Hahn who will come off the bench. The good news is that other than Hayward and Hahn the Bulldogs aren’t great three point shooters (nobody else made over 40% last year). That means NU can use the 1-3-1 defense and pressure Butler guards Ronald Nored and Shelvin Mack. The 6-3 Mack likely will pressure right back. Mack is a great defender and it will be interesting to see which assignment he draws on defense. Obviously guarding Michael “Juice” Thompson might be more natural, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mack spend time guarding Shurna or Crawford (or after Friday night Nash) to try and take away some of NU’s athletic advantages. This is where NU could get a lift from the athletic skill of Ivan Peljusic or Mike Capocci.
Inside Butler’s smaller than NU with 6-8 Matt Howard and 6-3 Willie Veasley, the Bulldogs second leading scorer with 15 points in their win over Davidson, joining Hayward in the front court. However, Howard is a force having scored 14.8 ppg and grabbed 6.8 rpg last season. The good news is that he is not a great three point shooter. Therefore, if Luka Mirkovic, Kyle Rowley, and Davide Curletti can deny the ball in the post it’ll make it tough for Howard to score unless he gets offensive rebounds. Veasley scored 8.9 ppg and grabbed 4.3 rpg and is another solid defender. He’s a tough matchup for NU, but the ‘Cats should have a size advantage no matter if they play Crawford, Peljusic or Capocci at the small forward spot.
Prediction: Before Kevin Coble’s injury I thought Northwestern would win this game. I figured a strongly pro-NU crowd in Welsh-Ryan would give Coble and the ‘Cats just enough to push them past the highly rated Bulldogs. I still expect to see a strongly pro-NU crowd as I’m not sure Butler is going to bring all that many fans to Evanston on a random Wednesday night. However, I think without Coble, NU will be just a little short of the needed fire power to beat this offensively minded Butler squad. Butler, 71 Northwestern, 65
Monday, November 16, 2009
Three Points - Edition # 1
I’ve decided to start a new feature here on W-RR where at the end (or start) of each week I’ll briefly discuss three issues from the previous week that I haven’t really talked about. For the most part I’ll stick to men’s basketball, but with the season now very much underway it will also be a chance to talk about football and women’s basketball as well. I’ve named the feature Three Points because I’ll discuss three issues, but also because NU likes to shoot threes.
1.I want to once again mention NU’s women’s basketball team getting off to a 1-0 start on Friday night by beating Toledo 73-64. You might think I’m overstating this, but this is a big win for that program. Toledo won 18 games last year and has a good chance to win their division in the MAC. In addition, NU center Amy Jaeschke showed she can use her size to dominate games. She scored 27 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the win.
2. This Saturday is Northwestern’s final home football game of the year. Wisconsin will likely bring a number of fans so it’ll be the biggest crowd of the season at Ryan Field regardless, but I’d like to see NU fans buy up the remaining tickets and support the ‘Cats after their two road victories the last two weeks.
3. NU’s students deserve major recognition (which Coach Carmody gave them) for the way they showed up against NIU. Now, the students who showed up need to get even more of their friends to come along and completely overflow both sides of Welsh-Ryan when Butler comes to town. The only time the NU student section ever got so full that students were turned away was when #1 Illinois came to NU in 2005. The goal for this year should be to rival that student turnout on multiple occasions.
1.I want to once again mention NU’s women’s basketball team getting off to a 1-0 start on Friday night by beating Toledo 73-64. You might think I’m overstating this, but this is a big win for that program. Toledo won 18 games last year and has a good chance to win their division in the MAC. In addition, NU center Amy Jaeschke showed she can use her size to dominate games. She scored 27 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the win.
2. This Saturday is Northwestern’s final home football game of the year. Wisconsin will likely bring a number of fans so it’ll be the biggest crowd of the season at Ryan Field regardless, but I’d like to see NU fans buy up the remaining tickets and support the ‘Cats after their two road victories the last two weeks.
3. NU’s students deserve major recognition (which Coach Carmody gave them) for the way they showed up against NIU. Now, the students who showed up need to get even more of their friends to come along and completely overflow both sides of Welsh-Ryan when Butler comes to town. The only time the NU student section ever got so full that students were turned away was when #1 Illinois came to NU in 2005. The goal for this year should be to rival that student turnout on multiple occasions.
Nash Suffers From Heart Ailment
Just when NU fans, coaches, and players thought things couldn't get any worse, the Daily Northwestern wrote a story about NU guard Jeremy Nash suffering from a heart ailment. The report says Nash is expected to be back Wednesday, but this still is an issue which must be taken VERY seriously.
Here's the Daily story: http://northwestern.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=58&tid=135217623&mid=135217623&sid=901&style=2
Here's the Daily story: http://northwestern.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=58&tid=135217623&mid=135217623&sid=901&style=2
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Injuries to Ryan and Coble Force May Force Major Changes in NU’s Rotation
Bill Carmody and the entire Northwestern basketball program must feel as though they are paying off karma at a vastly accelerated rate. Not only have the Wildcats lost their best player (Kevin Coble) for the entire 09-10 season, now they have lost a key reserve (Ryan) that might have helped sub for Kevin Coble.
The most significant fact about Jeff Ryan’s injury is that NU has basically no point guard depth behind Juice Thompson. The only player left who has played the point in game besides Juice is Jeremy Nash and he likely can’t be spared from the forward spot he is now playing thanks to Coble’s injury. That means that Juice is going to play nearly 40 minutes every night. This is entirely possible, but it will take a toll after a while. In addition, Juice has been known to get into foul trouble. If that happens NU really only has two choices at point guard and neither has any significant experience. The most likely choice will be freshman guard Alex Marcotullio who played point guard for his high school team, but really is probably better suited to play shooting guard in college. The other option is sophomore Nick Fruendt who is another player more suited to the shooting guard spot. I suppose Marcotullio’s fellow freshman Drew Crawford could play the point, but Carmody already has him starting at shooting guard/small forward and he has probably only practiced in those spots.
The other issue with Ryan’s injury is that he could also sub for Jeremy Nash in the front court and keep NU’s 1-3-1 defense working. Who else can do this? Well, Crawford is athletic enough, but seems seriously foul prone. The best choice is likely Mike Capocci who will bring great athletic skill, but certainly isn’t as smooth as Ryan when it comes to reacting on defense.
Coach Carmody is now going to have to put trust in some young players. Here’s how I see NU’s roster after the NIU game and the Ryan injury:
Starters
PG – Thompson
SG/SF – Crawford
SF/SG – Nash
PF – Shurna
C – Mirkovic
In Rotation Bench -- Based on NIU Game
F – Peljusic
C – Rowley
F – Capocci
F/C – Curletti (may play or not based on matchups)
You’ll notice that in those 9 players NU has only one true ball handling guard. Therefore, the NU rotation has to be extended now to include the following:
In Rotation Bench -- with Injury to Ryan:
PG/SG – Marcotullio
PG/SG – Fruendt
Depending on how competent Marcotullio and Fruendt actually are in handling the ball against pressure it is even possible walk-on guard Reggie Hearn who is actually a true point guard might see some minutes. This is clearly not how Coach Carmody and NU envisioned the year starting, but NU has to move on as almost the whole season is still to come.
The most significant fact about Jeff Ryan’s injury is that NU has basically no point guard depth behind Juice Thompson. The only player left who has played the point in game besides Juice is Jeremy Nash and he likely can’t be spared from the forward spot he is now playing thanks to Coble’s injury. That means that Juice is going to play nearly 40 minutes every night. This is entirely possible, but it will take a toll after a while. In addition, Juice has been known to get into foul trouble. If that happens NU really only has two choices at point guard and neither has any significant experience. The most likely choice will be freshman guard Alex Marcotullio who played point guard for his high school team, but really is probably better suited to play shooting guard in college. The other option is sophomore Nick Fruendt who is another player more suited to the shooting guard spot. I suppose Marcotullio’s fellow freshman Drew Crawford could play the point, but Carmody already has him starting at shooting guard/small forward and he has probably only practiced in those spots.
The other issue with Ryan’s injury is that he could also sub for Jeremy Nash in the front court and keep NU’s 1-3-1 defense working. Who else can do this? Well, Crawford is athletic enough, but seems seriously foul prone. The best choice is likely Mike Capocci who will bring great athletic skill, but certainly isn’t as smooth as Ryan when it comes to reacting on defense.
Coach Carmody is now going to have to put trust in some young players. Here’s how I see NU’s roster after the NIU game and the Ryan injury:
Starters
PG – Thompson
SG/SF – Crawford
SF/SG – Nash
PF – Shurna
C – Mirkovic
In Rotation Bench -- Based on NIU Game
F – Peljusic
C – Rowley
F – Capocci
F/C – Curletti (may play or not based on matchups)
You’ll notice that in those 9 players NU has only one true ball handling guard. Therefore, the NU rotation has to be extended now to include the following:
In Rotation Bench -- with Injury to Ryan:
PG/SG – Marcotullio
PG/SG – Fruendt
Depending on how competent Marcotullio and Fruendt actually are in handling the ball against pressure it is even possible walk-on guard Reggie Hearn who is actually a true point guard might see some minutes. This is clearly not how Coach Carmody and NU envisioned the year starting, but NU has to move on as almost the whole season is still to come.
Jeff Ryan Out for Season
We now know that NU forward Jeff Ryan suffered a torn ACL in Friday's win over Northern Illinois and will be out for the year. More on what this means for NU in a bit.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Athletes and Lisfranc Fractures
Northwestern announced yesterday that Kevin Coble’s injury is a lisfranc fracture. This is an injury which involves the dislocation of joints in the mid foot. It is a serious injury, and may force Coble to miss the season and take a redshirt, but it is an injury several NFL players have recovered from to have great success.
Current Denver Broncos defensive back Ty Law suffered a lisfranc fracture when playing for the New England Patriots in 2004. In 2005 Law went to the New York Jets where he started 16 games, made 62 tackles, and recorded a career-high 10 interceptions.
Another NFL player who suffered a lisfranc fracture is Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Aaron Schobel. Schobel suffered his lisfranc fracture last season, but has returned healthy this season. He already has five sacks and interception return for a TD.
Finally, perhaps the most notable lisfranc fracture was the one suffered by Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney. Freeney suffered his injury in 2007 and returned last season to make 10.5 sacks. This year he already has 9.5 sacks.
Admittedly the players above play football and not basketball, but they still present strong evidence that while lisfranc fractures are serious—they can be recovered from with great success. Schobel is on his way to a Pro Bowl season and Law and Freeney recorded some of their best years after their lisfranc fractures.
Based on this evidence, I believe Kevin Coble can return very successfully from his injury. It might not be till the fall of 2010, but Coble will be back.
News and Notes: I neglected to mention in my postgame for NIU that Drew Crawford scored his first career points last night on an impressive offensive rebound and put back….According to the Daily Herald Carmody wasn’t surprised with Crawford’s foul trouble as he also had trouble with fouls during the ‘Cats scrimmage with Indiana Wesleyan…..NU’s next opponent #10 Butler beat Davidson 73-62 behind 17 points from Gordon Hayward….Northwestern pulled off a 21-16 football victory over Illinois behind another great game by QB Mike Kafka today to capture the first Land of Lincoln Trophy….. I felt NU didn’t play that well considering 3 missed field goals, multiple dropped passes, and some ultra conservative play calling, but the win puts NU in great position to return to the Alamo Bowl or travel to Orlando for the Champs Sports Bowl.
Current Denver Broncos defensive back Ty Law suffered a lisfranc fracture when playing for the New England Patriots in 2004. In 2005 Law went to the New York Jets where he started 16 games, made 62 tackles, and recorded a career-high 10 interceptions.
Another NFL player who suffered a lisfranc fracture is Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Aaron Schobel. Schobel suffered his lisfranc fracture last season, but has returned healthy this season. He already has five sacks and interception return for a TD.
Finally, perhaps the most notable lisfranc fracture was the one suffered by Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney. Freeney suffered his injury in 2007 and returned last season to make 10.5 sacks. This year he already has 9.5 sacks.
Admittedly the players above play football and not basketball, but they still present strong evidence that while lisfranc fractures are serious—they can be recovered from with great success. Schobel is on his way to a Pro Bowl season and Law and Freeney recorded some of their best years after their lisfranc fractures.
Based on this evidence, I believe Kevin Coble can return very successfully from his injury. It might not be till the fall of 2010, but Coble will be back.
News and Notes: I neglected to mention in my postgame for NIU that Drew Crawford scored his first career points last night on an impressive offensive rebound and put back….According to the Daily Herald Carmody wasn’t surprised with Crawford’s foul trouble as he also had trouble with fouls during the ‘Cats scrimmage with Indiana Wesleyan…..NU’s next opponent #10 Butler beat Davidson 73-62 behind 17 points from Gordon Hayward….Northwestern pulled off a 21-16 football victory over Illinois behind another great game by QB Mike Kafka today to capture the first Land of Lincoln Trophy….. I felt NU didn’t play that well considering 3 missed field goals, multiple dropped passes, and some ultra conservative play calling, but the win puts NU in great position to return to the Alamo Bowl or travel to Orlando for the Champs Sports Bowl.
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