Northwestern University Athletics
1998-99 Men's Hoops Season Outlook
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
October 14, 1998
As he enters his second season as Northwestern head coach, Kevin O'Neill feels the Wildcat program continues to improve on a daily basis as NU looks to move further up the Big Ten and national ranks.
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Northwestern head coach, Kevin O'Neill
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"Last year, the best thing I saw from our team was that we learned how to play hard, play together and care about each other,i opened O'Neill. "We finally started believing at the end of the year that we could compete in this league."
The Wildcats certainly did that. In the first seven Big Ten games last season, Northwestern was outscored by an average of 22.3 points per game. That margin shrunk to a mere 5.9 points per game over the final nine regular season Big Ten contests, including overtime efforts against eventual Big Ten champion Michigan State and NIT runner-up Penn State.
"Our team played harder at the end of the year than they did at the beginning, and that to me was the best thing that came out of the season," said O'Neill.
This year's Wildcat squad returns nine letterwinners and four starters from last year's team. These players represent 96 percent of its scoring and 90 percent of the team's rebounds from last year.
Frontcourt
Handling the inside chores again this season will be Evan Eschmeyer, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility last spring by the NCAA. Eschmeyer, a 1998 preseason All-American and two-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree, is considered by many to be the best true center in the country. Last year, Eschmeyer led the Big Ten in rebounding with and average of 10.7 per game and was second in the conference in scoring with a 21.7 points per game average.
"Evan obviously is our top scorer and rebounder, but he's also made vast improvements in taking care of the basketball," noted O'Neill. "The thing I'm looking for, as is our entire coaching staff, is a guy who takes leadership seriously and takes it to the next level. I think Evan can be an excellent leader, not just by example but in the locker room and off the court as well.i
Looking to increase his presence in the Wildcat frontcourt this season will be senior forward Joe Harmsen. Harmsen started 12 of the 16 Big Ten regular season games, and averaged 3.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for the season. He enters the 1998-99 season as one of the best-conditioned players on the team and hopes to assert himself as a force in the middle for the Wildcats.
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Evan Eschmeyer
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"Joe played great basketball the last few games a year ago,i said O'Neill. "He is a guy that I think is going to have a terrific senior year and will be a big part of our success."
A potential force on the inside is sophomore guard Napoleon Harris. Harris, also a linebacker on the NU football team, joined the basketball squad last December and played in 18 of the team's 27 games. Despite missing the entire preseason and part of the nonconference schedule, Harris still finished second on the team in rebounding and fourth in scoring.
Also solidifying the NU frontcourt are junior center Aron Molnar and freshman forward Tavaras Hardy. Molnar has shown brief glimpses of his potential the past two seasons and O'Neill feels his size (6'11") can be a key asset to this team. Hardy is one of the best athletes on the team and has an extremely versatile game which will improve as he gets minutes on the floor.
"Tavaras will be the biggest surprise of any of our freshmen," said O'Neill. "He can play small forward or power forward. I really think he's going to be a good player."
Backcourt
The Wildcat backcourt should prove to be a greater strength for the Wildcats this season, and provide space for the All-America candidate Eschmeyer in the middle.
"Our perimeter is much better this year," noted O'Neill. "Although we're young in the backcourt, we're deeper and more talented than last year. We should be in a position where guys don't have to play 37 minutes a game."
The point guard position will be a matter of both an experienced veteran and a talented freshman. Senior Julian Bonner started all 27 games last year at point guard, averaging an amazing 38.9 minutes per game. He enters the 1998-99 season having started 43-straight games and knows what it takes to compete in the Big Ten.
"Julian Bonner is Mr. Reliable," commented O'Neill. "For Julian's sake, I'm really glad he won't have to play 39 minutes per game."
Expected to see a great deal of time at point guard is freshman David Newman, last year's Mr. Basketball in the State of Iowa. O'Neill expects Newman to take a sizeable amount of playing time off Bonner's shoulders.
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Sophomore Sean Wink
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"If you look at one guy on the perimeter who has to have a good year for us to be successful, that person is David Newman," said O'Neill. "It's difficult to do, especially as a freshman, but we expect big things from him. He is going to be a force from day one."
Returning at shooting guard for the Wildcats is sophomore Sean Wink, who led the Big Ten in three-pointers last year as a freshman. Wink's 86 three-pointers set a Northwestern school record en route to a 12.1 points per game average. Pressing Wink for the majority of minutes, as well as a starting role, is freshman Steve Lepore. Lepore spent this past summer representing the United States at the world junior qualifying tournament. He started all six games for that team, finishing third on the squad in scoring.
"Sean had an incredible freshman year," commented O'Neill. "For him to shoot the ball like that and gain the confidence he did is a big plus for us heading into this year. Steve Lepore also had an unbelievable year, starting with his (Ohio state champion) high school team and continuing with the experience he got with the U.S. junior world team."
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Senior Nate Pomeday
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One player to watch for this season in a key backup role will be senior Danny Allouche, who sat out last season after transferring from Missouri. Allouche brings big-game experience to the Wildcat lineup as well as a maturity. Allouche turned 24- years-old shortly before preseason workouts. The native of Israel spent three years in that country's armed forces prior to enrolling at Missouri and, eventually, NU.
O'Neill has four other backcourt players to provide quality depth. Senior Nate Pomeday will provide a great deal of leadership off the bench and, when hot from the floor, can make a difference in close games. Freshman Collier Drayton is a scrappy player whose strength is on defense and making what O'Neill referred to as "the hustle plays." The team's two walk-ons, junior Matt Kammrath and sophomore Jeff Eschmeyer, both started a game last season and will also play integral roles on the team.
"Nate is a great leader," said O'Neill. "Of all the kids I've ever coached, he is one of the most dedicated. Collier is an excellent athlete and does a lot of the intangibles. He'll especially give us depth on the defensive perimeter."
Overall
This year's schedule has the Wildcats playing in front of their home crowd in 17 of the 26 regular season games, as well as the two exhibition contests. The eCats play on the road only once during the nonconference season, a mid-December matchup at Seton Hall. NU also starts the Big Ten season at home with a January 3 game against Iowa.
For this team to reach its goal of making a postseason tournament, O'Neill pointed to three keys: Evan Eschmeyer must have another big year, the freshman class must learn quickly and the team must play together as a unit. If those three things happen, the Wildcats could find themselves among the select number of teams playing in mid-March.
