Northwestern University Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Jacksonville Tuesday Night
12/14/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 14, 1999
NORTHWESTERN MEN?S BASKETBALL (2-5) vs. Jacksonville (2-4)
DATE: Dec. 14, 1999/7 p.m. CT
SITE: Welsh Ryan Arena (8,117)
TV: none
RADIO: WGN 720-AM
THE MATCHUP
The Wildcats are coming off a 56-49 win last Saturday over Nicholls State. Also last Saturday, Jacksonville lost a heart-breaker on the road to American University, 61-59. The Dolphins have wins over Coastal Carolina, 88-84, and Trans America Athletic Conference favorite Samford, 73-71. JU?s other three losses have been to Georgia Southern (93-85), Florida State (83-59) and Troy State (77-69).
THE SERIES: This is the first meeting between Northwestern and Jacksonville in men?s basketball.
OFFICIALS: Ed Hightower, Jerry Petro, Sid Rodeheffer
WILDCAT PROBABLE STARTERS
F - #32 Collier Drayton (6-2, 189, So., Lyons, N.Y.), 1.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg
F - #14 Steve Lepore (6-5, 200, So., North Olmstead, Ohio), 13.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg
C - #33 Tavaras Hardy (6-8, 223, So., Joliet, Ill.), 8.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg
G - #5 Ben Johnson (6-2, 180, Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.), 10.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg
G - #24 David Newman (5-11, 191, So., Des Moines, Iowa), 5.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg
OFF THE BENCH
F - #3 Winston Blake (6-5, 191, Fr., Plano Texas), 5.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg
C - #55 Aaron Jennings (6-11, 200, Fr., Atkins, Iowa), 1.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg
G/F - #30 Jason Burke (6-6, 189, Fr., Plano, Texas), 0.3 ppg, 0.3 rpg
F - #41 Adam Robinson (6-10, 210, Fr., Cedar Falls, Iowa), 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
G - #44 Jeff Eschmeyer (6-2, 192, Jr., New Knoxville, Ohio), 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
G - #10 Langston Hughes (5-11, 186, Fr., Waukegan, Ill.), 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
C - #43 Brody Deren (6-7, 242, Fr., Harlan, Iowa) injured 3.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE
Jacksonville returns four starters from its 1998-99 team that finished 12-15, but won five of its last six games. JU is led in scoring and rebounding by 6-5, senior forward Calvin Slaughter. Slaughter averages 16.5 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game. JU starts a three-guard lineup with junior-college transfer Brandon Williams, point guard Kevin Sheppard and off-guard Shawn Platts. The 6-3 Williams averages 15.8 points per game and 2.7 boards. Sheppard averages 5.0 points and 2.8 assists per game. Platts is third on the team in scoring at 11.3 ppg and first in assists at 3.8 apg.
NICHOLLS STATE RECAP
Northwestern hit 11-of-12 free throws in the second half, including 9-of-10 in the final 83 seconds to overcome a furious Nicholls State comeback and win, 56-49. Down by 17 points in the second half, the Colonels fought back to take a 49-47 lead with 2:23 to play. At that point in the second half, Nicholls State had gone to the line 19 times to NU?s two. After a blocked shot, freshman Ben Johnson, who with sophomore Steve Lepore led the Wildcats with 16 points, then stole the ball from Jeremy Coombs. After a timeout, sophomore Collier Drayton was fouled and calmly hit both ends of the one-and-one to tie the score at 49. Sophomore David Newman was then fouled after a Colonels miss and hit both of his free throws to put NU ahead for good, 51-49.
HEAD COACH KEVIN O?NEILL
Now in his third season at the helm of the Northwestern basketball program, Kevin O?Neill has brought his own brand of intensity, excitement and basketball talent to Evanston. In just two seasons, O?Neill has turned the Wildcats into postseason contenders. Northwestern made postseason play for the third time in the school?s history last season when they were selected to play in the National Invitation Tournament. O?Neill?s work was nothing short of miraculous considering the ?Cats started three freshmen and played in a conference that had seven teams ranked in the top 25 for most of last season. O?Neill owns a career record of 187-177 (.514) and is 27-36 in his tenure at NU. O?Neill?s intensity translates to the court as pressure defense, and the Wildcats proved last season to be one of the best in the country on that side of the floor. NU finished ranked third in the NCAA in field goal defense (.373) and sixth in the NCAA in scoring defense (57.1 ppg). O?Neill, 42, knows what it takes to turn around a program. In 1994, he inherited a Tennessee program which won only five games the previous campaign, and took them to the NIT two seasons later. At Marquette, the two-time Great Midwest Conference Coach of the Year took over a program which, like Tennessee, hadn?t enjoyed a winning season in many years. In 1990-91, his first season, he guided the Golden Eagles to a 15-14 record and an appearance in the NIT. Three seasons later (1993-94), he directed Marquette to a 20-8 mark and a spot in the NCAA tournament. The next season, he coached the Golden Eagles back to their glory days by advancing to the Sweet 16 and finishing with a 24-9 record. He left Milwaukee with an impressive mark of four winning campaigns in five years and a Great Midwest Conference championship in 1994. Tabbed as one of the nation?s top recruiters, O?Neill has already overhauled the Northwestern program in just two recruiting classes.
O?NEILL WIN TOTAL
Head coach Kevin O?Neill begins his third season in Evanston. His 25 wins through his first two seasons at NU is second only to William Rohr, who won 28 from 1957-59. O?Neill needs 14 wins this season to have the best mark through the first three seasons at NU. Rohr also holds that mark with 39 wins.
O?NEILL AT WELSH-RYAN
In Kevin O?Neill?s two plus seasons at NU, the Wildcats have made Welsh-Ryan Arena a tough place to play. NU has a 23-14 (.622) home court record under O?Neill. That is a marked improvement to the 14 home wins in the three seasons before O?Neill took over the program.
DEREN BREAKS ELBOW, LOST 4-6 WEEKS
Freshman forward Brody Deren broke his left elbow in the Nicholls State game on Dec. 11. Deren suffered a radial head fracture of his left elbow in the first half. Deren will be put in a cast for a week and is expected to miss four to six weeks of action.
AGE BEFORE BEAUTY - ?Cats Are Youngest In The Nation
According to statistics compiled by Stats Inc., Northwestern is the youngest basketball team in Division I basketball. NU is the only team in the nation to have 100% of its minutes played by freshmen and sophomores. No other Big Ten team ranks in the top 10. Michigan is next at No. 12 at 81.17% of its minutes played by freshmen and sophomores, Illinois is 44th (62.92%) and Minnesota is 62nd (56.7%). NU is also the least experienced team in America. Stats Inc. rated 234 Division I basketball teams experience based on eligibility of the athletes and the percentage of minutes played by each class. NU grades out at 1.549 (1.00 = freshmen have played 100% of minutes, 4.00 = seniors have played 100% of minutes). Michigan is fourth at 1.653, while Minnesota is 36th at 2.183. No other Big Ten team is in the top 50.
JOHNSON SHINES AT HOOP & QUILL
At the Hoop and Quill Classic over Thanksgiving weekend, Johnson registered nine points against Evansville, 18 (career-high) vs. Nebraska, and 17 against Mississippi State. Johnson is second on the team in scoring at 9.7 ppg, is 14-of-17 from the line and is averaging 3.7 rebounds per game. Johnson led the ?Cats in scoring in two of the first four games this season.
A BOY NAMED ?T?
Sophomore forward Tavaras Hardy recorded the second double-double of his career on Nov. 27 vs. Nebraska. Hardy scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the loss. The next day against Mississippi State, Hardy came within one rebound of his second straight double-double when he registered 16 points and nine rebounds. Hardy leads the team in rebounding averaging 6.3 rebounds per game.
TOUGH ON ?D?
Last season, the ?Cats led the Big Ten and finished third in the country in field goal percentage defense (37.3%). NU was sixth in the nation in scoring defense (57.1 ppg). This season that trend continues. Entering this week?s play, the ?Cats are third in the conference in scoring defense (56.7 ppg). O?Neill?s teams have held opponents to 13 points or fewer in a half five times in the past two seasons: Michigan, 2-4-99, 12 points, Oakland, 11-21-98, 13 points, Wisconsin, Chicago State and Wofford, all in the 1997-98 season, 13 points.
LEPORE FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
According to the Big Ten stats as of Dec. 13, Steve Lepore is tied for third in the conference in three-point field goals made with 21. He is averaging 3.0 per game, which is also tied for third in the Big Ten. Lepore set a career high with six three-pointers against Florida State. His six threes are the third most in a single game in NU history. He is tied with six other players. Todd Leslie holds the record with seven. Lepore?s 13 three-point attempts against FSU is also third most in a single game in NU history. On his career, Lepore has hit 73 threes which places him sixth on the all-time list. Geno Carlisle is fifth with 103 three pointers. Lepore has led the team in scoring in four games this year.
TRAVELIN? MAN
Sophomore Steve Lepore spent the summer traveling the globe playing basketball. Lepore was a member of the United States team at the World Junior Championships in Portugal. The Americans won a silver medal and Lepore finished second on the team in scoring with a 10.5 ppg average. He started all eight games and was tops in the team in three pointers, shooting 18-36 for the tournament. Lepore also traveled to Austria with a Big Ten All-Star team in August. The Big Ten team finished 3-3, as Lepore averaged 6.5 ppg and shot 47% from the field.
OLD SOPHOMORES
David Newman and Tavaras Hardy started all 29 games as freshmen a year ago. In just his second season, Newman ranks 8th on the career three-pointers made list with 59. Newman was second on the team in scoring last season averaging 8.3 ppg. Hardy, who averaged 6.9 ppg, came on strong in the postseason scoring 12 points vs. Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament, then collecting eight points at DePaul in the NIT.
WILDCATS ON THE AIR
All Northwestern regular-season games can be heard on WGN-AM Radio 720. Once again this season, Dave Eanet will handle the play-by-play duties while former DePaul head coach Joey Meyer handles the color analysis. Coach O?Neill can be heard after every game on his postgame show. At home, fans can stay and listen to the show live over the Welsh-Ryan Arena sound system.
THE KEVIN O?NEILL SHOW
Fox Sports Chicago is the home of the Kevin O?Neill Show. The half-hour show will appear 11 times during Northwestern's 1999-2000 season. The second show of the season will air Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m., before the Wildcats start the Big Ten Conference season at Iowa on Jan. 5. Hosting the Kevin O?Neill show will be Dave Eanet. Eanet, sports director at WGN, has handled the play-by-play duties for WGN radio the past two seasons. Again for the 1999-2000 season, fans can submit questions to Coach O?Neill via NUSPORTS.COM, the official internet site of Northwestern athletics. Three questions will be chosen weekly and answered on ?The Kevin O?Neill Show.? Every fan who has their question read on-air will receive a special gift pack courtesy of Ameritech.
