Hoopapalooza Stop 1: Evanston
We’re 15 minutes into Northwestern’s first official practice. The fellas are stretching and sprinting. The coaches are shooting and chatting.
Assistant coach Tavaras Hardy is bemoaning the Marriott burger he ate at midnight last night _ and alibi-ing that his jumper is broke because he just got off the plane from recruiting. Bill Carmody’s ever-present cup of coffee (straight black, never flavored) has decided to let the coach handle the start of this session. The java is resting on the scorer’s table and owns a prime seat for the proceedings.
Yes, there’s a good vibe in Evanston right now. With everyone from last year’s rotation back -- except for third-team all-Big Ten guard Craig Moore -- the Wildcats are thinking about earning the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth. Well, they’re trying not to think too hard about it.
In case you’ve forgotten, the Cats finished 17-14 last year, went to the NIT and wound up with an RPI of 79. That’s the school’s best rating in goodness knows how many years. Cut that in half, especially in the rugged Big Ten this season, and the 0-for-history streak is broken.
“I can just see how they feel without me saying anything,” said Carmody, who’s starting his 10th year at NU. "I think it's a pretty confident bunch. I don't know if they're convinced, but they're confident that they're very capable. It's a little different feeling, I'd say."
“(The NCAA Tournament) is certainly in our minds every day and the ultimate goal,” said senior Kevin Coble, who added 10 pounds of muscle, most of it in his upper body. “We just don’t want to be consumed by it. It’s a fine line, I think. Working day-by-day has gotten us to this point.”
NU TIDBITS:
--Sophomore 7-footer Kyle Rowley has ditched the walking boot that protected his broken left foot and he’s dressed for practice, but he’s not doing any of the drills that require a lot of force on his foot.
--Junior point guard Michael “Juice” Thompson won the MVP award at the college division of Sonny Parker Summer League. There were eight teams in the league _ and the team headed by Thompson., Rowley an d freshman guards Drew Crawford and Alex Marcotullio won the title.
Here’s Juice’s take on the team’s freshmen:
“Alex is pretty good. He’s shooting the ball very well. And he rebounds well for a guy his size. Drew, he’s just a freak of nature. He catches all the alley-oops that I throw him. That’s something new for Northwestern that fans should get used to seeing.”
OK. The guys are flying up and down the court doing the five-man weave…doing a lot of timed 3-point shooting drills and pretty much getting after it. We’d like to stay for the rest of the 2-and-a-half-hour session, but it’s time to hop in the Hoopmobile and hope for no more sleet as we head to DePaul.
LW
LW, just wondering if you were able to take in the scrimmage that the Cats had this weekend? Any information would be appreciated. Also, any word on Rowley's foot?
LW, what are your thoughts on Curletti? When he got here, he was supposed to be the banger we never had then Sean Morris was on record as saying he was our best freshman big man last year early. He started the exhibition over Ivan, Luka, and Kyle at center. Then as the season progressed he didn't play much. I never really saw him as a banger but I also never saw him as a particularly skilled shooter or low post player...just a 6'9" guy who was adequate. What are your thoughts on him and do you look for him to get meaningful minutes?
Indeed, Sean Morris was right when he said Davide was the best freshman big man early. He came in with energy and skill and a shooting touch. Then, IIRC, a minor injury set him back and then the other guys took over.
Curletti is an excellent shooter. Three-point range. Excellent rotation on the ball. Also a fine passer out of the high post. Northwestern wants to find out if he can bang and rebound and defend well enough to be Luka's backup while Rowley's foot heals. He's stronger this year, which should help his quest.
Long answer short: Meaningful minutes are there for him early (though Peljusic could steal some of them with a standout preseason). What he does with them will determine whether they'll remain when Rowley gets back.
LW
LW - Thanks so much for your great blogs on 'Cats Hoops.
Quick Question -- it seems like this is Carmody's deepest team ever. Juice, Coble, Shurna, Nash, Mirkovic are gonna get minutes. Crawford and Marcotuillo look to be contributors as true frosh, and then the quintet of Ryan, Capocci, Peljusic, Curletti and Freundt may not appear to be first teamers, they know the system and are probably more athletic + skilled compared to their counterparts on past Carmody/O'Neill squads.
Given the depth and size, do you get a sense or have insight if Coach Carmody is thinking to try more man-to-man sets, or even full court press to mix up the defensive look? Or is the matchup zone/amoeba his defensive version of the "princeton offense"? (Which would make it the "Princeton Defense"?)
As Northwestern increases its athleticism and versatility, there's a better opportunity to play more man-to-man and to pick up the ball early. Didn't Juice and Moore force the PG to work the ball all the way up the court on several occasions last year?
But, for the most part, the matchup zone is the default because it has more man-to-man principles than you think. If you noticed last year, the 'Cats didn't play nearly as much 1-3-1 as years past because they had better size and athletes. Plus, there were certain teams that killed it with the 3s from the corners...or the offensive rebounds after the missed 3s.
This year, Crawford's length lends itself to pretty much any defense they want to run...provided he can pick up the nuances of the sets.
LW
Sounds good. When I mention doghouse--I felt like Peljusic was in it but I'm pleased with what you told me. Peljusic went from starting and playing well the last few games of 08 and most people expected him to start in 09 and he comes out and doesn't even get into the game for the Robert Morris scrimmage. A scrimmage! Therefore, I figured he's in the doghouse because he can play -- we saw it in 08. Now I agree, he does turn it over and he can't make a free throw but he rebounds, defends, and brings great energy. Having said all that, I think Luka is our best center. I'm surprised that you think Crawford will get more minutes than Shurna. That is exciting for our future. Is he that good? Can he shoot?
I didn't cover the Robert Morris exhibition last year, so I never bothered to ask about the minutes distribution. Perhaps they needed to give the then-freshmen the time because they already knew some things about Peljusic?
When I was projecting minutes, I was thinking about what the final season stats will say. I think Crawford will get more minutes because there'll always be somebody on the other team he can guard. He's 6-foot-5, strong for a freshman, long-armed. There'll be few reasons to take him off the floor. I don't know if you saw this on Friday, but here's the quote I ran with the mini-hoops preview:
“Drew, he just looks like one of these guys who's just going to be stuffing the stat sheet as they say,” Carmody said. “Maybe 10 points and 6 rebounds and 2 blocks and 3 steals. One of those kind of guys.”
I don't think Crawford is a pure shooter at this point, but he sure hit a bunch of 3-pointers at Naperville Central and he'll get his chance to shoot some now. But he has the build and the game to do mid-range stuff and to get to the rim.
As for Shurna, there were several games last year where he'd get about 12-15 minutes and disappear for virtually all of the second half because he was either too weak or too unassertive to stay on the floor. He's stronger this year and more assertive -- he'll be better around the basket, for example -- but he's still quite not a finished product.
LW
OK... I can't help it. That is the best quote of this story. I hope we see plenty of Drew Crawford above the rim.
What was your take on improvement by the various players? How did Capocci, Peljusic, Fruendt and some of the players not spoken about as much look? Who do you see in the rotation this year? Carmody has a doghouse and I want to know who is in it and not getting out? Obviously, I hope noone. Is this the year?
To be honest, I haven't seen a whole heck of a lot of the fellas to this point.
I watched an hour a few weeks back. Of the 45 minutes I saw Friday night, they spent about 20 of them stretching and conditioning. The other 25 were spent shooting 3-pointers and doing 3-on-0 and 5-on-0 weaves.
And, yet, I'll go right ahead and offer my take. Some of this is based on knowledge, some is opinion.
Overall: If Carmody has a doghouse, he's fooling me because he throws around words like meritocracy when describing how playing time will be distributed. When we talked Monday, he mentioned how he and the assistants plan to use the initial days of practice to watch the guys with fresh eyes. You know, don't assume that so-and-so is mistake-prone just because he was that way in practice last year.
1) Capocci: He's a little bigger (not that he needed to be). Just as bouncy as ever. Didn't notice an improvement in his shot, though I didn't see him shoot much. The athleticism and desire are there. I think the general consensus is that, one of these days, the other stuff will click in and he can earn good minutes.
But here's the dilemma for Capocci: Jeff Ryan's skills makes the offense run more smoothly, which generally outweighs Capocci's edge in athleticism. Jeremy Nash makes the defense more nasty, which generally outweigh's Capocci's edge in size. He needs to find a niche to call his own.
2) Peljusic: He wasn't around a few weeks ago due to an important family situation at home. What did I see Friday? His hair is close-cropped. I know he's a cause celebre on the message boards, but his energy boost off the bench is offset by a penchant for mistakes. If he makes turnovers in practice, why should the coaches trust him in games? Yet this is an important time for him. With Rowley out, he's competing with Curletti for the backup minutes at the "5."
3) Fruendt: I believe it was Carmody who said he's the best shooter on the team. That's good. He's also moving around better than last year, when I'd watch him try to accelerate and it would make MY knees hurt. His issues are defense and ballhandling. Marcotullio is equipped with a more natural handle, so Fruendt needs to either outshoot him or find another niche to get on the floor.
In an unrelated note, here's a nugget that I hadn't thought about until Carmody mentioned it the other day: Most post players are right-handed, so they want to post up on the left side of the court (as you're looking from halfcourt toward the basket) so they can make a move with their dominant hand. Because Marcotullio is lefthanded, it's easier for him to enter the ball to the post on the left side.
Just one of those nuances you don't think about, but it also explains why the NU coaches force everyone to learn how to handle and pass with each hand.
As far as rotation, here's my guess: When it's all over, Juice/Coble/Crawford will have played the most minutes. Luka/Shurna/Nash will be in the next tier. Rowley/Ryan in the third tier with Marcotullio also in this mix if he maintains his early shooting performance.
Each of the other four (Capocci, Peljusic, Fruendt, Curletti) have a chance to earn minutes. Curletti is especially intriguing early because Rowley's minutes are available. Davide has the shooting touch and the passing ability, but he needs to be able to defend the post and rebound.
Hope this helps. Feel free to chime in anytime. Tell your friends.
LW