Northwestern University Athletics
The 1999-2000 Northwestern Men's Basketball Outlook
10/14/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 14, 1999
Known around the collegiate basketball ranks as an intense competitor, a program builder and a natural-born recruiter, Kevin O?Neill embarks on his third season at the helm of the Northwestern basketball program. With only one scholarship player left from the 1997-98 team, this year?s squad is almost completely overhauled from the team he inherited two seasons ago.
In the fall of 1999, O?Neill and his staff will welcome seven new recruits to the fold to go along with the four sophomores he brought in a year ago. That totals 10 of the 11 scholarship players (NU has two open scholarships) as either freshmen or sophomores. The ?Cats enter the 1999-2000 season with only one upper classman, senior Aron Molnar. What the group lacks in college experience they make up for in athletic ability and a desire to bring Northwestern to the mountain top.
?You know the old saying, the best thing about a freshman is that they become sophomores,? said O?Neill. ?That said, this group of freshmen has more talent than the outgoing senior class of a year ago.?
Northwestern loses All-American center Evan Eschmeyer and his 19.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, forward Joe Harmsen and guards Julian Bonner, Danny Allouche and Nate Pomeday. Harmsen averaged 8.1 minutes and 0.8 points per game, Allouche averaged 11.3 and 2.8 and Pomeday suffered a knee injury halfway through last season. While Bonner played 28 minutes per contest, he was the ?Cats defensive specialist last season averaging 4.4 points.
Point guard David Newman, small forward Steve Lepore and power forward Tavaras Hardy, all sophomores, are the three returning starters.
?These guys played well for us last year, but ran out of gas at the half way point of the Big Ten season,? continued O?Neill. ?It will be an advantage for them having played all those minutes last season, but they need to work hard during the off season to improve their games and get stronger mentally and physically.?
Newman will again run the Wildcat offense in 1999-2000. As a freshman, he was second on the team in scoring with an 8.3 average and led the team in assists with 77. As the season progressed, Newman learned what it was like to play point guard in the Big Ten.
?Every night was an education last year for David,? said O?Neill. ?Playing against guys like {Mateen} Cleaves and {Scoonie} Penn will make David a much better player this season. We expect him to improve in all facets of his game.?
Another sophomore who improved with every game last year is small forward Steve Lepore. Lepore started 15 games, including the last eight, and played his best basketball of the year in the postseason. He scored 14 points and grabbed 11 boards in the win against Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, then recorded 11 points and added nine assists vs. Michigan State in the Big Ten quarterfinals and scored 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the three-point arc against DePaul in the NIT.
This past summer, Lepore played for the U.S. Junior Team which participated in the FIBA Men?s Junior World Championship in Portugal in July.
?Steve was a typical freshman last year,? said O?Neill. ?He?d win a game for us like he did against Penn State and then he?d struggle the next game. We hope he can build on his postseason performance last year.?
The third returning starter is power forward Tavaras Hardy, who started all 29 games last season, averaging 26.4 minutes and 6.9 points per game. Hardy scored in double figures eight times last season and recorded the first double-double of his career with an 18-point, 10-rebound effort vs. Oakland in just the second collegiate game of his career.
?The first thing Tavaras needs to do is get physically stronger and he?s already done that to a certain extent,? said O?Neill. ?He needs to dramatically improve his foul shooting and his ability to finish at the rim, but Tavaras had a very solid first-year for us at a very difficult and physical position.?
The final sophomore on this year?s squad is shooting guard Collier Drayton. Drayton was redshirted last season and is expected to contribute in the backcourt.
The only upperclassman on this year?s Wildcat team, Aron Molnar, has improved every season since coming to Evanston. The 6-11 Molnar was a surprise spark off the bench last season for the ?Cats, averaging 3.1 points and 2.5 rebounds in just under 15 minutes per game.
?Aron was a pleasant surprise last season with how much he improved his game,? O?Neill said. ?He will contend for a starting spot, but regardless of if he starts or comes off the bench, he needs to become a better basketball player this fall.?
The freshmen class is the most anticipated in recent NU history. Six freshmen join the squad and at least two have a good chance at a starting spot from day one. Ben Johnson, a 6-3 guard from Minneapolis, will have the inside track at the shooting guard spot.
?He is a flat-out scorer,? said O?Neill. ?Ben gives us great athleticism on the perimeter and should make an immediate impact on the offensive end.?
The other freshman who will challenge immediately for a starting spot is Brody Deren. Deren is one of three recruits from the state of Iowa and projects as a power forward. He was all-state in Iowa in both basketball and baseball and was team captain for the football team.
?Now that Brody can concentrate on one sport instead of three, he should be a guy who improves tremendously,? said O?Neill. ?He has the ability to score on the inside and can also step out and shoot the ball.?
The other Iowa recruits are 6-11 Aaron Jennings from Atkins, Iowa and 6-10 Adam Robinson from Cedar Falls, Iowa. Both need to get physically stronger to play in the rugged Big Ten, but have the athletic ability to contribute right away.
?With Esch leaving, Aaron?s obviously someone we?re counting on as a freshman, said O?Neill. ?He runs well, has great hands and can be a real good player down the line. Adam, meanwhile, is a very flexible player who can score a lot of different ways. He has a great up-side and should improve quickly.?
O?Neill and his staff also picked two athletic players from Texas to commit to the ?Cats. Winston Blake and Jason Burke both hail from Plano and are versatile athletes who can play a variety of positions on the floor.
?Winston gives us a legitimate athlete on the perimeter,? said O?Neill. ?He has great size and can score both inside and outside. He also comes from a great high school program.
?Jason can play possibly four positions, primarily as a backup point guard but also at the wings and maybe the ?four? slot. He gives us good versatility and will obviously help us on defense.?
Another newcomer to the Wildcats is freshman walk-on Langston Hughes. Hughes, a 5-11 guard, was a second-team all-tournament pick last season at the IHSA 2A state tournament. Hughes led Warren Township to a runner-up finish as a senior.
The nonconference schedule will be a challenging test for the young team. The ?Cats will play in the Hoop and Quill Classic in St. Louis over the Thanksgiving holiday featuring quality foes Nebraska, West Virginia, Southern Mississippi, Rutgers and Valparaiso. NU returns home on Dec. 1 to play host to Florida State in the inaugural Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The ?Cats also host nonconference foes Chicago State, Nicholls State, Jacksonville, Oakland, Pepperdine and Rice. The only nonconference away game will be in Los Angeles on Dec. 29 when NU takes on USC.
?We?ve upgraded our nonconference schedule to get our young team ready for the rigors of Big Ten play,? said O?Neill. ?We don?t know how good this team will be because of its youth, but we are excited about the athletes we have, and in time, we?ll be a good basketball team.?
